Samsung Debuts ATIV SE: 5-inch, 1080p Windows Phone
After taking a hiatus from making Windows phones, Samsung is climbing back on the Microsoft bandwagon with the long-rumored ATIV SE. Available for pre-order on Verizon today but shipping April 24th, the 5-inch ATIV SE costs $199 with a two-year plan or $25 a month with early-upgrade plan Edge.
Samsung packed the ATIV SE with solid specs, including a 5-inch, 1080p display, a 2.3-GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM, and 16GB of storage.The ATIV SE runs Windows Phone 8 for now, but you should expect a quick upgrade to Windows Phone 8.1 when that debuts.
MORE: Windows Phone 8.1: What You Need to Know
The ATIV SE's 2,600-mAh battery should offer plenty of endurance, given Samsung's 2,000-mAh battery on its ATIV S Neo provided an above-average 8 hours of juice. You'll also find a 13-MP rear camera, a 2-MP front shooter and an infrared (IR) blaster on the 4.7-ounce device.
Verizon is also offering a free Galaxy S5, HTC One (M8) or another ATIV SE with each purchase of the new Windows phone. A two-year activation is required per phone.
It looks like the ATIV SE is just the first of many new Windows phones from Samsung. Sam Mobile reportsthat the electronics giant is working on a mid-range handset which will be the first Samsung smartphone to run Windows Phone 8.1.
Based on information that Sam Mobile's received, the ATIV Core will sport a 4.5-inch HD display, 1GB of RAM and a small 2,100-mAh battery. There's no word yet on when the Core will be available, but it should arrive around the same time as Nokia's Windows Phone 8.1 devices hit stores in May.
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