Nokia Ace Leaked Through Holiday Greeting Video

Tweet

Nokia’s unannounced Ace Windows Phone 7 smartphone may have been revealed early, thanks to a Christmas greeting video by one of Microsoft’s partners. Not much has emerged, although the video suggests a front-facing camera, among other design updates.

A Microsoft partner has recently sent out a video Christmas greeting with the central figure being a Nokia-branded AT&T smartphone reminiscent of the Nokia Lumia 800. But there are certain differences, such as a front-facing camera, a 4G logo, and of course the A&T branding. The smartphone also features a few changes in the bezel.

According to Supersite for Windows‘ Paul Thurott, the Nokia Ace will be one of Microsoft’s LTE Windows Phone 7 releases in the U.S. in 2012, along with the HTC Radiant and Samsung Mendel. Due to launch March, 2012, the Ace will also be Nokia’s second Windows Phone 7 model to be released in the U.S., after T-Mobile’s Lumia 710. The Nokia Ace will launch prior to Microsoft’s upcoming Tango update. However, as highlighted in the company’s 2012 roadmap for WP7, Tango is meant to bring WP7 to the low-end to mid-range phones, so it’s not clear whether Tango will be required to support LTE, which is considered a high-end feature in smartphones. Either way, Microsoft has historically been quick in releasing updates, so prompt Tango updates are not unlikely.

But apart from news of the Ace getting a late Q1 to early Q2 2012 release, Thurott has also referred to the model as the Nokia Lumia 900 on Twitter, meaning non-U.S. markets might also expect a higher-end smartphone variant from Nokia with 4G support.