I won’t be getting the Nokia Lumia 900.

1. I’m no longer an AT&T customer. If I were, i’d be all over the Lumia 900. I would use one of our four lines to upgrade for sure. I could become an AT&T customer again, but we just moved to Verizon 3-4 months ago. I can’t afford to pay $500 in fees to leave again.

2. Right now, I am not accepting review units from US carriers. This has to do with my current employer and trying to make sure I don’t cross into gray areas while I cover the mobile industry. Even though I have nothing to do with the wireless side of the company and I don’t represent the company, I feel it’s better this way.

3. I will accept review units from OEMs, but, as expected, other great writers on GottaBeMobile are already getting the Lumia 900 from Nokia.

4. The last option is purchasing one for full cost. A couple of years ago, I would have dropped $500+ to do this, but these days… Finances won’t allow me to do this.

I am very disappointed, but I have to deal with it.

3 things I can guarantee:

1. The review of the Nokia Lumia 900 on GottaBeMobile will be awesome. Chuong does a stellar job.

2. At $99, the Lumia 900 will do great and become a top seller.

3. If #2 is wrong, Windows Phone is in big trouble.

I totally know how Verizon customers felt like for the years that the iPhone was an exclusive on AT&T.

This post is designed to inform the followers and readers that still enjoy my opinions, videos, and reviews of devices from my days as an MVP and at Mobilitysite.

I’m not giving up, but it’s not looking pretty.

History Lesson #1

Back in 2010, I was among 30 or so invited to Microsoft’s campus to spend a day with Windows Phone a couple months before launch. Screen shot ability or the lack thereof was among the things I brought up in our sessions. I had been using the iPhone on/off for a year at this point and if you follow me on Twitter, I tweeted all sorts of interesting screen shots because iOS makes it so damn easy. I mentioned in these sessions that this is going to be something that Microsoft needs to have at launch. My points were noted, I guess.

History Lesson #2

I did a series of posts on GottaBeMobile about using Windows Phone again late 2011. I got my hands on the HTC Titan and proceeded to set it up. I had forgot all about the lack of screenshots. When I figured it out again, I was disapppointed again. I wrote a post over at GBM on how to unlock your Windows Phone using ChevronWP7. The main reason I unlocked my Titan was to be able to use a 3rd party app that gives the ability to take screenshots. It’s kind of weird to use, but it works. I can now provide friends and readers quality screenshots after going through hoops. Most Windows Phone users aren’t going to want to go through that hassle.

Case Study #1

I have a very talented friend that wants to be able to do guides and reviews of Windows Phone software, but she can’t get screen shots to accompany her content. She thinks that taking a photograph of the phone to get the screen captured is tacky and too much of a hassle. She bought a token to unlock her Windows Phone, but she doesn’t have Windows 7 to be able to run it. My friend can’t take screenies.

Because of this, this very awesome, talented writer isn’t contributing content that would really help the Windows Phone Community. I am probably more disappointed in this than she is.

Case Study #2

Jean-Louis Gassée posted a really good read about Nokia’s comeback over on Monday Note. This quote speaks directly to this topic…

I encounter my first problem when looking for ways to take screenshots for today’s note. The documentation is mute on the subject, and all Google can offer is that I need software developer tools. Is there really nothing for normal humans? I email my friends, I tweet nokia-connects (as recommended in a nice handwritten note that came with the phone)…still nothing. A simple two-button procedure, followed by a no-hands Photo Stream upload – in other words, the iPhone method — seems to be the type of solution to aspire to.

Have you ever wondered why there are 14,000 iPhone/iPod Touch app review sites out there? Well, iOS is still wildly popular, but on another level… IT IS EXTREMELY EASY TO WRITE AN iPHONE APP REVIEW BECAUSE SCREENSHOTS ARE A BREEZE!

Android used to be a bear too, but OEMs started offering ways to let users get the screen shots they want.

I am begging you Microsoft, please get this into a release soon. Hurry up and rush it into Tango? Yep, I know… not gonna happen, but here’s to hope. 

Wow. Color me impressed. Iam sure 90,000 employees are going to be happy, well at least 80% of them. I am dying to get my hands on one myself. I’ll take one off ebay when they start selling.

So, some tweets are the starters of a major unannounced announcement today. According to Neowin, several Microsoft employees are tweeting the news yesterday…

@simchabe: Woot. Every single microsoft employee will get a windows phone 7 #mgx #yam #smminds

@mitchellholder: Every #Microsoft employee will get a Windows Phone 7 …phone. Announced today at #MGX. I’m not even there but I can feel the excitement.

@ChicagoLori: All Microsoft employees get a free Windows Phone at launch!!!! #MGX

Gizmodo got their hands on an internal memo from Andy Lees, Senior VP of Mobile that confirms this too:

“With all the buzz, a lot of you are asking how you can get your hands on a phone and get more involved. So, I am thrilled to announce that a new Windows Phone 7 will be made available to every Microsoft employee as we launch in each market around the world. The process will vary based on your market, your carrier, and your launch date so stay tuned for more information closer to launch.”

What do you think about that? I think it’s hot for the employees. Will they be required to use it? All the iPhones in Redmond replaced with Windows Phone 7… NICE! I plan to replace my iPhone soon with something, might as well be an OS I want to succeed. If I recall correctly, Apple did this with the iPhone when it initially launched as well.

Engadget has posted a link to a letter explaining the ad campaign too. It’s got a progression theme.