AT&T will begin selling Windows Phone 8 smartphone models at its retail locations this Friday, Nov. 9, the official Microsoft Windows Phone Blog announced Tuesday. Online pre-orders will begin on AT&T's website on Wednesday. 

The first two models available will be the Nokia Lumia 920 for $99.99 and its smaller, less feature-rich cousin the Nokia Lumia 820, for $49.99. Finnish phonemaker Nokia is betting its future on Windows Phone 8 after its previous Windows Phone 7 model, the Nokia Lumia 900, failed to sell well, despite excellent reviews of the device. 

Meanwhile, a competing Windows Phone 8 model from Taiwanese manufacturer HTC, the Windows Phone 8X, will also be available at AT&T "before Thanksgiving," though no specific date has yet been given.