Lumia 950 and Lumia 950 XL pre-orders are being taken by B&H Photo

Yeah, damn Amazon for following the law.

He was just saying it's a way to save some money. It's not like we aren't taxed enough, and the government is great at wasting it.

Yes and No.  Companies that do business in another state are only generally required to adhere to the laws governing the state they are in.  Several states have started trying to force companies to "play ball" by various methods.  The one Amazon got caught up in places like California for instance is that they have distribution hubs everywhere so they are seen as selling the product from the hub versus the home office (like a store front for Best Buy couldn't say they were doing business in another state just because corporate may be elsewhere).  From what I remember for a time Amazon actually considered pulling the hubs out of CA but I'm guessing the cost of that versus the potential loss from people abandoning them for retail was not worth it.  

Duh! B & H are following the law too. They only chage sales tax in the states they are in just like Amazon. Amazon just happens to have a presence in almost all states now....

Not true. Amazon has actually sided with the government and wants all online stores to charge tax. They are now charging tax in several states which have no warehouse and no physical presence. Needless to say, I don't shop at Amazon anymore when I can buy the same items elsewhere and not pay the Amazon tax.

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2013/04/22/178407898/why-amazon-suppor... http://gizmodo.com/5995447/why-amazon-wants-to-make-you-pay-sales-tax

The article was about BH Photo whatever...

That is an excellent point. No Sales Tax in MA would save me $40 off this discount price. So it's a savings of $60+ for me. I think I still want to wait and see what the actual price comes out to. MSFT just dropped the price in england to $629 GBP and included a free dock so... Maybe we'll see that free dock offer as well. I bought the Lumia 1020 the week it came out for $370 after taxes on 2 year contract, granted that was in July but by Black Friday the phone was $100 on contract... I think these prices are actually a great deal even if they aren't further discounted (cheaper than an iPhone and way better than one) so I won't be too sad if I have to pay these prices but I've been burned by Microsoft too often by being an early adopter. I knew the Xbox One would drop soon after release but I still bought it for $500 with a Kinect I've never once used... Might try and show some restraint this time around (although my now really old Lumia 1020 is definitely showing its age)

Wait, you don't use your Kinect for anything? Not even powering up and down your TV and receiver, or changing the volume, or giving voice commands, or signing yourself in by sight, or joining parties, or voice chatting, or skyping, or anything else?

No nothing. I have my xbox connected to my computer. The Xbox One (which cant stand up) takes up enough space as it is. I had the kinect with the original Xbox 360 and although fun it's 100% a gimmick. You need so much space to use the features that unless you live in an unfurnished space you really can't use the kinect in a worthwhile way. The only feature I wish I could use is the "record that" function but tapping the X button is almost just as easy... I know five people with the Xbox One and none of use the Kinect.

If you've never once used it, then you don't know what you're missing. 

Just because an online store doesn't collect tax doesn't mean you aren't legally required to voluntarily remit it. You often are. So by not collecting it, they are making people lawbreakers who don't know this (or choose not to do it). :-)

The whole system is screwed up.  It's not feasable for a small retailer to collect tax at a different rate in every state or county.  It's a paper work nightmare.  There's probably .00000000001% of people in the US who actually save their receipt and remit the tax voluntairly to uncle sam.  Anyway, you go ahead and pay the Amazon tax.  I'll order from B&H or Newegg.
 

This is true, however nobody does. In Massachusetts everyone that buys something in New Hampshire (tax free) is actually legally required to submit a use on their returns tax equal to the would be sales tax in MA for whatever item they bought in NH... Talk about a shame, like MA deserves any money from the sale that NH worked at.

Did you ever get your "1050"? 

lol I meant to say 1520.  I also own a 1020 so you can see where the confusion comes in.

You ordered a 1050? I'd like to see it...

1050??

I considered using them on a purchase as they offered shipping to can. but they ran out of stock to quickly

A 1050?? Lol.

