The next 90 days are going to be absolutely insane for anyone who likes to keep on top of the mobile industry. So much is going to happen in the span of a single quarter that we thought it’d be nice to compile a list of the key major events. Starting in April, AT&T will launch Nokia’s Lumia 900 in the United States on the 8th. At $99 it’s priced to move, but early reviews haven’t exactly been stellar. Most people are disappointed with the camera, and many others think Windows Phone is a bit immature compared to Android and iOS. Why is the Lumia 900 so important? Because Nokia bet the farm on Windows Phone last year, and they’ve yet to prove that it was the right decision to make. Less than two weeks later, on the 19th, both Nokia and Microsoft are going to announce their Q1 2012 financial results. We hope Microsoft discusses Windows Phone sales, but if they don’t then at least we’ll have Nokia’s hard data. As of January 26th of this year, the Finnish handset maker has said that they’ve shipped over 1 million Lumia handsets. We’d like to remind you, Nokia only started selling Windows Phones on November 15, 2011.
Then there’s May. According to the latest rumors, AT&T is going to launch the HTC One X on May 6th. We don’t have a price tag yet, but we’re confident in saying that it’s likely going to be $299 since it’s such a high end device. One day later, on May 7th, CTIA kicks off. It’s the American version of Mobile World Congress. Expect to see a ton of handsets announced at the show, most of them running Android. And then there’s the elephant in the room, Samsung. While it hasn’t been confirmed yet, it’s widely accepted as fact that Samsung is going to be hosting an event sometime in May to announce the Galaxy S III. Make no mistake, everyone is looking forward to this smartphone since its predecessor, the Galaxy S II, was such a monumental success. We’d love to tell you what sort of specs this flagship device will have, but there’s a ton of misinformation currently floating around the internet.
And finally there’s June. Two key events are going to take place. First, Apple’s Worldwide Developers Conference. The official dates haven’t been announced yet, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that it’s going to start on the 11th. What can we expect to hear about? The next major version of iOS, which … let’s be frank, desperately needs a fresh coat of paint. Double tapping the home button to multitask isn’t elegant. Not having widgets is somewhat painful. And there’s many other small things that Apple needs to do to make their mobile OS feel a bit more up–to–date. Second, there’s Google I/O, which begins on the 27th. We’ll likely hear about the next version of Android, codenamed Jelly Bean, but more importantly we might see that elusive $199 “Nexus Tablet” get announced.
So like we said earlier, the next 90 days are going to be bananas. Did we forget something?
[Image Credit: “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)]