Lumia 735 Questions before buying

[anon(8567512)]

I am considering changing my Icon for the 735, mainly because the 735 is on Verizon and there isn't much else that is. But I do have a few questions.

First, I know it isn't going to be an upgrade, technically, but is the 735 a decent phone coming from the Icon? I basically want to use it as a holdover until the flagships. The 735 is cheap and will buy me some time. I am having increasing hardware issues with the Icon that make it hard to wait two months, minimum, for the flagships. I don't do a whole lot with the phone, just calls, messaging, twitter, music, and podcasts. Among the issues with my Icon is the constant freezing of the podcast app when I try to switch between podcasts- only fixable by power-cycling the phone. Also is the fact that it will tell me I don't have internet on WiFi when I know I do and I have to power-cycle the phone. For the last two months I am power-cycling generally at least once a day. These issues are unchanged with 8.1 or Windows 10 Mobile. So I am at the point where I really feel like I just need a new device.

Second, I see that there are different color options for the phone, but only black is available at Verizon. I can buy unlocked color version on Amazon for twice what Verizon charges. Is there a way to get one that is a different color from somewhere for the 189.00 that Verizon sells it for, which they call full price? Or is there a way to buy the different colors as changeable backs for the phone?

Third, if you don't recommend the 735, is there something else available and worth getting for Verizon?

Thanks for the help.

 

[xrs22]

I haven't actually checked that out yet at Verizon, I may though. I have an Icon as well on windows 10 preview. I couldn't fund anything on cowboom.com or Newegg.com either.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

The Lumia 735 is a great little phone, if you're willing to drop in screen size a tad, give up some pixels and megapixels, and lose that aluminum border. It has an OLED display just like the Lumia Icon, but it might look more fuzzy because of the PenTile pixel array the screen uses (it's still very useable though). Performance should be good and slick but don't expect anything amazing with only 1GB of RAM. The camera is definitely a downgrade but for such a strange resolution and relatively low number of pixels it isn't actually that bad. It'll feel like a downgrade, but not like a BAD downgrade.
I suggest buying the phone wherever it's cheapest then wander around and see if you can purchase extra shells for it. I know you can for other phones but I can't remember if you can with the Lumia 735 (although the rear is removable).

One more thing: you might want to check to see if the Lumia 735 has Glance, as I can't remember, because that would be a definite upgrade over the Icon.

 

[vipme]

is the 735 a decent phone coming from the Icon?

Lumia 735 has a decent amoled screen, you will be able to read in daylight conditions on it. 735 screen has a bit higher sun contrast ration than the Lumia Icon, but somewhat lower pixel density.

Also the battery is decent it will last you for 2 days or more.

Maybe read this review by GSM arena, they got fair reviews
Nokia Lumia 730/735 review: Golden mean - GSMArena.com

Or is there a way to buy the different colors as changeable backs for the phone?

The back cover shell is exchangeable.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

The guy above me made some good points.

 

[vipme]

if the Lumia 735 has Glanc

Windows phones with amoled screens don't have Glance, only those with LCDs, but even not all of them

here is the list of those that support Glance at the moment

Lumia 532, 532 Dual SIM, 532 Dual SIM DTV, 620, 640 Dual SIM, 640 Dual SIM DTV, 640 LTE, 640 LTE Dual SIM, 640 XL, 640 XL Dual SIM, 640 XL LTE, 640 XL LTE Dual SIM, 720, 720T, 820, 830, 920, 920T, 925, 925T, 1020, 1320 i 1520

 

[Tim-O]

The 925 was AMOLED, wasn't it?

 

[anon(8567512)]

Thanks for all the responses. I think at this point I am leaning towards getting the 735. I will check around and see if I can find the different color cases for them.

 

[vipme]

The 925 was AMOLED, wasn't it?

Yes, its high end CPU/GPU could support it on an amoled screen, for the phones with LED backlit LCDs it's pretty easy to make Gglance work.

 

[libra89]

Thanks for all the responses. I think at this point I am leaning towards getting the 735. I will check around and see if I can find the different color cases for them.

You can buy the back covers from Microsoft's website.
Buy Microsoft Wireless Charging Shell for Lumia 735 - Microsoft Store

I see on Verizon's website on the phone page that there is a note about being able to change the backs to different colors. It might be something worth asking about?

