Is the 928 still worth picking up?

[anon(6038817)]

Here's my background:

My current smartphone is a BlackBerry Z30. It's the best smartphone I've ever owned, but it's obvious to me now that BlackBerry is going in a different direction and unless something changes drastically, their smartphones will likely remain niche products with virtually no native app ecosystem and dependent on the Android runtime to run apps.

Running Android apps has been good short-term, but I just don't see how BB10 as a platform is going to catch on with anyone but niche and enterprise customers.

I don't want Android or iOS. Been there, done that. I used a Lumia 521 for several months and was really impressed with it, considering it's a low-end device.

I can see the potential Windows Phone has and the growth it is experiencing and I think I want to be a part of that. I'm 99% sure I will be getting a WP for my next upgrade.

Here's my situation:

I have one year left on my Verizon contract and I can't justify buying a Lumia Icon outright. Besides, I'm really waiting for a 1520-like Lumia to come to Verizon. Hopefully a year from now such a device will be available on VZW.

But I really want to start trying WP now, so I'm thinking about getting a used 928 in the meantime.

Is the 928 still worth picking up at this stage in the game? Would it give me a solid feel for WP? Is there anything I should look for or be aware of when looking for a 928?

Any advice or suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks!

Posted from my BlackBerry Z30 via Tapatalk

 

[Blacklac]

The good thing about WP, the hardware ages well. There's actually very little difference between the older higher end dual core devices and the newest quad core devices, as far as casual performance. The camera is still solid. I wouldn't hesitate in your situation. Between your current contract and who knows when the next ~6" device will come to Verizon, you should be able to enjoy that device through the year.

 

[pankaj981]

Well I would say get it! The 928 is a solid device with a good camera (not as good as the 1020) and it also has the Xenon flash for those low light photos (apart from the Pureview tech), wireless charging, amoled screen, 32 GB memory and comes GSM unlocked and might get Band 4 HSPA+/LTE support for T-Mobile in a future update....and you can get one for as low as $100....heck get it!

Sent from my GT60 using Tapatalk

 

[xandros9]

Like its 920 sibling, it has aged rather gracefully.
It's not a speed demon anymore, but its unlikely to affect your experience in a significantly negative way.

Since it has 1 GB of RAM, it is about as capable as it gets, short of missing hardware.

TL;DR - No longer top, but still good and solid.

 

[palaudawg]

Great phone! Have an Icon now and I found then very comparable except for the camera, trying to sell my 928.

 

[anon(6038817)]

So is it essentially a re-branded 920 with a few minor enhancements?

 

[pankaj981]

So is it essentially a re-branded 920 with a few minor enhancements?

Yes

 

[xandros9]

So is it essentially a re-branded 920 with a few minor enhancements?

As he/she/it said, yup.

The design is boxier and lacks the colors.
Xenon flash is a nice addition.
Relevant radio tech for Verizon, has an unlocked GSM radio too.

Main downside IMO is that if VZE decides to stop updates, you don't have much recourse since there is no other variant. a la 810.

 

[anon(6038817)]

So do OS updates come through the carrier on WP and not straight from Microsoft?

Posted from my BlackBerry Z30 via Tapatalk

 

[xandros9]

So do OS updates come through the carrier on WP and not straight from Microsoft?

Posted from my BlackBerry Z30 via Tapatalk

they typically do. The Developer Preview is MS's work around, so dropped support isn't as bad as it could be.

 

[muneshyne21]

Xenon flash, excellent low light photos without flash, wireless charging, 32 gb storage, 1gb ram, high sensitivity amoled screen, Nokia glance, High dB audio recording (I can record beautiful unclipped sound at a concert next to the speakers). Nothing comes close at $180. I mean what other phone is that hardware feature rich at even $300?
The 928 is probably the best phone for the money you can get with a few caveats:
-There seem to be more defective ones floating around than the average. If you get the phone, pay the $8 monthly for full asurion coverage.
-sign-up for preview developer and download WP 8.1
-get a wireless charging pad. If you're lucky you can find one on sale for $5

This phone is a clear example of "You never get a second chance to make a good first impression". Too many defective units out the starting gate with an underbaked WP 8 build. My 928 now operates and feels a gillion times better. I completely forgot about the whole screen freeze issue since it hasnt happened after GDR3. WP 8.1 is a major upgrade that didnt effect speed. Its like going from Froyo 2.2 to Kitkat 4.4 without any detrimental issues with lag.
When it came out it was a 7.5 out of 10. Now, with WP8.1 and an app store 5 times larger than it was a year ago, it gets a 9 out of 10. A 10 out of 10 would be if it had the 1020 41mp camera and a snapdragon 801 processor.

