Windows Phone fans in the U.S. now have one of Nokia's biggest smartphones as an option, literally. The 6-inch Nokia Lumia 1320 phablet is now available from Cricket Wireless for $229.99.
Nokia is the market leader when it comes to Windows Phones, which is a huge reason why Microsoft acquired the smartphone maker. While Microsoft has some big name Windows Phone licensees like Samsung and HTC, Nokia has turned into the face of the platform.
We reported about Nokia's 2014 through 2015 Windows Phone roadmap and there are some exciting new devices in its pipeline. Believe it or not, the most successful Nokia Lumia Windows Phone handset isn't one of the company's flagship devices like the 41-megapixel packing Lumia 1020 or its 6-inch 1080p Full HD Lumia 1520 phablet. It's actually Nokia's entry-level and least expensive smartphone, the Lumia 520 / 521, which is currently available as a pre-paid handset from carriers like T-Mobile, AT&T, Cricket Wireless, and MetroPCS.
When Nokia officially launched its flagship phablet in October, the Lumia 1520 exclusively with AT&T in the U.S., the company also announced a 6-inch budget phablet in the form of the Lumia 1320. The company knows that its entry-level smartphones is where it gets the majority of its customers and it made the wise decision to offer what is basically a budget / entry-level phablet. The phablet never saw a release in the U.S. in 2013, but that has just changed as Cricket Wireless has announced that it will begin offering the Nokia Lumia 1320.
"Our expanding lineup of new and popular phones on top of a nationwide, reliable network offering more 4G LTE coverage than Sprint, T-Mobile, and Metro PCS, period, is a differentiator mobile customers will enjoy every day," said Andy Smoak, Cricket Wireless AVP of Product. "With the Nokia Lumia 1320 we are providing big value to customers at a budget friendly price."
The Nokia Lumia 1320 features a 6-inch ClearBlack IPS (in plane switching) LCD display that is protected by Gorilla Glass 3 and has a pixel density of 245 pixels per inch (ppi). The phablet is powered by a 1.7GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 processor and 1GB of RAM. Nokia has included 8GB of internal storage and a microSD expansion slot that supports up to 64GB microSD cards.
The Lumia 1320's camera capabilities consist of a 5-megapixel rear camera with LED flash, autofocus, and can shoot 1080p Full HD video and a VGA front facing camera. The phablet has a large non-removable 3,400 mAh battery, which will provide up to 21 hours of talk time and 672 hours of standby time. In terms of wireless connectivity options, you'll find a 4G LTE radio, Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Bluetooth 4.0 with A2DP, and GPS.
The Nokia Lumia 1320 ships with Windows Phone 8 out of the box and will be upgraded for free to Windows Phone 8.1 in the coming months. If you'd like to try out Windows Phone 8.1 and some of its best features on the Lumia 1320, including Cortana (Windows Phone's answer to Siri and Google Now), check out our guide on how to install the Windows Phone 8.1 OS right now.
The Cricket Wireless Nokia Lumia 1320 will be available exclusively in Cricket retail stores and online beginning on June 13 with no annual contract and will cost $229.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate.