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Windows phones with amoled screens don't have Glance, only those with LCDs, but even not all of them

here is the list of those that support Glance at the moment

Lumia 532, 532 Dual SIM, 532 Dual SIM DTV, 620, 640 Dual SIM, 640 Dual SIM DTV, 640 LTE, 640 LTE Dual SIM, 640 XL, 640 XL Dual SIM, 640 XL LTE, 640 XL LTE Dual SIM, 720, 720T, 820, 830, 920, 920T, 925, 925T, 1020, 1320 i 1520

That would be wrong, as the 1020 is OLED and has Glance. In fact, Glance is actually built for devices with OLED displays, as the infinite contrast makes Glance both look nicer and make it more battery efficient. Also, OLED displays are quicker and refresh faster, so Glance typically has a faster reaction time on an OLED display. It's not the processor or the GPU that dictates whether or not a phone is compatible with Glance but it's display memory. As OLED displays are more expensive, it costs even more to have the necessary display memory (such as with the Icon, which doesn't have the necessary memory for Glance). LCD screens have Glance more often because they're far cheaper.

 

[vipme]

LCD screens have Glance more often because they're far cheaper

Cheap has nothing to do with it, it all has to do with the technology behind it. To me your whole argument makes no senses, that cheaper phones have more advanced options than expensive ones, because its too expensive to have them. Like the crappy Lumia 532 having Glance but Lumia 930 not.

On LCD screens in order to have Glance you just light up the background LEDs, while the display is OFF. Not all LCDs have background LEDs for illumination, the cheaper ones have them on the sides of the LCD panel, so they can't have Glance.

In case of and OLED screen, when using Glance your display is actually ON, it is not turned off.

 

[anon(123856)]

I just recently dumped AT&T and went back to Verizon which meant getting a 735. No regrets so far. It's a bit of a downgrade from an 830 but overall I'm very happy with the phone, especially in light of how much it costs. With 16 GB of built in storage, a decent camera, sd card support, a replaceable battery and wireless charging built in it checks all the right boxes for me.

I like the size better than the 830 as it's a bit smaller and battery life has been great. If this is the future of sub $200.00 phones, that's all I'll be buying from here on in.

No Glance, but I find I'm not missing it that much although I did use and like it on previous phones.

 

[Zachary Boddy]

Cheap has nothing to do with it, it all has to do with the technology behind it. To me your whole argument makes no senses, that cheaper phones have more advanced options than expensive ones, because its too expensive to have them. Like the crappy Lumia 532 having Glance but Lumia 930 not.

On LCD screens in order to have Glance you just light up the background LEDs, while the display is OFF. Not all LCDs have background LEDs for illumination, the cheaper ones have them on the sides of the LCD panel, so they can't have Glance.

In case of and OLED screen, when using Glance your display is actually ON, it is not turned off.

It does have to do with cheap. Nokia made a mistake with the Lumia 930 because they got cheap and didn't install a high-end display. LCD displays cost less in general than AMOLED displays, and putting in an LCD display with enough display memory for Glance probably costs less than an AMOLED display that can't use Glance.
Glance was built with AMOLED displays in mind, with true blacks instead of dark grey at best. And you really don't get much battery life efficiency with an LCD display running Glance (in fact it may drain your battery faster) while an AMOLED display running Glance is supposed to save battery life because you only have a few pixels running instead of the entire screen. Nokia really screwed up with the Lumia 930, but that doesn't instantly mean Glance works better with LCD displays. Take the Moto X for example. It has a Glance-esque screen that is noticeably faster to react and start then an Lumia with an LCD display.

 

[vipme]

but that doesn't instantly mean Glance works better with LCD displays

read my post again and try to understand how glance works on LCDs, and how that is different form the AMOLED displays
those are totally different technologies and use different solutions to achieve Glance, it has nothing to do with memory or the price
it is far more easier to make glance work on LCD displays than on AMOLEDs

Glance was built with AMOLED displays in mind

that is a nonsensical argument

 

[Zachary Boddy]

read my post again and try to understand how glance works on LCDs, and how that is different form the AMOLED displays
those are totally different technologies and use different solutions to achieve Glance, it has nothing to do with memory or the price
it is far more easier to make glance work on LCD displays than on AMOLEDs

that is a nonsensical argument

I'm not sure what you're trying to argue here. Is it that Glance is better on LCD displays? Because it simply isn't. Glance on AMOLED displays is faster, more battery efficient, and looks much nicer. The only reason it's "easier" to get Glance on LCD displays is because LCD displays are inherently cheaper. That's why you hardly ever see a low end device with an AMOLED or OLED screen.