Nokia introduced the brand-new Lumia Icon smartphone on Wednesday. The Lumia Icon is the ultimate superphone for those who love Windows Phone 8 and video recording.
The Lumia Icon has four microphones built in to ensure that when you are recording video sound doesn't get lost. The Icon also sports a 20-megapixel PureView camera with Carl Zeiss optics and optical image stabilization (OIS). The back camera can shoot 1080p video and take 19-megapixel still shots. Just like the Lumia 1020, the Lumia Icon is optimized for camera buffs, but this model is targeted more at videographes than at photographers. The camera still will take great low-light shots, though.
In addition to its powerful camera, the Lumia Icon features all the high-end specifications you'd expect from a superphone. The Icon comes with a 5-inch ClearBlack Gorilla Glass 3 display. The display has a 1920 x 1080 pixel resolution and a pixel density of 441 ppi. Although it's not a 2K display, it's still going to look very sharp.
The Lumia Icon is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 quad-core processor, running at 2.2 GHz. The device features 2 GB of RAM and 32 GB of internal storage, too. Unfortunately it doesn't have a micro SD card slot for memory expansion, which will put a cramp in any videographer's style. In terms of connectivity, the Icon includes Bluetooth 4.0 and 801.11 a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi. It also supports Qi wireless charging like many other Nokia Lumia smartphones.
Nokia gave the Icon a 2420 mAh battery, which should last a good amount of time, but video recording might wear it out faster than you think. The Icon has Nokia's typical Lumia design aesthetic. It looks like a rectangular slab and comes in black and white color options. The Icon is sort of heavy and boxy, measuring 137 x 71 x 9.8-mm and weighing in at 167 grams.
The Nokia Lumia Icon will go on sale at Microsoft stores on Feb. 20 for $199 with a two-year contract. The smartphone will only be available on Verizon's network for the time being, but it should appear at a few more networks soon. If you preorder the Icon from Microsoft's store, Nokia will throw in a free accessory for free, which is handy if you want to use the smartphone's Qi wireless charging capabilities.
