Verizon Wireless Nokia Lumia Icon Review
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Our friends over at Verizon Wireless have sent us the Nokia Lumia Icon for us to review. Now the Icon was a much rumored and leaked device, they final confirmed it late last month. It could be considered the answer to Verizon’s call and want for a flagship Windows Phone device. It brings a powerhouse Windows Phone device when you look at the specifications on paper. Does it translate in to a power house device in real life? Keep reading to see our full thoughts and if this is true.
Design
Like most Lumia devices, they have a build to it and can be considered a small brick. This does not look like the bricks or cobblestones you would get at your local home improvement store. This is a crafted piece of stone, if you will. The Icon comes in either black or white. In terms of design, it doesn’t truly become an icon of all of the Windows Phone made. It certainly becomes the one with the best design for the carrier. To give it a higher end design frame, Verizon and Nokia teamed up and moved away from the polycarbonate design for the entire device. Instead you get a polycarbonate back and the sides of the device move to a higher end material; aluminum encases the sides including the top and bottom. It does add some weight to the device, which comes in at 167 grams. In black the aluminum blends in to the polycarbonate and vice versa. The total thickness of the device is 9.8 millimeters, so much larger than the other devices on the market. The black device looks very simple, there is not too much going on, which helps the design out. Those looking for a very thin device, will take a very long time to get used to the Icon. While it appears to be the Icon in terms of Windows Phone on Verizon, it doesn’t change the game of design.
Hardware
For Verizon, the Lumia Icon is the first device to use a nano SIM card. This is what gives you access to the lightning fast 4G LTE network. Since Verizon covers most of the country, you will get to enjoy these speeds almost anywhere in the US. With their new MORE Everything plans, you get larger data allotments and a stronger bandwidth. I was very pleased with the network connection from Verizon on the Icon.
Nokia is known for their displays and luckily for Verizon, the display on the Icon has the ClearBlack Technology. In one word the display is superb, in almost any environment. Even in direct sunlight, the screen stays clear, although some glare may appear. It is a 5-inch Full HD True Color display, that means a resolution of 1920 X 1080 and 441 pixels per inch. You can view the images you take with the 20 megapixel camera. I was very impressed with the display on the Icon, this might be the best feature of the device. One last mention to the display, in that the edges don’t end with a rim, the display curves over to the side.
Lower end Windows Phone are usually powered by old and slower dual-core processors and they run pretty well. Imagine what would happen if you put a supreme quad-core processor in that device. That is what happened with the Lumia Icon, Verizon and Nokia set out to build a super fast device. You get a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon Quad-Core processor. This means high-end graphics games run smoothly and you won’t see lag. The processor pairs very nicely with the Verizon 4G LTE network.
Verizon 4G LTE is not the only connectivity found on the Icon. Nokia has always been a big fan of wireless charging and it kind of created the craze about it. From partnering with Fatboy and JBL for some unique wireless charging products. Wireless charging is built-in to the Icon and it uses the Qi standard. NFC or near field communications, Bluetooth 4.0, and WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac are here as well.
You don’t get the 40 megapixel camera found on the Lumia 1020, instead you get a 20 megapixel camera on the Icon. It performs just as well and I was really impressed. I would suggest you head over to a Verizon store just to play around with this camera. The 20 megapixel camera features Carl Zeiss Optics and it is a PureView camera as well. If you want to talk about video capture, the Icon appears to now be the phone to beat, at least for sound quality. You have four microphones, yes four, on the Lumia Icon. This great sound capturing technology get paired with nice optics. Then you can view your film and photos on the 5-inch Full HD display. On the front you get a 1.2 megapixel camera that works nicely for selfies or video calling. It has a 1280 X 960 pixel setup and is a wide-angle lens.
Software
Running out of the box on the Lumia Icon is Windows Phone 8.0 with all of the latest updates from Nokia as well. Microsoft owns Nokia now, so their relationship will be growing even more. Nokia Windows Phones give you some awesome features and exclusive applications. Like the Nokia Pro Cam which helps you make the most of the 20 megapixel camera. Basically it can turn your device into a DSLR camera, with all of the new settings and features it gives you. The software experience on the Icon is amazing and while the application store is still limiting, it is still a nice experience.
HERE Drive+ gives you navigation right out of the box, it uses Nokia’s HERE technology for the mapping. One of the nicest modes, is My Commute. This learns your daily commute, as well as the routes you take the most, so going to the pharmacy or visiting the post office. It looks ahead at the traffic and gives you an alternative route to take. It will appear as a live tile on your display, letting you make the most of the info it provides.
In terms of the pre-loaded applications on the device you will find Alarms, App Highlights, Bing Finance, Bing News, Bing Sports, Bing Weather, Calculator, Calendar, Camera, Creative Studio, Data Sense, Games, Help+Tips, HERE Maps, Internet Explorer, Messaging, Music+Videos, My Verizon Mobile, NFL Mobile, Nokia Care, Nokia Cinemagraph, Nokia Music, Nokia Pro Cam, Nokia Screen Banner, Nokia StoryTeller, Office, OneNote, People, Phone, Photos, Settings, Store, Verizon Tones, Voicemail, VZ Navigator, Wallet, and Weather. Many of the applications that don’t appear to you, can be hidden or removed.
Bottom Line
The Verizon Wireless Nokia Lumia Icon is a sweet device. While it is not the Icon of all the devices available, it does through up a change in design for the Windows Phone on Verizon. While it is a thick device, it gives a modern and simple design twist to the lineup. I do have to say that Lumia Icon is currently the Best Windows Phone Device on the market and certainly the best on Verizon Wireless. When you pair all of the excellent hardware with the excellent software features, it really transforms into an excellent product. Verizon and Nokia took their time to make sure the Icon was a good device and their hard work paid off. The Verizon Lumia Icon retails for $199.99 with a contract, for $23.06 with Verizon Edge, and for $549.99 with no contract. Click Here To Get Your Verizon Wireless Lumia Icon! We would like to thank Verizon Wireless for providing us with a copy of the “Verizon Wireless Nokia Lumia Icon”.
