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NEW YORK - The wireless industry is buzzing about the prominence of the first Windows Phone 8 smartphones in carriers' marketing plans, the growing selection of smartphone/tablet hybrids, and the launch of HTC's 5-inch smartphone, the company's biggest-screen phone to date.
The industry is also talking about the price of AT&T's Nokia Lumia 820, which at $49 suggests that carriers are trying to wean themselves off highly subsidized Apple iPhones.
Some of the new phones are exclusive to select carriers, including the $99 Galaxy Express and the 8GB version of HTC's Windows Phone 8X at AT&T, the Nokia Lumia 822 and Samsung Ativ Odyssey Windows phone at Verizon, and a T-Mobile-locked version of Google's LG-made Nexus 4.
Other hot new phones for the selling season include the first quad-core LTE phones, the Samsung Galaxy Note II and the LG Optimus G.
Phones that users draw on a screen with a finger or stylus - such as the Samsung Galaxy Note II, LG Mach at Sprint, and Verizon's LG Spectrum 2 - are also getting carriers' promotional attention.
Many of the new smartphones are priced at $99, including LG's 4.7-inch Spectrum 2 Android 4.0 smartphone for the Verizon network.
The Verizon-exclusive HTC xxxx, however, is priced at $xxx, given its screen size, pixel that's greater than that of the iPhone or Samsung Galaxy Sill.
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