NOKIA Lumia Icon Pro Reviews

The Lumia Icon is a phone that gets the job done with the nice perk of having a high-resolution camera. Battery life is good, and call quality is solid. Those are pretty critical, basic pieces of must-haves when it comes to modern smartphones. However, the Lumia Icon falls short in some areas, and some of those areas aren't its fault (like having Windows Phone 8 as an operating system). The camera could be a little better, the display needs to be on par with the top smartphones in the market today - especially if you're going to name a phone "Icon" - and it could shave a little size and weight. If you're already committed to the Windows Phone 8 ecosystem and platform, and you're an existing Verizon customer or looking to hop on board, there's really nothing I can say to sway you away from the Lumia Icon. It's a good Windows Phone 8 device, but there are certainly better smartphones out there. The Lumia Icon is available now for Verizon for $199 with a 2-year agreement for those interested. At this point, there's no reason to buy any other Windows Phone 8 device on Verizon. This is the one you want.

You could accuse Nokia and Verizon of tempting fate, hopping off the traditional numbered Lumia naming scheme and giving their new phone an ambitious title like Icon. To do so invites all manner of comparisons, and while Nokia's Icon may be one of its more beautifully crafted phones, little things like over-badging, some glitches in how the camera performs, and the overall bulk mean it's not quite ready for sainthood. What's iconic to one is unimpressive to another, however, and that's just as true in religion as it is in the near-religious segmentation of iOS fans, Android fans, and Windows Phone fans. For the latter group, the Lumia Icon is to our mind the best option among devices running Microsoft's platform, without the undercapitalized bulk of the 1520 or the performance compromises of the 1020.Nokia and Windows Phone as a whole need to do more than just convince existing converts, though, and there the Icon faces a bigger challenge. There's a taste among consumers for bigger screens, a box which Nokia has ticked, and we can't question the performance; the camera too is highly capable. Side by side in-store, the initial bulk - albeit very well constructed bulk - could prove a turn-off when compared with other devices. As with any good icon, then, the Lumia Icon can't simply show up and expect to be worshipped. Nokia will need to make sure the sales staff out in stores are proselytizing its message if it wants what's a great smartphone to get the attention it both needs and deserves.

There are obvious benefits picking up the handset that’s the newer of the two, so in this particular case, it would be the Nokia Lumia Icon. For starters, it bears newer hardware that’s more befitting of a high-end smartphone – albeit, the Galaxy S4’s hardware is still widely regarded as top notch. Secondly, you get that sense of freshness too with Nokia’s latest Lumia, especially when its design is uncharacteristic of other Lumias. Now, if we’re to look at their current pricing through Verizon, we begin to see a big discrepancy between them. Almost a year old at this point, the 32GB Galaxy S4’s on-contract price of $149.99 seems out of character in comparison to the $200 price attached to the newer Lumia Icon. Moreover, there’s even a bigger disparity with their off-contract pricing, which is set for $550 for the Icon and $650 for the Galaxy S4. It’s mind boggling to see that the Galaxy S4 is priced higher than the Lumia Icon – so the decision will primarily hinge on whether or not you want to pick them up with or without a contract. Although there are secondary features offered by the Galaxy S4 that enhances the experience, like its IR blaster that turns it into a remote, some people wouldn’t place them highly on the list of being crucial to a smartphone’s likeability. As the dust settles, we’d give the Lumia Icon the benefit of the doubt at the moment of being the more prized device. Then again, the platform experience will greatly influence the choice of people.

Pricing, it’s something that has a dramatic effect on a buyer’s decision. If we’re to look at Verizon’s current pricing structure for the two high-end smartphones, it points to the obvious – that the LG G2 by far has the greater bang for the buck value! Whether it’s the on-contract or outright pricing, there’s a considerable amount of savings that accompany the pickup of the LG G2. Specifically, it’s $100 on-contract or $500 outright, which looks more pleasing than the $200 on-contract or $550 outright cost attached to the Lumia Icon. Of course, being the newer device means that there’s always going to be a higher premium to it. We’re not saying to strictly go with the LG G2 due to the savings you’ll get out of it, but rather, it’s more of whether you’ll be able to appreciate what Windows Phone 8 has to offer in the experience department. Sure, there are more features in play with the LG G2, both from the hardware and software, but the Lumia Icon can’t be undermined for the simple reason that it’s more expensive. Windows Phone isn’t for everybody, but if you feel up to the task of going on the Windows Phone ride, the Lumia Icon won’t disappoint – it’s the best that Verizon has to offer at the moment.

Ever since Nokia began its assertive Lumia campaign, nearly each phone we've seen has built on the one before. Verizon's Icon is more of a step to the side, combining the high-powered features of the Lumia 1520 with a (comparatively) smaller size and a look that earned Verizon's stamp of approval. If you're a fan of the 5-inch screen size or below, it's arguably the best Windows Phone around -- unless you're all about the camera, in which case AT&T's Lumia 1020 is still best in class. The Lumia 1520, another AT&T phone, has the vaster screen, but at the same resolution, the picture doesn't look as arrestingly sharp as it does on this Icon. Call quality was a disappointment, since Nokia usually excels in this area, but it won't be a dealbreaker for those who keep calls to a minimum -- and call quality can and does vary by location. For me, the Icon's humdrum design is another low point, but it's balanced by the excellent display. When you weigh the Icon's hardware features and price, the $200 smartphone deserves its rank. Its faults are minimal, and its strengths are evident.

The Nokia Lumia Icon combines all the best parts of Windows Phones past into one beautifully crafted package.

There’s a lot to love about the Lumia Icon and very little to hate. The biggest knock against it is that it runs Windows Phone 8, which comes with some quirks and limitations. But as a piece of hardware, it’s one of the nicest phones we’ve used. Spec for spec, it can match any Android phone, and aside from a slight muffling when taking calls, we don’t really have a hardware complaint. If you are a Verizon subscriber and like Windows Phone, this is the best device you could hope for. Nokia may be leaving the phone world, but it’s going out with a bow and an encore.

Now that we’ve pitted these prized devices in several categories, you’re probably wondering about our verdict. Before diving into that, we have to talk about pricing, since it’s a vital determining factor for a lot of things. Looking at their on-contract pricing, there isn’t anything separating them, as they both wield $200 on-contract prices. Technically though, you’re getting the 16GB version of the iPhone 5s for that price – versus 32GB with the Lumia Icon. Furthermore, if we’re to look at their outright pricing, we save a considerable amount of savings by going with the $550 Nokia Lumia Icon, which looks a lot more forgiving than the $750 figure attached to the 32GB iPhone 5s. It’s really tough to say which exact one to go with in the end, but you should know that the platform experience should have a lot of weight into the decision. Windows Phone is on that developmental path where it’s gaining a lot of momentum, though functionally, it still pales in comparison to what iOS 7 brings forth on the iPhone 5s. It might not be visually pretty as Windows Phone 8, but iOS 7 sticks it firmly by keeping the experience simple and straightforward – the hallmark characteristics in any successful mobile platform. Value is something you’ll get by picking up the Nokia Lumia Icon, since it’s packing some wonderful hardware under the hood – plus, it’s the winner too when it comes to taking photos. On the flip side, there’s a premium to pick up the iPhone 5s, which is the likely case we’ve come to expect nowadays. The off-contract price is undoubtedly stiffer, but iOS 7’s maturity shows in its polished apps and diversified ecosystem.