As we all know the next big phone to arrive for WP is the upcoming Icon(929) for VZW but like my current Lumia 928 it is only going to be offered with a 32GB SSD with no micro SD support. For a device centered around multimedia, you'd think they'd at least offer micro SD expansion or a 64GB SSD model, between apps, music and 'other' alone I've already ate up well over half of my L928's storage, only because I've uninstalled most of my games and maps, along with moving all my photos to SkyDrive (OneDrive). Is Microsoft and possibly Nokia doing this on purpose keeping their flagships device storage low so we'll use the cloud service? One last question: does anyone know if the L1520 or L1020 offer micro SD support or is it just yet another Verizon handicap like the current black update us Verizon customers probably won't see until a week before everyone else is getting 8.1.
The cloud really isn't a comparable solution. After all, Microsoft already promotes SkyDrive with its other devices. I have a Surface Pro (1st gen 128 GB), and with the software I have installed I am down to about 25gb free, which is fine, but that 25gb has to serve as virtual memory. I run the SkyDrive desktop app, which syncs my SkyDrive locally. I have already used nearly the full 7gb of SkyDrive storage, so the only way for me to get extra storage for my phone would be to move to a subscription. Microsoft really has the best rates in town, so it's not the cost of storage, its that all that extra data will sync back to my Surface Pro and use up all my free space.
My existing phone is a 2-year-old Razr Maxx with 8gb, but I have a 32gb SD card, which is where I keep all of my media - music, photos, video, etc. I am constantly taking pictures for work, which the Icon will blow the Maxx out of the water, except that now I can just pop the SD into my pro, find the shots that I like, work with the images and delete the rest with Adobe Bridge.
If I get the Icon it will be my first WP, so I don't know the answer to this: If I connect via USB, can I interact with the Icon like an external hard drive and access all of the files, or will I have to send images through a network?
Also, is the USB port 3.0 or 2.0? I am asking because file transfer from my SanDisk Ultra Micro SD is noticeably faster than from a USB 2.0 flash drive. If I have to unplug my external drive from my Pro's USB 3.0 port to connect the Icon, I am already adding steps to my workflow.
I really wanted the Icon, and probably will still get it, but I am worried about the lack of an SD card slot and the smallish size of the battery. It's like building a top-end sports car with world-class horsepower and then giving it a 2 gallon tank. It will blow you away in the showroom, but at the end of the day is it too impractical to take out of the garage?