For me a looking for the best deal, free 950 by buying the display dock

Can I buy these with Bing reward points?

Black Friday should have some deal on it.

That will only happen if it is released early enough. New releases within a week of Black Friday rarely have any real deals. You might get a $10 - $30 accessory or gift card, but wouldn't get anythign major, like $100 off, or something of that sort. 

Buy one get one free.

They won't be available by BF!  Microsoft always launches it's main products in Jan-Feb, after the high sales season! Philip Kotler is crying in a corner...

The Xbox One came out in November, the Surface Book... October, my Lumia 1020... July. Microsoft does not release things at a specific time.

Cheaper than the MS store for the XL!

I dont get it, why MS isn't taking preorders here in the US?

When in 'murica?

I don't know why they aren't taking pre-orders online yet. It's funny though, because you can pre-order at a physical Microsoft Store. 

Really? I was at a Microsoft store yesterday and they told me its not available for pre order even in the store.

Interesting. I assumed all of them were doing it. I went in the day after the announcement to the Microsoft Store at the Stanford Shopping Center, and they let me pre-order it without any issues.

Was this in an alley behind a sign that said had Microsoft written on a piece of cardboard?

I am guessing that they may be waiting for FCC approval for the full set of devices before they open up the floodgates. I know I saw something about one of the 950XL models getting approved, but other than that, I haven't seen a whole lot about FCC approvals.

To my understanding, they only plan on releaseing 2 variants of each device (single and dual SIM). There wont be any carrier specific models, like what we saw with the Lumia 1520.  That being said, I'm quite certain they aren't waiting on FCC approval. They've either received this already (I think we've already seen reports about this for the 950 and 950XL), or will shortly. They are holding off on setting an official public release date until they know Windows Mobile 10 is ready, which it currently isn't. That's what's really holding things up, not the FCC. 

when india ? how much indian rupees? i hope 35k price fix

A report suggested that it will be in India before the end of the year. 950 to be priced 38k and 950 XL 43k.

The 950 is originally $549, so same price. The XL is originally $649, so only $20 discount. Should update with this information.

Yeah, I'm not sure why they put that.

Exactly what I was going to comment.

I was thinking the same!

Uhm, yeah,..me too....*confused acquiescence*

The XL was never $699

Good news

Wait a second. Is that date correct? December 15th?!?!?! What the hell is microsoft doing... They are just hell bent on killing their windows phone marketability aren't they?  

I'm almost certain that's just a placeholder date. Most places put a conservative later date when an official release date hasn't been announced yet.

I hope you're right. It's already been too long since the announcement, another month and a half would be ridiculous.

I'm disappointed as well with the poor execution of release date.  MS really has an issue with launching their products.  The Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book they somewhat did right....but for the 950, 950XL...why introduce the device, then give a vauge "early November", only to subtly change "early Novermber" to "sometime in Novermber" and then again to just, "November".  All the while, it's November and still no RELEASE DATE, let alone actual release of the phone. 

Agreed, execution could definitely be better. This is a lot liek the carrier fiasco. Microsoft needs to set a date in stone, so that speculation comes to an end. The problem is that ere have been delays with finalizing WM10. I don't think we will get a final offical release date until they are "certain" that WM10 is ready-to-go. We can only hope that it actually gets released in November. 

don't they need to wait until the shipping OS is ready before they can get FCC approval?  

http://wmpoweruser.com/lumia-950-xl-pass-through-the-fcc/

Not usually. The FCC doesn't really care about the OS, to my knowledge. They are just verifying the hardware, and providing their approval based on that. That's probably why the FCC never has to approve of an OS update for existing hardware, they really don't care about the software side. 

