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November 7, 2011
Mobile

New Windows Phones hit U.S. stores; Revealing our big NYC surprise



Two new sleek and stylish Windows Phones hit AT&T stores across the U.S. today—the Samsung Focus S and Focus Flash. They join the white HTC Radar 4G introduced last week by T-Mobile.

The Big Windows Phone in Herald Squre, NYC

To celebrate the debut of our new U.S. lineup and highlight our different approach to design, we’ve done something a little crazy: We’ve constructed a 6-story Windows Phone smack in the middle of New York’s busy Herald Square.

The Big Windows Phone will feature 8 hours of live performance and digital entertainment projected on giant LED screens. The Live Tiles will be very much alive:  You’ll see games in the Games Hub, music in the Music + Video Hub, people in the People Hub. Besides just seeming like a cool thing to do, the supersized smartphone underscores our people-centered approach to building phones.

Meet our new phones

If you’ve been waiting to get a new Windows Phone, now’s the time. We have a great lineup hitting U.S. stores—all of which are capable of 4G speeds, have front- and rear-facing cameras, and come in a range of prices. Here’s the rundown:

  • HTC Radar 4G: Crafted from a single piece of polished aluminum, the HTC Radar is the only white handset in the Windows Phone lineup. $99 after $50 mail-in rebate. Learn more.
  • Samsung Focus S: Successor to the award-winning Samsung Focus, the Focus S features a brilliant 4.3” Super AMOLED Plus display—the brightest screen in the lineup—a thin 8.55-millimeter profile, and an 8-megapixel camera. $199. Learn more
  • Samsung Focus Flash: The fast and lightweight Samsung Focus Flash features a 3.7” Super AMOLED screen and 5-megapixel camera. $49. Learn more
  • HTC Titan: Coming soon from AT&T, the  HTC Titan sports a 4.7” screen—the largest in the Windows Phone lineup—an ultra-thin 9.9-millimeter design, and an 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash.

As an added bonus, anyone who buys a phone also gets a free $25 prepaid card for shopping in the Windows Phone Marketplace, which now has more than 30,000 apps and games. So you can stock up on great apps right out of the box.

The Big Windows Phone

The celebration in New York City, meanwhile, officially kicks off at noon with a live performance—in the Music + Video tile, natch—from Far East Movement. The band, which melds elements of hip-hop, pop, electro, and dance, should make for a sweet show.

There are lots of other surprises planned throughout the day. I’ll be back later today with a full recap. Can’t wait? Ben “the PC guy” Rudolph is roaming the streets of New York with his Windows Phone (several of them, probably) providing live, on-the-scene dispatches via his Twitter account.

The official Windows Phone Facebook and Twitter channels, meanwhile, will also have updates and photos throughout the day. And you can help! If you’re in the area, give Windows Phone fans around the world a taste of what’s happening by tweeting or uploading pictures and videos to our Facebook page. The hashtags for the event are #bigwindowsphone and #wpnyc.

I’ll leave you with a video showing how the supersize smartphone was built—6 stories in 60 seconds. Back later!