[Washed Up Former Child Actor]

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.

[JBConforti]

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 1520 has micro sd support.

[Washed Up Former Child Actor]

The 1520 has micro sd support.

Hmm this must just be a Verizon thing then (can't say I'm surprised).

[willied]

Hmm this must just be a Verizon thing then (can't say I'm surprised).

I don't think it is. It's a different form factor than the 1520. The 822 and Odyssey both had microSD slots, the 8X and the 928 didn't. I think it's just the phone manufacturer deciding whether or not they want a micro SD slot. But this is all just speculation.

[Astropin]

Hopefully it shows up in the pricing......in a good way.

[Meagey]

Its pretty common. Look at phones like the iPhone, g2, nexus they all have 32 internal with no SD slot (iPhone is an exception with the 64) they all pretty much push their cloud service I guess in hopes you'll pay for more storage eventually. But my point is its not just Microsoft/nokia.

[Premium1]

*Only* 32gb. I wish all phones that was the standard. 16gb with everything that we save to phones these days is not enough. Wish all manufacturers would make 32gb the standard, I mean it's not like 16gb more storage cost these huge companies that much more $$

[jlzimmerman]

Putting in an option for SD isn't always up to the manufacturer. The carriers have a lot to do with what phones have. This is why some global variants have different specs. Verizon ordered the Icon. They probably told Nokia/MS to not put in an SD slot. Carriers benefit from cloud storage use because it increases data usage. Money $.

[qwank]

i've been using the same 8gb SD card in my last 4 phones, (8 years) and it isn't even 1/4 of the way full yet. lol

[Jeffrey Fox]

I wouldn't say this is proving that Nokia is pushing OneDrive, the early adopters of the Lumia 1520 were stuck with 16gb of storage. That's still Nokia but on AT&T's network.

Just to throw my usage case in the ring, I live on WiFi at home and at work. So rarely do I find myself running up data usage on my family plan. The cloud storage and streaming media concept to me is great since I rarely am out on the Network itself using up data, it costs me very little as I can go with a smaller data plan for the times I'm actually out and about.

[maevinj]

It proves that Verizon doesn't want you to have extra storage on your phone so that you will use some type of cloud service, and hopefully access it over their network and not wifi. Thus giving them the chance to collect on data overage!

[Daniel Rubino]

The choice of microSD or not is usually driven by size, pricing and vendor restraints (i.e. did Verizon request it or not).

To answer the question 'Does Nokia Lumia 929 (Icon) Prove MS Is Trying To Push OneDrive?' it would be 'no' as Microsoft was not involved with the 929 design or specs. That was a Verizon-Nokia thing. Regardless, Nokia will tell you that OneDrive is an alternative to microSD, but that is not new as they've been saying that for years.

[IdemanEric]

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.

I really don't understand the point of a bunch of storage. I don't even remember how much my HTC One has, but I simply keep my pictures on my Sky Drive or back them up and delete anyway. Why would you want to keep everything on your phone? As far as movies are concerned I use my TV like most people. Much better. If I'm traveling on a plane, maybe I download a couple, but I'm lost on this issue. I don't think I've ever used more than half of my storage. As far as music is concerned I don't see the point of buying it when you can stream as much as you want for almost nothing also.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

[Markham Ranja]

I really don't understand the point of a bunch of storage. I don't even remember how much my HTC One has, but I simply keep my pictures on my Sky Drive or back them up and delete anyway. Why would you want to keep everything on your phone? As far as movies are concerned I use my TV like most people. Much better. If I'm traveling on a plane, maybe I download a couple, but I'm lost on this issue. I don't think I've ever used more than half of my storage. As far as music is concerned I don't see the point of buying it when you can stream as much as you want for almost nothing also.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

You will be enlightened by the knowledge that not everyone has access to unlimited mobile data or has access to a Wifi broadband connection. Not to mention that using local storage has a large set of advantages, chief among them being zero latency. Also, everyone uses their devices in different ways and therefore may have uses for features that you do not find useful.

[Astropin]

You will be enlightened by the knowledge that not everyone has access to unlimited mobile data or has access to a Wifi broadband connection. Not to mention that using local storage has a large set of advantages, chief among them being zero latency. Also, everyone uses their devices in different ways and therefore may have uses for features that you do not find useful.

What? That's crazy talk

[Washed Up Former Child Actor]

I really don't understand the point of a bunch of storage. I don't even remember how much my HTC One has, but I simply keep my pictures on my Sky Drive or back them up and delete anyway. Why would you want to keep everything on your phone? As far as movies are concerned I use my TV like most people. Much better. If I'm traveling on a plane, maybe I download a couple, but I'm lost on this issue. I don't think I've ever used more than half of my storage. As far as music is concerned I don't see the point of buying it when you can stream as much as you want for almost nothing also.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

You also have to consider games, the high end Xbox branded app games are averaging 600-700 MB's a piece, my apps, games and music alone eat up lots of local storage. I can't install apps and games to the cloud (nor would I want to) so really the only use the cloud is, is for pictures, contacts and other backups...

[boovish]

The Lumia 822 has SD card capabilities, but I only need 32GBs of storage, because I am smart and don't put large files on my phone

[guillams]

I really don't understand the point of a bunch of storage. I don't even remember how much my HTC One has, but I simply keep my pictures on my Sky Drive or back them up and delete anyway. Why would you want to keep everything on your phone? As far as movies are concerned I use my TV like most people. Much better. If I'm traveling on a plane, maybe I download a couple, but I'm lost on this issue. I don't think I've ever used more than half of my storage. As far as music is concerned I don't see the point of buying it when you can stream as much as you want for almost nothing also.

Posted via the WPC App for Android!

The point is: apps and games.
Don't be ignorant!

[savagelizards]

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?

[dkediger]

Personally, I'm not so concerned about "just" 32GB of internal. For me, SD might be a nice security blanket, but I haven't missed it since moving from a Droid Razr. I do wonder though if Microsoft would take Apple's lead and start offering 64GB versions of their devices just for the profit. That $100 bump in price of a 32GB to 64GB iPhone only costs Apple about $10.

[radmanvr]

Putting in an option for SD isn't always up to the manufacturer. The carriers have a lot to do with what phones have. This is why some global variants have different specs. Verizon ordered the Icon. They probably told Nokia/MS to not put in an SD slot. Carriers benefit from cloud storage use because it increases data usage. Money $.

/Tinfoil Hat

[jlzimmerman]

/Tinfoil Hat

If don't think money wasn't a factor in this business decision with Nokia, or any decision when ordering a phone, when data plan services provide carriers (publicly-traded corporations) one of their best profit margins (via markup), then you need to wake up and smell the Benjamin's.

[Coreldan]

Including an SD-slot is also often a compromise of some sort, as it requires the device to be designed in a certain way so that the slot physically fits there without interfering with anything else. Same as unibody vs. removeable battery, for example.