Copy-Paste of my reply to a similar comment:  Few important thigns to note: 1) Site like B&H like to use conservative release dates, especially if they do not have permision to give the actual official release date. Thisjust means it will be released by Dec. 15th. 2) Not everyone can sell a device at the same time. Amazon could start selling it on say Nov. 17th (Random date I just pulled off the top of my head, not actually based on any data), even though B&H may not release it until Dec. 15th. This kind of thing happens all the time. 3) This is not an official date provided by Microsoft, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. As I noted already, it's a conservative or potentially speculative date from the retailer. 4) Microsoft stated it would be available in November, so until they say otherwise, hold off on the "freakout session". 5) It's actually pretty common that devices are announced a month or so ebfore being avaialble. Samsung is notorius for making customers wait 1 - 2 months. Google made users wait a month for the new Nexus devices. This isn't just a "Microsoft thing". 

Conspicuously missing from your post is Apple. When is an iPhone announced without a release date? And when is that date more than two months off? The iPhone is the one to beat. Microsoft needs to do it better than Apple if they hope to have a chance. What should be positive buzz turns into aggravating reminders of a device that people want but can't have. I get at least 5-10 tweets a day about the new Lumias (many of which have old 8.1 screenshots -- another issue). It's become annoying because no one knows when (or even if) they'll be able to get these devices -- to say nothing of whether they'll be available on their carrier. It's poor execution, plain and simple.

I intentionally left out Apple, as they are the only one (most of the time) that releases within a week or two of an Announcement event. I didn't feel it was necessary to single them out, as the point I was trying to make was regarding the general delay between announcing and releaseing new hardware. However, even Apple's release time-frames has changed quite a bit, too. Look at the Apple Watch, which launch ~6 months after being announced. The New Apple TV is just now launching, well over a month after being announced. The iPad Pro just finally got it's release date a few days ago, again well over a month after being announced. This isn't just a Microsoft thing. It is an industry thing.  I agree that Apple is "The one to beat" in many ways. But, that doesn't mean that everything Apple does is the Golden Standard.  Lastly, your point: "I get at least 5-10 tweets a day about the new Lumias (many of which have old 8.1 screenshots -- another issue). It's become annoying because no one knows when (or even if) they'll be able to get these devices". Again, this is an industry wide issue. How many years was the Apple Watch or iPad Pro rumored? The only solution to this problem is to force media outlets to only cover existing products, which are already available on the market (never going to happen!), or to announce something the minute a rumor comes out (which would still lead to waiting utnil it actually comes out). I wou;dn't point blame about this at an OEM, because this is really out of their control. Heck, I see click-bait on a daily basis about the rumored Surfacec Phone. Is the Microsofts fault? No. Should they announce the device even though it's no where near ready and would kill potential Lumia 950/950XL sales? Heck no. 

The Lumia 950 and 950XL are not rumoured... They are announced.

I never said they were. That part of my comment was based off of this statement: "It's become annoying because no one knows when (or even if) they'll be able to get these devices", which to me implies rumored devices. 

My reply was actually in reference to this point of your comment "How many years was the Apple Watch or iPad Pro rumored?"  I am simply saying the two aren't comparable because these are not rumored, they are officially announced.

The tweets I'm talking about are coming from Microsoft. @lumia primarily.

Microsoft's mobile phone division doesn't have the same resources that Apple does, due to having significantly lower sales volume. Apple can secure materials, suppliers and distributors well in advance, Microsoft can't. Simple as that. Of course they would love to do the same. Also, in this case it's about priorities, the Microsoft priority was the Windows 10 OS and hardware for the Surface models. Since both Mobile and PC OS share code, I'm sure the Mobile OS had to take a backseat, and it seems to be delayed. I don't think that impacts sales much right now, to be honest.

Valid point. Apple uses iPhones now as one of its main cash-cows. The iPhone division has more resources than just about any other division. Sadly, the same cannot be said about Microsofts Lumia division. However, I think now that Panos is in charge of all hardware, we may soon see improvements in this, like we did with the Surface line. One can hope, at least. 

