Nokia could be on the highway to hell and be about to start a few fires with its Windows Phone 8 handsets. That's the word according to The Verge anyway, which is reporting that Nokia is  preparing two new Windows Phone phones for AT&T: The Nokia Prodigy and the Nokia AC/DC.

Citing "sources close to the company's plans", the report says the Nokia Prodigy will be a Windows 8 "superphone" and the AC/DC aimed at the mid-range masses.

A promotional video - starring Joe Belfiore, Microsoft senior vice-president and Windows Phone product manager and leaked last month - seemed to detail Windows Phone 8.

Dubbed Apollo, the new OS will supposedly see several hardware spec changes to the Microsoft mobile operating system including support for multicore processors, new screen resolutions and the ability to expand a Windows Phone's memory via microSD.

Other specs mentioned included NFC support for contactless payments, a wallet experience and a reworking of the camera and photo elements of the operating system.

HTC has already confirmed to Pocket-lint that it plans to launch new Windows Phone devices when Microsoft reveals the public availability of Windows Phone Apollo later this year.

The HTC chaps are going to have to think up some better names than Nokia's efforts though. After all, it's a long way to the top and that's the way it is.