The Windows Phone 8 (WP8)-powered Samsung ATIV Odyssey has finally landed on carrier US Cellular.
Samsung is one of the four WP8 handset makers in the smartphone space, but the company has only a few WP8 smartphones available on the market. The ATIV Odyssey was previously exclusive to Verizon but it is now widening its reach and is available on US Cellular as well.
The arrival of the Samsung ATIV Odyssey on US Cellular has not come as much of a surprise, as the carrier previously announced it on Twitter.
"Good news, we will be launching the Samsung ATIV Odyssey by early July. Are you eligible to upgrade?," read the tweet.
The ATIV Odyssey is the first WP8 smartphone joining U.S. Cellular's lineup. Until now, the carrier only had the Windows Phone 7.5-powered ZTE Render in its Windows Phone portfolio. The addition of the Samsung ATIV Odyssey will likely attract more customers looking out for a decent WP8 smartphone on the carrier.
US Cellular is selling the ATIV Odyssey with a $49.99 price tag on a new two-year contract or for $99.99 on eligible upgrades. However, customers can't pay for the handset outright.
Previously, Verizon was selling the ATIV Odyssey for $49.99 on a two-year contract but now the carrier is offering the handset for free on a two-year contract. Those who wish to buy the handset from Verizon without any contract, meanwhile, will have to splash $449.99.
The ATIV Odyssey packs in decent features for its category. The smartphone sports a 4-inch Super AMOLED display with 480 x 800 pixels resolution, a Qualcomm processor clocked at 1.5GHz, a 5-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.2-megapixel front-facing camera.
The handset also has 2,100 mAh battery, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of internal storage expandable up to 64GB via a microSD card. The handset measures 4.82 x 2.51 x 0.43 inches and weighs 4.41 ounces.
The ATIV Odyssey may seem appealing to customers looking for a WP8 handset particularly on US Cellular. However, with the availability of other WP8-powered handsets such as the Lumia 925, Lumia 928, Lumia 920 and more, the US Cellular version of the ATIV Odyssey may find it difficult to lure many customers.
