AT&T selling Microsoft Lumia 950, Samsung Galaxy View Nov 20
Live life on your own terms with the Lumia 950 XL. Matthew Benson / Android Authority : AT&T has the Samsung Galaxy View LTE in its sights, releases November 20th Rich Edmonds / Windows Central : Lumia 950 is now available for you to buy online from AT&T Shawn Knight / TechSpot : AT&T will be the first US carrier to offer Microsoft's Lumia 950 Adrian Diaconescu / Pocketnow : Lumia 950 ships by November 25 from Microsoft US, Lumia 950 XL in early December James Farrell / SiliconANGLE : Now we know where, when, and how to buy Microsoft's first Windows 10 phones Mark Coppock / WinBeta : Lumia 950 XL sells out on Microsoft Store, next wave shipping by December 11 Todd Haselton / TechnoBuffalo : Lumia 950 orders start tomorrow on AT&T, in stores Nov. 20 Malarie Gokey / Digital Trends : Samsung's 18.4-inch Galaxy View tablet is the portable, touchable TV you always wanted AT&T : Microsoft Lumia 950 to Arrive First at AT&T on Nov. 20 Michael Crider / Android Police : AT&T Announces It Will Carry Samsung's Jumbo Galaxy View Tablet Starting On Friday … Mehedi Hassan / WMPoweruser : Lumia 950 XL now available for pre-order in the US for $649 Alex Wagner / PhoneDog.com : AT&T will start selling 18.4-inch Samsung Galaxy View on Nov. 20 Joe Fedewa / Phandroid : Gigantic Samsung Galaxy View tablet coming to AT&T on Friday Derrick Miyao / AndroidGuys : The massive 18.4″ Samsung Galaxy View tablet arrives Nov. 20 at AT&T Paul Thurrott / Thurrott.com : Unlocked Lumia 950 XL Now Available For Preorder from Microsoft Store Tim-o-tato / Droid Life : Samsung Galaxy View Available at AT&T on November 20, Starts at $99 With DIRECTV Agreement Stephen Hall / 9to5Google : Samsung's huge Galaxy View tablet to be available at AT&T on November 20 Jared Newman / PCWorld : Microsoft's Lumia 950 Windows 10 phone gets a Nov. 20 release date on AT&T Carly Page / Inquirer : Microsoft Lumia 950 and 950 XL set to go on sale next week Alex Wagner / PhoneDog.com : Unlocked Microsoft Lumia 950 XL available for pre-order, buyers get free Display Dock Napier Lopez / The Next Web : Microsoft's Lumia 950 and 950 XL are finally going on sale November 20 and 25 Tweets: @gsmarena_com : Microsoft starts Lumia 950 XL pre-orders in the US, yours for $649 unlocked: The first smartphones running the... http://www.gsmarena.com/...
Context & Ripple Effects
Microsoft's October unveiling of the Lumia 950 and 950 XL at $549 set the specs-and-price stage; what changed today is the channel — AT&T becomes the first US carrier to sell a Windows 10 phone, landing the Lumia 950 on shelves November 20, days before Microsoft's own unlocked units ship by November 25 (the XL waits until early December). It continues a pattern: AT&T already stocked the unlocked Surface 3 LTE this summer, making it Microsoft's most willing US retail partner.
The same-day Galaxy View launch is the more strategically loaded half of the story. AT&T will sell Samsung's jumbo tablet with pricing beginning at $99 tied to a DIRECTV agreement — hardware priced as a video-subscription attach, not as a standalone device.
First-order effects
- Carrier-channel buyers get the Lumia 950 roughly five days ahead of Microsoft's own unlocked shipment window, giving AT&T a brief exclusive on the phone Windows Phone needs to reach new users.
- AT&T's shelf gains two new device categories in one day — a flagship Windows phone and Samsung's oversized tablet — with the Galaxy View effectively priced at $99 only for customers who sign onto a DIRECTV agreement.
Second-order effects
- Samsung's other tablet partners and rival carriers now have to answer a $99-with-video-bundle price point that undercuts any unsubsidized large-tablet comparison, pushing content subsidies further into device pricing.
- T-Mobile and Verizon face a carry-or-cede decision on the Lumia 950; if they pass, AT&T holds sole carrier distribution of Microsoft's flagship, repeating the leverage it built with the Surface 3 LTE placement.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, US device pricing keeps decoupling from hardware cost and attaching to service contracts — carriers like AT&T (post-DIRECTV) become the pricing layer, and devices without a subscription hook compete at full freight.
- For Microsoft, carrier retail is the last scalable distribution left for Windows phones; whether AT&T's exclusivity converts into volume depends entirely on how the 950 reviews land, which the coverage so far leaves genuinely unresolved.
The trend: US carriers are consolidating device distribution around service bundles — AT&T pairing hardware launches with DIRECTV attach pricing while Microsoft leans on a single willing carrier for its Windows 10 phone push.