Microsoft is a huge company with tons of cash. Just like Apple. If Microsoft wants to become relevant in the mobile phone market once again they need to allocate more funds to get things done. The lets "feel it out" method doesn't work anymore. When you're competing with existing brands in a well established market you have to make a big push. This is something Microsoft could absolutely due but are reluctant to execute because... they're incompetent? I really don't have an answer here... They did the same thing with the Xbox One. so short-sighted, what Microsoft should have done is given the Xbox One away, the amount of money you can make from game sales on your console and subscriptions to services on your console far outweighs the onetime money you made on selling (not selling) your Xbox One for $500... They lost out to Sony in a big way and now they are paying the price. I'm not saying pricing the issue with the Lumias, (I as well as many long time windows phone users I think feel it's a good value) but there's always something Microsoft does to give itself a competitive disadvantage...

It isn't an issue Microsoft can just throw money at. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Give the xboxes away?? Haha I'm glad you're not in charge of my company

You're short sighted as well. Microsoft lost out on all the users who went PS4 and don't buy two consoles... Maybe not free (because then the slickdeals guys would stockpile systems, lol) but no more than $200. Oh and including a rechargeable f*cking controller would have been a nice touch too.

Remind me Forjo.. When was the iPad Pro announced? Have you gone and purchased one yet? Oh ya, nobody has.. .becuase you can't. Meanwhile the Surface Pro 4 and Surface Book are readily available (actually, mostly sold out).
Get over yourself. Take a breath and relax.

Remind me, is the iPad Pro a phone? I specifically cited the way Microsoft is handling Windows Phone devices vs Apple's handling of iPhone releases. Surface announcement vs availability has been improving since the long wait for the first Surface. It's better, but still flawed. i7 Surface Pros are still not available, which was not clear during the announcement. I know. My local MS store manager has had to notify preorder customers separately. For years, Windows Phone devices have been selectively available and very often delayed, or even discontinued depending on market and carrier. Yet iPhones can be had on just about every carrier world wide. The bottom line is that with Windows Phone, the phone you want on the carrier you want is rarely available -- especially in Microsoft's home country. As for me, I'm quite relaxed and breathing comfortably, thank you very much.

Don't you think because the phones are hard to sell?

True.  Thanks for your points, does keep things in perspective.  I will say however that I'm not as drama-filled as some are about the release date and certainly am not having a "freakout session".  I'm just merely stating what many are thinking and it definitely doesn't bode well for MS's image as they try to revive their mobile landscape.  Taking all your points into consideration, I still think MS isn't helping itself with the slow release of this device.  Yes, I know it might not be an uncommon thing to be available a month or so after being announced.  Yes, I understand MS saying it will be available in November still means they are still within their promised announcement schedule.  All of that is valid.  But just because they can wait until November 30th to release the device and claim they are within their bounded announcement period doesn't mean it helps them any.  Just because other companies announce a product well before it is available doesn't mean MS should.  MS is in a unique spot, in that, they need to change the perception of their Mobile divison.  That's just my opinion though. 

Appologies if the "freakout-session" line came off a bit harsh. It wasn't necessarily directed at you, but people in general, who are freaking out over this, as if it was an official date announced by Microsoft. 

*sigh* you just don't get it do you...? =[

My guess is att is to blame in some way

They put Dec 15 because it's closer to Jan 15 when the phones will be available. In the meantime I saw OnePlus X, 5" display, 3Gb RAM, Snapdragon 801 etc all for $250. Not too shabby ei? Microsoft seems to be a giant with clay legs. Wish it was different.

OnePlus is garbage... Android is garbage.

629$ = 570€ !!! That is f..king cheap for 3% nation, so unfair.

DECEMBER!!??? WTF!! im so sick of these f'ing late release dates from Microsoft.... A WHOLE TWO MONTHS FROM ANNOUNCEMENT!!

It's the Microsoft way. Same old. Same old. I understand the OS isn't ready and all that but their timing has been historically bad. I thought with so much excitement, anticipation, and delay they would learn from the past with an announce, then release launch. Nope. Announce and then wait for it.... November.

