Windows Phone fans, you may want to fire up your music player of choice and queue up Ice Cube's "It Was a Good Day," because your day is about to get quite a bit better. Details on two new Windows Phone handsets have recently leaked out, including a big phone from Nokia and an aluminum device from Huawei.
First, the device you see above. Sina Weibo user Houdabao, who's been responsible for accurate Verizon leaks in the past, has posted a photo of a white Nokia Windows Phone with Verizon branding. Described as a "big, big" Windows Phone, it's possible that we're looking at a Verizon version of Nokia's upcoming Lumia 1520 phone/tablet hybrid.
The mystery phone features Nokia and Verizon 4G LTE tattoos on its backside as well as some camera branding that says "PureView ZEISS 20MP." A recent tweet from @evleaks claimed that the Lumia 1520 sports a 20-megapixel camera, and so the presence of a 20-megapixel shooter on this Verizon unit seemingly supports the theory that it's a 1520 variant.
The backside of this Verizon-bound device looks a tad different than the Lumia 1520 that leaked out earlier this month, but it's possible that ol' VZW may have requested a few special alterations to make its model unique. There's a new cutout in the corner, possibly for a speaker, and this device's camera housing isn't bulging out of its rear like other Lumia 1520 models that we've seen. The camera flash has also been moved to the side of the shooter rather than resting above it.
Meanwhile, Chinese site WPDang has shared a few alleged details of a new Huawei device referred to as the "Ascend W3." It's said that the W3 will sport a slim frame that's made of aluminum and that its overall design will be like a hybrid of Huawei's D2 and P6 Android phones. The Ascend W3 will reportedly be introduced at CES in January 2014.
Huawei's two previous Windows Phone models have been made of plastic, and while that's not necessarily a bad thing, this aluminum-clad Ascend W3 sounds like it could be a slightly more premium device than the W1 and W2. We'll just have to wait until its made official to find out for sure.
In other Huawei news, the company recently confirmed to the Wall Street Journal that it plans to continue cranking out Windows Phone hardware, even after Microsoft's acquisition of Nokia's hardware business. "We will continue to develop devices running Windows Phone, and launch more products," European Huawei executive Richard Ren explained, adding that his firm is still one of Microsoft's strategic partners. While much of Huawei's portfolio is made up of Android hardware, I'm sure that Microsoft is glad to see a manufacturer voicing its commitment to Windows Phone.
Via New Cell Phones Blog, Sina Weibo, @evleaks, WPCentral, WPDang, Wall Street Journal
