Sprint could be first in US for Samsung Ativ S and HTC 'Tiara'

Sprint is about to get its second and third Windows Phone handsets (after the Windows 7 phone HTC Arrive) at the beginning of summer, and it could be the first U.S. carrier to handle either device, according to a new report.

Sprint announced in January that Samsung and HTC will each bring a Windows Phone 8 device to the carrier "by summer," and The Verge said today that those devices will be Samsung's Ativ S and HTC's rumored "Tiara."

If the site is correct, Sprint will be the first U.S. carrier to nab Samsung's Ativ S. And considering that HTC's Tiara hasn't been seen yet outside of unofficial leaks, it seems safe to guess that an arrival on Sprint this summer could be that phone's first appearance as well.

Both devices are expected to arrive on Sprint in May or June, according to The Verge.

Samsung Ativ S: false starts

Samsung's 4.8-inch Ativ S Windows Phone 8 handset was originally rumored for a release last November before delays pushed it into 2013.

The snappy Ativ S still hasn't been released in the U.S., but according to The Verge that will finally change in May or June.

The site added that the U.S. version will differ slightly from the Ativ S released worldwide, with an altered exterior and internal components that "will remain largely the same."

We asked Samsung why it's taken so long and whether they can reveal anything in light of this report, but we've yet to hear back.

HTC 'Tiara:' the first GDR2 phone

The existence of HTC's "Tiara" (it's unclear whether that's its official name) was first hinted at one month ago at the end of February.

Little was revealed at the time, besides whispers of specs like a 1.2GHz dual-core Snapdragon chip, a 4.3-inch Super WVGA LCD2 display, 1GB of memory, 8GB of storage, and a 1800mAh battery.

So it's HTC's Windows Phone 8 equivalent to the Ice Cream Sandwich-powered HTC One SV? Maybe.

Either way, it's also rumored to be the first device coming with Microsoft's second General Distribution Releases update (GDR2) to Windows Phone 8.

If GDR2 is the second minor update to WP8, then that makes it the follow-up to "Portico," which we suppose makes Portico GDR1.

Anyway. In addition to reaching out to Samsung, we asked HTC and Sprint for their comments on this report. A spokesperson for Sprint referred us to the carrier's January announcement, and an HTC spokesperson reminded us that they don't comment on rumors.