 

[EspHack]

i picked up mine about 2 months ago, 180$ for this hardware is more than a good deal imo, couldnt find anything better really, plus i love the xenon flash and even though the design isnt hand frendly it looks damn good, does everything with ease, no lags or freezes so far, for the money its a hell of a phone and im sure it can keep up with updates until at least 2015, if the icon had the xenon flash i would be looking at it as my next phone but i would rather have the real thing(1520) instead, considering the icon/930 is basically a mini 1520 with half the battery life

 

[AV2RY]

Got mine as soon as it was available from MS (before it got to Verizon store) for $560. It USED to freeze, sometimes alot, but last time it froze was in late 2013. I absolutely don't have any problems with it now. No freezing or lagging. Works perfect in other words. Took care of it well and I don't have one scratch on it

Get it!

 

[anon(6038817)]

It's these little things like xenon flash and glance that actually make me want to get a 928 instead of an Icon and just wait for a 1520 variant to come to Verizon. I'm getting really anxious to get one!

 

[muneshyne21]

Yeah, the xenon flash is like autodimming rear view mirrors on a car. You wouldnt pay the extra for them but if you get a car with it already installed, you will wonder how you ever lived without it.

Take a nightime picture at a bar next to a friend taking the same picture with an iphone or android. Results speak for themselves. You only have about a 5-6 foot max distance though.

The other little things that will spoil you are Glance, live tiles and WP 8.1 action center

 

[11B1P]

I compared my 928 to the Icon the other day at a Vzw store. With the Poetic case on my 928, the size difference was so minute, it wasn't worth wasting an upgrade. My 928 is solid. Works great. The CS rep said she carried the Icon for a bit, but complained about the reception. Other than the 20mp camera on the Icon, for me there wasn't enough difference in the two to get the Icon. I don't think you will be disappointed with the 928.

 

[muneshyne21]

Other than the better processor and ram, its basically a wash.
-You gain a better camera but lose the xenon flash
-You gain a bigger screen but lose Glance
-WIth WP 8.1 the 928 gets three row tiles and everything else the ICON gets on the software end

Going from a 928 to an Icon is not really much of an upgrade. The better processor will speed up load times a little but the OS itself will feel just as fluid so it doesnt bother you.

 

[kencaz]

I am going to upgrade my 928 to the Icon. I think it is the perfect size screen and double he ram and fast processor. I love my 928 but I think with more features coming to 8.1 preview it's going to have a hard time keeping up with the OS... I would gladly trade the Xenon, (although one of the reasons I got the 928), for the 20MP shooter on the back. I find the 928 lens to wide and with the lower pixels it's has trouble when post process cropping. It just get's to pixilated. That would be my only complaint on the camera and if you can get in close to your subject it takes fantastic shots.

The battery life when I first got it was barely getting me through the day, but since I did the upgrade to 8.1 preview It has really improved. Cortana is great however, both cortona and the camera app would benefit greatly from a faster processor like in the Icon. So I would say that if you can afford the upgrade it would def be worth it.

 

[muneshyne21]

If your going to upgrade from a 928 I'd wait. They just announced the new Fall nokia phones coming out and one of them is going to be a cross carrier flagship. Might be worth the wait...

Actually, instead of picking up a 928 maybe you should wait until the new phones come out in the fall. The ICON will drop in price when that happense. Maybe it'll be in your price range.

 

[gkrew]

The 928 is still a great phone and I like mine. A good camera with Xenon Flash, Wireless charging and 32 GB onboard storage are some of the features I appreciate about the phone.