While the shopping experience for a particular phone isn’t usually worth mentioning, I will here since the Nokia Lumia 1020 is an AT&T exclusive. To be honest, I’m really not a fan of carrier exclusives. At best they lock a phone into moderate success and bring their carrier some new subscribers for a few months. At worst, they can spell disaster.
For there to be any success, the product has to be compelling, and the carrier has to be invested in selling it. Thankfully, my shopping experience at AT&T gave me hope that they won’t be shoving the Lumia 1020 in the corner in favor of the iPhone or flagship Android offerings.
When I went to the Hillsboro Pike AT&T Store in Nashville to buy the Lumia 1020, they had a display with the black and yellow demo models prominently displayed. It was also clear to me that the store staff had received some training on the features of the phone, because they were very aware of its unique camera features without any prompting from me. They also had the black Camera Grip accessory in stock on launch day, which actually surprised me.
I saw even more evidence of AT&T’s commitment to back the Lumia 1020 when I was doing a little preliminary research on the device. Usually going to an AT&T Store to do that is an exercise in futility, but another location that I visited a week before the launch was well aware of the product. In fact, the lady that I spoke with already had hands-on time with the device, and sung the praises of its camera.
That surprised me more than anything else, because I’ve never gotten anything but blank looks when I ask about coming products. AT&T’s reputation is typically spotty in these areas to say the least, so I didn’t look past the fact that I had a really good experience at two different locations hundreds of miles apart.
What have your experiences been like when buying new Windows Phone device on launch day (or any other day)? Did you have a similar experience when buying the Lumia 1020? Let us know in the comments below!
