Sprint Nextel’s HTC Arrive, which is first CDMA version of a Microsoft Windows Phone 7 device, is coming out Mar. 20. The new product gives Microsoft a leg up by increasing its distribution for this software big player’s new platform.
The Arrive, which was originally called the HTC 7 Pro, will cost $199.99 with a two-year contract and a $100 mail-in rebate. The launch of the Arrive will make it the third U.S. carrier in Microsoft’s list of operator partners; which includes AT&T Mobility and T-Mobile USA, both who put out Windows Phone devices late in 2010.
The Arrive is pretty much the same in most ways to other Windows Phone devices. It comes with a 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, a 3.6-inch display, slide-out Qwerty keyboard, five-megapixel camera, Wi-Fi and 16 GBs of memory. The unit is expected to ship out with Microsoft’s platform update, which also has copy-and-paste abilities.
Microsoft has been bragging about the new platform along with its new partnership with Nokia. Nokia plans to use Windows Phone as its main platform for smartphones. Microsoft announced it had sent out two million Windows Phone units to all of its partners so far, but the amount of sell-through figures to end users was not revealed.
During the Mobile World Congress trade show earlier this month, Microsoft reported that it would include Internet Explorer 9, powered by the same engine the browser has for the desktop, to its platform in 2011, along with multitasking for third-party applications.
Everyone expects Verizon Wireless to also debut a Windows Phone device this year. But, they don’t seem as excited about the platform. Verizon’s Communications CTO Tony Melone said that he didn’t want a strong third OS in the picture. He acknowledged that it would give carriers more flexibility as well as balance everyone’s interests, but he admitted he still wasn’t sure that Microsoft would get the boost they are hoping for with Windows Phone 7.
