AT&T to sell Nokia Lumia 900 for $100 on April 8

 scoop There's a lot at stake for this phone, with Nokia and Microsoft betting heavily that the Lumia 900 will finally help Windows Phone break through in the U.S. market.

Nokia's Lumia 900

(Credit: Bonnie Cha/CNET)

Nokia's Lumia 900 smartphone will hit AT&T's store shelves on April 8, a move Nokia hopes will usher a return to the U.S. in a big way.

The phone will sell for $99.99 with a two-year contract, AT&T told CNET. It is one of the most affordable flagship products AT&T has ever sold.

There's a lot at stake with this launch. Nokia badly needs a buzz-worthy hit product in the U.S., a market it has struggled to operate in over the last few years despite dominating early in the cellphone business. AT&T hopes the 4G LTE-capable Lumia 900 will spark interest in its still new next-generation network. Microsoft, meanwhile, needs any Windows Phone to succeed in the market and establish some legitimacy to its platform.

The Lumia 900 faces the same challenges that many past Windows Phones have struggled to overcome, including convincing consumers that the relatively new mobile operating system is worth taking over Apple's iOS and Google's Android. The iPhone and a host of high-end Android smartphones dominate current sales