Samsung ATIV SE?

[Windows Central Question]

Hello all, I am a Windows phone user and have loved my Lumia 822 for two years now. It's time for an upgrade and as I was hoping to get a Nokia Icon as I have to stick with Verizon and love the Nokia phones in general. As you may know, it is impossible to find the icon anymore and I have had no luck calling 5+ local stores. My question is, should I settle for the Samsung ATIV SE? It's specs look comparable except for a weaker camera. I do like the stronger battery and microSD slot the Icon wouldn't give me. Does the ATIV SE have the denim update with Cortana? Any ideas where I could possibly find an Icon? I can stand to wait a few months but am leaving on a long distance hiking trip in May and need a new phone by that, preferably with a high quality camera; is Verizon planning to release/restock any Nokia phones by then?

 

[xandros9]

I really like the SE, however it has not received Windows Phone 8.1, nor does it seem to work well with the Preview for Developers. So no Cortana, unless the situation has changed recently.

ALERT: DENIM is Lumia only. The ATIV's have their own respective counterparts to Lumia Amber, Black, Cyan, whatever, but it is not named nor is it as famous as Lumia firmwares. So no Denim, but it doesn't mean its inferior.

You could possibly try Amazon or eBay, see if you could get a good condition Icon.

 

[Williaml99]

I had 3 windows smart phones before the iPhone came out so I have been at this a while. My last phone was the 822 as well. I did a lot of research before I bought a ATIV SE on eBay. I am running DP (was not my choice came with undisclosed by seller). Cortana does work on the phone with DP. Some people say they have a terrible time with DP on this phone and I believe them. I love the backup feature of WP8.1 but I started fresh and have minimum bugs with DP on this phone. My 822 would lockup or reboot rarely and I would say about twice a month I get a lockup on this phone. I think this is because Samsung, Verizon Or Microsoft have not worked together to bring firmware and the official 8.1 to this phone. Face it, it is just not that important to the players that could make it happen. This is a great piece of hardware. I love it. If I could get this form factor (removable battery, SD slot and powerful processor ) in a Nokia I would do it just because I think Microsoft will take care of the Nokia phones first. Samsung and Microsoft are in a law suite and I don't think they care about me and my ATIV SE. Also one important thing. Nokia phone have the Nokia/Lumia recovery software. You could blow the DP away and go back to WP8. I did this as a necessity when the official WP8.1 came to the 822. I was then able to restore from the latest backup I made using DP. After all the only difference in the DP and official WP8.1 on the 822 was the Denim firmware. There is no utility to go back to WP8 on the ATIV SE once you are on DP you have to wait for the official upgrade. You clothes may go out of style.

 

[Rogozinski]

I would say go for the Ativ SE! I had a Lumia 930 before (which is the international version of the Icon) and I must say that the Ativ SE is one of the best Windows devices ever! Also the fact that it has a sd-card slot and removable battery is a big plus. Also the camera is in my opinion very good, I take a lot of photos and when I watch them zoomed in on my laptop they are clear and sharp. Just a pity that Verizon didn't push out the 8.1 update yet, but let's hope it will be out soon (or wait & see if the Windows 10 preview will work without bugs).