Welcome to the 2014 Nokia Lumia Icon otherwise known as the Lumia 930 review. The Lumia 930/Icon runs Windows Phone 8.1 the most current version of the OS and can be regarded as one of the top range phones from Nokia. We believe it replaces the Lumia 925. This Lumia Icon/930 is currently available in the US market as we post this review, since we where fortunate enough to be in the country at the time.
We estimate The release price of around
$700 $620 outright in Australia since its was retailing for USD $599 unlocked.
Since we've covered Windows 8 phones before and regard them as one of the best platforms around we won't cover the operating system in detail. Yes, it theLumia 930 will come with 8.1 as standard that most will not even know the difference since they wouldn't have tried one before. Instead we'll focus on what are the highlights of the latest Lumia 930 series. Needless to say that all messaging bases are covered, SMS, Email, Skype, Twitter, Facebook and work genuinely as well as an others. The omission of desktop Outlook Sync is also disappointing for those who don't want to use the cloud just yet and of course the lack of Apps, however that is slowly changing.
In terms of construction and design the Lumia Icon/930 is literally the best one mobile phone currently available. Hence it is the best looking Windows 8 phone currently available. Yes it beats the HTC One and even the iPhone 5 in particular making that phone look dated and clumsy being made of too many pieces (Steve Jobs would be most disappointed by the latest iPhone). We where immediately attracted to the Lumia when we first saw and tested it, the looks, feel, weight and even size all was just about right. The 930 may be thicker than the others but it's tank like feel makes it better than the too light Galaxy S5 and brittle iphone 5s. The matt finish plastic back, metal frame and slightly curved front panel screams minimalism with elegance which the Apple phones lost years ago.
The internal hardware features a fast quad core CPU, wireless charging, the latest Gorilla glass hardened touch screen and all the known mobile frequencies. It also features a decent camera and video recording capability. The picture quality is not as good as the Lumia 1020 but then again no camera phone comes close to the 1020. Over the Lumia Icon/930 picture quality are as good if not better than a your typical point and shoot camera like the Canon IXUS which means fantastic results.
The Lumia's OLED touch screen's colors and brightness rate a huge mention since it is literally gorgeous to look at. It's black is really the blackest we've seen and the color reproduction is even better than any of Sony's Xperia series. Since you can also adjust the color reproduction it is a secret not many high end phones seem to have! The 5 inch screen is just about the right size in 2014.
In terms of Apps and operation Windows phones are easy to use and have all the functionality for everyday use as per Android or iPhone 5. The Lumia Icon/930 is no different and is easily recommended for any type of phone user. Of note is Nokia's Drive and Here Apps, which allow you to download GPS and road maps instead of using your data allocation to download them every time. We found it very useful when driving in the rental car in the US on the Lumia 625 downloaded before departure since international data roaming pack we had was tiny.
Unfortunately the Icon/930 is not perfect and omits one key feature. There is no memory expansion slot. But the stand outs in the class outweigh this shortfall, for examples the loud speaker it actually the best amongst it's competitors. The 930 can also pull in phone signals better than any other phone in the same class. The 930's call quality is also and literally the best on the class, easily better then the iPhone6 or Galaxy S5.
The end result is that the Lumia Icon/930 is a great looking phone and backed up with all the features you'd expect. It is one of the best mobile phones available currently and one you need to seriously consider. The only thing holding it back is the marketing department of Microsoft and Nokia which just don't seem to get it. It's a great phone that will appeal to anyone straight away.
Specifications
- Nokia Lumia 930 Icon
- Network
Quad-band GSM (all of them)
Penta-band 3G (all of them)
Penta-band 4G LTE (all of them)
- Design
Touch screen
- L137 x W71 x D9.8 mm
- Weight 167 grams
- Display/s
5 inch HD 1920 x 1080
- Camera
20MP
- Video Camera
1080p HD pixel main video camera
- Connectivity
Wi-Fi
Bluetooth V4
NFC
- CPU
2.2 Ghz Dual-Core
- Memory
Up to 32 Gig on board
No expandable memory
- Ring tones
MIDI, MP3, Video, vibration and others
- Features
MS-Word, Excel and Powerpoint
A-GPS, Accelerometer, Proximity, Ambient Light, Gyroscope, Magnemometer
Windows Mobile Store for Apps
Music and Media player
Organiser/Calender
SMS, MMS, IM, Email, Skye
FM radio with RDS
Speaker Phone/Hands free
Li-Po 2420mAh battery
Up to 18 days Standby
Up to 15.5 hours Talk Time
- Price history
Approx $620 AUS 2014 (Outright)