Well it's not really the Microsoft way anymore, since the Surface Pro 4, Surface Book and Band 2 were all announced with a 3-4 week release date.
It's just a phone problem

I'm disappointed as well with the poor execution of release date. 

This isn't Microsoft's release date.

Few important thigns to note: 1) Site like B&H like to use conservative release dates, especially if they do not have permision to give the actual official release date. Thisjust means it will be released by Dec. 15th. 2) Not everyone can sell a device at the same time. Amazon could start selling it on say Nov. 17th (Random date I just pulled off the top of my head, not actually based on any data), even though B&H may not release it until Dec. 15th. This kind of thing happens all the time. 3) This is not an official date provided by Microsoft, so it should be taken with a grain of salt. As I noted already, it's a conservative or potentially speculative date from the retailer. 4) Microsoft stated it would be available in November, so until they say otherwise, hold off on the "freakout session". 5) It's actually pretty common that devices are announced a month or so ebfore being avaialble. Samsung is notorius for making customers wait 1 - 2 months. Google made users wait a month for the new Nexus devices. This isn't just a "Microsoft thing". 

The difference here is that those companies have a huge following. They don't need to get back market share. The Lumia 950 and 950XL need to save Windows Phone... Microsoft took 2 years to make these damn things and the time has come to set them free and their stuck in the mud.

Has it ever changed? This is not some parallel dimension we have suddenly transferred to...yes, you're right, it's SO far away but I like that I will get this around my Windows Phone-iversary in December anyway. =]

Actually its over 2 months since it was announced on the 6th of October to December 15. That would be 2 Months and 9 days...

i am hoping display dock included with purchase from ms store

They aim to make money, so not likely...sorry. =[

I'll try to hold out until around Christmas for an under $500 off contract 950 XL deal or a great AT&T trade in bundle offer. But until then my Lumia 830 will suffice.

You might have to wait until next Christmas then.

Wow in that when released they will cost 399 and 450 dollar

Coming soon

I  can only assume Microsoft will sell for these prices too in their own stores. I signed up to get one from there when they are released, but I will probably wait until my Verizon contract expires in April, and my Icon will have to do... wonder how much the XL is by then.

It seems fair to point out that the OS is not quite ready, but with 3 insider builds having coming in rapid order I believe the release to be in the next couple weeks. Right before w10 came out they clustered builds in rapid order too. Here's hoping.

No black?

Is it safe to assume these have the t-mobile LTE bands?

Check their bands from the specs

Unfortunately the B&H page does not provide the specs. The Microsoft page provides the specs, but as happened on the 1520 not all the variants had the same frequencies.

The issue with the 1520 was that there were carrier varriants (AT&T), plus all sorts of international varriants and custom variants (like the 1520.3 or whatever it was called). To my understanding, the US does not have a special varriant, and I don't beleive AT&T's has anythign different, other than the AT&T logo.  But I agree, that it's still good to do a "Sanity check" and verify support. :)

Yes they do.

Yes even band 12

I called them and they could not confirm or deny that the dock would be included in their pre-order.

lol.. "I just work here" moment right there.

MS is a mysterious company.. :)

I first seen the 950XL for $629 on the Microsoft site awhile back , that's no discount.

Are you sure that wasn't in pounds?

I am done with the Windows Phone. I am going to the Nexus 6P.
I have supported this OS since Windows 7. And I loved it. I liked the tile system, liked the simplicity.
However since WP7, Microsoft's effort has slowly dwindled. The most telling sign about their lack of drive was the conference in October. The Band 2 got a more passionate announcement than the new Lumias.
Besides Continuum the new phones aren't doing anything drastically different, they're still far behind.
The company that worked hard to turn around the fortunes for WP's was Nokia, and we all know how that went down. It is a shame really Nokia would have prospered if they put that much effort behind Android.
I will still be following windows phones, hoping that Microsoft will turn the phones fortunes around. I don't even think a Surface branded phone will do much. In fact, I think the Windows Phone OS will harm the Surface brand if anything.

