AT&T Confirms Nokia Lumia 900: Release Date, Pre-Orders and Price

AT&T has finally confirmed that the Nokia Lumia 900 will be released on April.8, priced at $99 with a two year contract.

The Lumia will be the first AT &T LTE-based handset to run on Microsoft's Windows operating system and it comes at a considerably cheaper price than its competitors. The Samsung Galaxy Nexus Android phone is priced at $299 and the iPhone 4S is at $199.

The cheaper price tag could be an effective marketing strategy that will attract people to the Windows Phone operating system, which never really took off . As of January 2012, the operating system held under two percent market share worldwide.

The Nokia Lumia 900 is hoping to change these statistics. The phone boasts a unique bold design, with sharp edges and a rounded back.

AT&T and Nokia's relationship spans many years and we're thrilled to introduce their first 4G LTE Windows Phone only for our customers, said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president - Devices, AT&T Mobility. The Lumia 900 is impeccably designed with clean lines and a camera that rivals stand-alone digital cameras on the market today. Combine that with the people-first Windows Phone experience and our 4G networks - the nations' largest - and it's clear that this is one of the best phones customers can find.

The Phone comes with a 4.3 inch AMOLED touchscreen, a Carl Zeiss Optics 8MP camera with dual LED Flash, auto focus, video calling and a battery life with up to 7 hours talk time.

The phone is fully fleshed out with internet browsing and social media integration including, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, email and chat.

The biggest shortcoming for the phone's operating system seems to be the lack of apps. WP7 comes with only 70,000 apps, which is feeble when compared with half-a-million apps boasted by Android.

Nokia and Microsoft have recently invested 18 million Euros to a mobile application development program at Aalto University.

Kicking off in May 2012, the Finland-based program will be led and managed by Aalto University, which has a growing reputation as a hotbed of new startup companies. AppCampus is intended to attract thousands of application proposals from students and entrepreneurs from all over the world. Aalto University will make a significant contribution to the project by providing premises, coaching services, and access to both academic and business networks for budding app developers, Microsoft wrote in a press release.

Pre-orders for the phone start on March. 30 for the blue and matte black version of the phone, with the high-gloss white version hitting stores on April. 22.