Icon, so much right, but missing two key things that is holding it back...

[Ruined]

So I am on Verizon, and I am under contract so I am not getting a phone for a few months, but I have been looking hard at the Icon.

Two things that stand out as odd to me, which have now been exacerbated by other models:
1) Lack of MicroSD slot. I know this has been mentioned before, but previous to the launch of the 1520 high end Lumias did not have MicroSD slots. Now both high end lumias AND low end lumias have MicroSD. But the Icon lacks it. That is a big strike for me, as 32GB is not enough for my music.

2) Front facing camera is poor. I know some do not care about this, but once again we have both high end (1520) and low end (730) lumias that have better front facing camera. The front facing camera on the Icon is very similar if not the same camera on the elderly 920/928.

I felt if these two issues were rectified the Icon would feel like a better purchase. I would consider the HTC M8, but that lacks Qi wireless charging which is an even bigger strike than either of the above. And, the 1520 has not come to Verizon. I am not sure I would want a phone as big as the 1520 either, though I am considering it.

Lets hope we get some more options soon.

 

[orangeman34]

Who uses the front facing camera other than teenage girls taking "selfies?"?

 

[Neil Hinkle]

The font facing camera in the 1520 is the same as the one in the Icon. They're both 1.2 megapixels.

 

[aximtreo]

I would agree with the need for SD card capability. As for the front facing camera; I don't do selfies so it would be useless to me.

 

[Zulfigar]

Not enough space for a micro SD slot, because of everything Nokia crammed into it. Sorry. However, the 830's OIS is the smallest of any Nokia phone so far, so there's good news there for the next flagship.

 

[radmanvr]

I havent had a micro sd slot since my htc mytouch 4g and i didnt even put anything on it. Is microSD that really big of a demand I find it hard that you run out of space. Maybe you have a big music collection? or movie collection?

 

[cbreze]

I thought the lack of Qi charging going to the M8 would bother me more than it did, but running a proper 8.1 and the slightly bigger battery I don't need it as battery life is fantastic and I just charge overnite and don't mind having to plug in once per 24 hours. The rest you require is there for you. Good front cam and SD slot.

 

[3earnhardt3]

Carrier support is holding this phone back, I have one Icon with terrible Wifi and another with Horrible Battery life (DP and Stock WP8, respectively). Firmware updates containing hardware specific fixes should not be tied to carrier firmware. MS needs to use a little muscle (aka cash) to get carriers to push updates all at once, iOS style.

 

[Tepid]

Front Facing Cam is good for somethings other than just selfies, however, it's not that important anymore.
I can actually take a really good selfie (Generally do this with my wife when we are somewhere we have never been before)
with the Rear Facing Cam and actually prefer the quality. So, I for one could do without a front facing cam.

SDCard slots, while useful for some things. Is not a huge demand of mine any longer. Used to be, but I can get by without one.

I'll take the other qualities of the Icon over an SDCard Slot and Front Facing Camera.

Now if we could just get Cyan for Miracast, that would be cool.

 

[loki993]

No idea how I would think the front facing camera is poor though I don't ever use it but for its true purpose, say video conferencing, its adequate.

As for the lack of an SD card, Im really not sure why people get so hung up on this. 32 gigs will hold over 7000 320kbs MP3s and I believe over 1200 songs even at a lossless rate. You know you can delete stuff right? You know you dont have to carry your entire music collection with you all the time right? I dont get it....

 

[dkediger]

I would have prioritized a 64GB version over an SD slot...even then I've been in no danger of filling the space on my Icon.

 

[awilliams1701]

Verizon is the only thing holding it back.