Samsung is all set to add to its growing portfolio of both Android and Windows Phone 8 (WP8) based devices. On Monday, Oct. 29, Microsoft's CEO Steve Ballmer disclosed that the Samsung-made ATIV Odyssey, which runs on WP8 and will be coming to U.S. carrier Verizon in December.

However, Ballmer did not disclose any other details with regards to pricing or specifications of the smartphone. The ATIV Odyssey will join HTC's Windows Phone 8X and Nokia's Lumia 822 in Verizon's Windows Phone 8 line up. It is poised to become Samsung's first WP8 offering.

A device called the Odyssey initially surface in the court documents between Samsung and Apple in July this year. According to the documents, the Odyssey was said to sport a 4.65-inch SuperAMOLED HD display and a 1.5GHz processor. The smartphone would also feature an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 2-megapixel front-facing snapper. The Samsung Odyssey was also said to pack in NFC and 4G LTE support.

Additionally, rumors have also suggested that the Odyssey was a codename for the ATIV S, which Samsung unveiled in August this year at the IFA event. The Samsung phone was touted as the world's first WP8 handset.

However, the specifications of the ATIV S and the Odyssey revealed in the court documents are different, which raises the question that they may be two separate devices.

The ATIV S sports a 4.8-inch Super AMOLED display with 1280 x 720 pixels resolution. The smartphone has a 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera and a 1.9-megapixel front-facing one. The ATIV S will be NFC enabled and have a microSD slot for additional storage.

With Microsoft indicating that a December release date set for the ATIV Odyssey is on the cards, enthusiasts would soon know what Verizon and Samsung have in store for consumers.