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Portrait of a Nokia Lumia Icon (pictures)

A Verizon exclusive, the Nokia Lumia Icon smartphone shows off the goods, though in a rather somber package.

Jessica Dolcourt
Jessica Dolcourt is a passionate content strategist and veteran leader of CNET coverage. As Senior Director of Commerce & Content Operations, she leads a number of teams, including Commerce, How-To and Performance Optimization. Her CNET career began in 2006, testing desktop and mobile software for Download.com and CNET, including the first iPhone and Android apps and operating systems. She continued to review, report on and write a wide range of commentary and analysis on all things phones, with an emphasis on iPhone and Samsung. Jessica was one of the first people in the world to test, review and report on foldable phones and 5G wireless speeds. Jessica began leading CNET's How-To section for tips and FAQs in 2019, guiding coverage of topics ranging from personal finance to phones and home. She holds an MA with Distinction from the University of Warwick (UK).
Jessica Dolcourt
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1 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

Verizon's 5-inch Windows Phone Icon

More than its buttoned-down look, the Nokia Lumia Icon stands out for its high-end specs, including a pixel-packed 5-inch display, a quad-core processor, and a 20-megapixel camera sensor.

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2 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

The metal touch

An aluminum band runs the phone's perimeter.

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3 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

Colors

Verizon put the kibosh on Day-Glo yellow, red, and blue, falling back to the classics. And that metal spine? It looks matte silver on the white model, while the black phone is just that: all black.

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4 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

Matte back

While the sides get a touch of class, the Icon's back panel remains its trademark polycarbonate unibody with a matte finish.

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5 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

SIM card tray

Sorry, this isn't a microSD card slot. A tiny notch lets you struggle in a fingernail or other implement and open the tray.

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6 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

Camera assembly

Like the Nokia Lumia 1520, the smaller Icon has a dual-LED flash and a 20-megapixel camera sensor that resolves to 5-megapixel photos with lossless cropping.

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7 of 9 Screenshot by Jessica Dolcourt/CNET

Crop, crop away

Selecting a smaller portion of the image brings you finer detail. The camera also excels at low-light shots.

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8 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

Tri-column OS

We first saw the three-column view in the 6-inch Lumia 1520, but the Icon uses it as well. One benefit is being able to squeeze more live tiles onto the display before needing to scroll down for more.

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9 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

Look and feel

The uniformly shaped slab isn't my favorite expression of cell phone design, but it isn't awful, either. As usual, buttons for the volume rocker, power button, and camera shutter are along the right edge.

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