Rumor Mill: AT&T, Nokia plan $100M marketing push for 'Ace' smartphone

AT&T Mobility (NYSE:T), Nokia (NYSE:NOK) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) plan to spend $100 million marketing Nokia's newest flagship Windows Phone device, dubbed the "Ace," according to a BetaNews blog post.

The blog, which cited unnamed sources, said that AT&T will launch the Ace in late March and give the device "hero" status, placing it prominently in its advertising and retail stores. The blog noted that it's unclear how much money each of the three companies plan to contribute to the advertising campaign, which would be on par with other major smartphone launches. Verizon Wireless (NYSE:VZ) and Motorola Mobility (NYSE:MMI) reportedly spent around $100 million marketing the original Motorola Droid, Verizon's first flagship Android device.

Representatives from Nokia and Microsoft declined to comment and an AT&T spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nokia is widely expected to unveil new Windows Phone devices next week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, including a high-end device dubbed the Lumia 900 and a more mid-range device, the Lumia 719. Indeed, according to the blog PocketNow, the Ace may be the U.S. version of the Lumia 900. According to the blog, the device is expected to support LTE and feature a 1.4 GHz Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) Snapdragon processor, 4.3-inch WVGA display, 8-megapixel camera and 1830 mAh battery. Nokia will hold a press conference Jan. 9 at CES.

So far Nokia has announced that T-Mobile USA will launch the mid-range Lumia 710 on Jan. 11 for $50 with a two-year contract. 

For more:
- see this BetaNews post
- see this PocketNow post
- see this The Verge article

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