Best Buy prices Lumia 920 at $149 and HTC 8X at $99, both available to pre-order on AT&T
Best Buy has started to accept pre-orders on Nokia's Lumia 920 and HTC's Windows Phone 8X today. We revealed earlier this month that the US retailer would start accepting pre-orders today …
Context & Ripple Effects
The pre-order opening follows the previously announced October 21 Windows Phone 8 pre-order date and AT&T’s exclusive US launch plan for the Lumia 920. It gives Nokia and HTC a visible retail entry point as Nokia works through its transition to Windows Phone.
First-order effects
- Best Buy gives AT&T buyers an immediate ordering channel for the Lumia 920 at $149 and HTC 8X at $99, establishing a $50 price gap between the two Windows Phone flagships.
- AT&T’s Lumia 920 exclusivity concentrates Nokia’s initial US Windows Phone 8 demand on one carrier and one retail launch path.
Second-order effects
- HTC enters the same AT&T retail window with a lower upfront price, making handset price a direct point of comparison for shoppers choosing between the 8X and Lumia 920.
- Best Buy can merchandise the two devices as a single Windows Phone 8 choice set, giving the retailer influence over how the platform’s early buyers encounter Nokia and HTC.
Third-order effects
- The launch reinforces a carrier-and-retailer-led route to market for Windows Phone hardware, rather than relying solely on Microsoft’s own retail presence.
- If this distribution model holds, Windows Phone vendors will compete for carrier placement and subsidized price positioning as much as for differentiation between their devices.
The trend: Windows Phone’s US expansion is taking shape through carrier exclusives and coordinated retail pre-orders that turn pricing and shelf placement into central launch levers.