It looks like our mini-prediction was right, and Samsung did decide to pull the rug out from underneath the Nokia hype to announce its own Windows Phone 8 beast today! Say hello to the Samsung Ativ S, the first of a wave of new devices incoming from Microsoft's hardware partners.

Announced during their highly anticipated Unpacked press event at IFA 2012 in Berlin today, the Ativ S is essentially the Galaxy S III with Windows Phone at its core. It definitely carries that comparison without hesitation with a monstrous 4.8" HD Super AMOLED screen, a dual-core 1.5 GHz Snapdragon processor, and 1 GB of RAM making the Ativ S the most powerful (and largest) Windows Phone device yet. In the camera department there's an 8-megapixel rear camera capable of shooting video up to 1080p HD, as well as a front-facing 1.9-megapixel camera.

Yes, there are even more specs to get through. The Ativ S touts Corning Gorilla Glass 2, which means its screen will be impervious to most of life's bumps and bruises. Then there's a feature that we know many are going to be excited about: MicroSD card support! The best part? It expands upon the already spacious 16 and 32 GB options that will go on sale. The Ativ S also throws in NFC support for all of the neat new functionality the technology unlocks in WP8. Finally, all of this is wrapped up in a smartphone that's just 8.7 mm thin -- it's actually the thinnest Windows Phone ever.


Where the Ativ S deviates from its Android counterpart is its construction, which is actually lightweight brushed aluminium instead of the high gloss plastic found on the Galaxy S III. Another awesome design feature that we're geeking out over? The new Windows Phone Start button on the face of the device and the logo on the back. It looks pretty awesome if you ask us.

We're very excited to see Samsung go all out with the hardware this go around, and as the day progresses we'll make sure to highlight all of the press coverage the device will receive in our Preview Roundup segment. In the meantime, we recommend you read the Windows Phone Blog post, featuring a very detailed hands-on of the Ativ S. More images after the break!

Source: Samsung Tomorrow, Windows Phone Blog