AT&T Inc Will Exclusively Sell Microsoft Lumia 950 Smartphones

Microsoft Corporation appears to have chosen AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) as its preferred carrier for the Lumia 950 or Lumia 950 XL smartphones. CNET cites reports from people close to the matter, who report that Microsoft has overlooked rival carriers, with AT&T confirming that it would provide the $549 Lumia 950 when it comes out. While the company did not give word on the Lumia 950 XL, it is expected that the XL variant of the Lumia smartphone will also be provided by AT&T.

For Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), the launch of the new Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphones sees the company launch its first flagship phones in over a year and a half. The smartphones use the technology acquired by Microsoft when it acquired Nokia last year. Microsoft wants to give the Windows smartphones a better fighting chance, which would have only been helped by increasing availability by getting all four major US carriers on board.

That said, Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ), Sprint Corp (NYSE:S) and T-Mobile US Inc (NYSE:TMUS) have not yet announced whether they would be selling the smartphones. CNET sources claimed that the carriers did not plan to carry the Microsoft flagship phone, but a recent tweet from T-Mobile CEO John Legere clarified that T-Mobile had not turned down the offer to carry the new Microsoft smartphones. "If @Microsoft wakes up, we'll talk about @TMobile carrying," the CEO tweeted, indicating that T-Mobile for one could be open to carrying the new smartphones.

Hence, it appears that Microsoft has decided to focus on improving its partnership with AT&T, although the deal is not exclusive and one or both of the two new flagship smartphones could still be sold by rival carriers. So far, Microsoft says that rivals are not necessarily buying into their vision, which perhaps has something to do with Microsoft building connected table displays at AT&T stores, displaying how Windows Lumia phones connected with Windows PCs and Surface Pro tablets.

Tuula Rytila, head of phone marketing at Microsoft, said that the partnership with AT&T allows Microsoft to display its products the way it wants to. Given how Lumia smartphones are usually tied to one US carrier via exclusive deals, one can see why AT&T would agree to specially market and position Microsoft's phones exactly as it wants to. Unlocked versions of the Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL smartphones will also be available, which can give customers the choice of AT&T and T-Mobile as carriers.

That said, Microsoft's strategy has to be called into question, given that rivals Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Samsung Group (OTCMKTS:SSNLF), HTC and LG sell their smartphones across a number of US carriers. Microsoft's point about maintaining the phone's image and showing off its features makes sense, but not all carriers will be prepared to specially market Lumia smartphones, especially when other phones might have the potential to do much better. The move could even put a strain on the carriers' relationship with other smartphone companies.

This is something that is vital as both carriers and smartphone-makers try to ensure that they reach as many customers as they can. Signing exclusive deals with one party has a somewhat adverse effect on the relationship with another rival party, so other carriers might be better off selling as many smartphones as they can instead of focusing on the ones provided by Microsoft. Perhaps that is why T-Mobile's John Legere said Microsoft should "wake up" – marketing exclusively is not a viable strategy anymore. But if sales for the Lumia smartphones take off, one has to acknowledge that AT&T would be smartly positioned to reap in profits thanks to its partnership with Microsoft.

Source: AT&T Inc Will Exclusively Sell Microsoft Lumia 950 Smartphones