X

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-6462
jessica-dolcourt-6462
Jessica Dolcourt
Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_9958_02.jpg
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.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_9995_05.jpg
2 of 9 Josh Miller/CNET

The metal touch

An aluminum band runs the phone's perimeter.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_0048_01.jpg
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.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_9969_03.jpg
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.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_0021_08.jpg
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.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_9976_04.jpg
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.

LumiaIcon_FlowerCrop.jpg
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.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_0040_11.jpg
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.

Nokia_Lumia_Icon_35835068_0034_10.jpg
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.

More Galleries

Behind the Scenes With a Teen Robotics Team Aiming for Glory
piedmont-high-school-8803-robotics-team-11

Behind the Scenes With a Teen Robotics Team Aiming for Glory

10 Photos
Touring a Quantum Dot Factory
nanosys-tour-opener

Touring a Quantum Dot Factory

31 Photos
Yamaha motorcycle and instrument designers trade jobs (pictures)
yamaha01.jpg

Yamaha motorcycle and instrument designers trade jobs (pictures)

16 Photos
CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)
dia-de-los-muertos-3318-001.jpg

CNET's 'Day of the Dead Devices' altar (pictures)

9 Photos
2007 Los Angeles Auto Show: concept cars
conceptss01_440.jpg

2007 Los Angeles Auto Show: concept cars

14 Photos
Best sound bars under $300
polk-magnifi-mini-15.jpg

Best sound bars under $300

18 Photos
2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke reports for diesel duty
2018 Ford F-150 diesel

2018 Ford F-150 Power Stroke reports for diesel duty

22 Photos