Bye!

I've left for now to a Note 5. Painful decision but can't wait any longer...and been waiting since we'll before WP7. The Microsoft Ecosystem Works remarkably well on the Note 5. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Whatever dude... =\

It's cool, this was my attitude too when people criticized Windows Phone in the past too.

K.

C'ya

Why 6P? Take a look at OnePlus X for $250.

Yes sir , I waiting for the 950XL not waiting to exhale!

Excellent wordplay...lol ;p

Both are listed as DUAL SIM :-)

Even Blackberry announced the Priv will be released Nov 6. For God's sake, BLACKBERRY is beating MS for phone announce/release windows. How utterly pathetic!! That being said, yes, I'm impatiently waiting for the U.S. release but, they sure as he don't make it easy.

Key Difference: Priv has Android which is already out...950 will use Windows 10, which up until now is still in preview for phones...so that's why. It's not hard, once you really stop. Breathe. Think. Eureka! =D

They should have it ready tho. That's Microsoft faults not the buyers.

Last time I checked Microsoft said in November. So they haven't done anything wrong as of yet.

Another reminder, Blackberry has been a hardware manufacturer for a LONG time. Microsoft has dropped like two low-end phones since the Nokia acquisition (the 640 and 535). They're effectively doubling their phone lineup with this release and I'm sure the want it to go well. Relax...

Blackberry is a serious hard-working company. Please do not compare Blackberry to Microsoft.

More reasonable prices, really hope the pricing in Sweden changes some... Expensive here

B&H photo is my favorite shop! I'd like to pitch a tent in front of the online store and await the 950xl!

You're gonna pitch a tent? In front of your computer?

In his pants, no less. :P

Who's stopping you?

These are the Dual Sim Model numbers.  Psych!

If US market will start shipping by Dec15, then I expect the 950XL will hit Saudi Arabian retailers' store by Jan/Feb2016. The iPhone6S Plus is really a great temptation when it is already readily available here.

If you think the iPhone is tempting why haven't you bought it already? Personally I don't think it's tempting at all but to each their own I guess.

It may actually come out before that.

iPhone a temptation over an 950xl? Hmmmm

I want 950 sooo much

Never in Chile...

So with all these preorder prices being lower than originally announced, does that mean Microsoft has lowered the prices?

Cool. I really like B&H so I may order from them.

I already preordered my 950XL from B&H last week.

XL is $650 in Microsoft Store not $699, same for 950 it's $550. You got your prices wrong windows central !!!!

I want to know did they Improve the audio output on these devices because on my 1520 audio sounds low and extremely low quality

I'm surprised I was the first guy to catch this posting. Glad to see this post is the most commented on today. Glad I could contribute to Windows Central. Thanks for giving my props for the post.

That site is a joke , thier app isn't even available for the Windows platform, I wouldn't order anything from that b&h.

B&H is great store. If you stop in NYC, you've got to check out their store. It's a nerd's paradise. Just use their website. What did you do before "apps" existed?

He used to live in a cardbox :) still does :)

If you rely on apps for every single thing then windows phone is not for you. I've come to release that you don't really need apps, much of what I do is taken care of by the OS itself and built in programs. Yea I won't be able to play the latest 2 week fad of flappy bird or what-have-you but I'm a grown up so I don't really care. I'd rather visit a well built mobile site than have my program list polluted with a bunch of one purpose apps.

The 950XL is $649 on the US Microsoft Store site.

Little off topic, but I'm having a hard time choosing between steak or chicken tonight. Any thoughts?

Wrap it in lettuce.

It will be interesting to see if these phones can outsell the new Blackberry. Posted via the Windows Central App for Android

Really doubt.

Wen in Malaysia???

They should have the continuum dock bundle for the same price like in EU.