Nokia to Offer Lumia 900 at $100 to Spur Sales

The Finnish phone-maker will sell its flagship device at half the price of other manufacturers' phones, starting on March 18, according to BGR. Nokia has not confirmed the report, but a $100 price tag would make the Lumia 900 one of the best values on the market for a smartphone.

The Lumia 900 will feature a 4.3-inch display, a 1.4-gigahertz processor, a 8-megapixel camera capable of 1080p video and support for AT&T's LTE network.

A $100 Lumia 900, selling along with the Lumia 710, which many outlets offer free with a two-year contract, would give Nokia two of the strongest options in the low and mid-range smartphone categories. These devices may struggle to compete if priced similarly to other handsets with the same specs, but now they stand out in their price group as very strong options.

The Lumia 900 may not be a big moneymaker for Nokia in the U.S. at a $100 price point, but it will likely sell well, opening the door for the manufacturer to expand further into the U.S. market. The Finnish phone-maker is easing its way back into the U.S., after falling out of favor with consumers by failing to offer smartphones that measured up to competitors. The low price is a strong first step in gaining consumer attention, though it still must compete against a slew of handsets from Samsung, HTC, Apple and more.

The attractive price is also good news for the Windows Phone platform. Wide adoption of Nokia's new handsets will lead to a boost in market share for Microsoft's operating system, which lags well behind Apple's iOS and Google's Android. Microsoft, Nokia and AT&T will launch an extensive marketing campaign, and the Lumia deal will help raise Windows Phone's profile in the market as well.

If the Lumia 900 sells well at $100, Nokia will make great strides in establishing a greater presence with American consumers, and Windows Phone will also have more exposure than ever before. Once Nokia can prove customers are willing to buy its devices, it can test whether they're willing to buy them at premium prices.