With yesterday’s all but obvious teaser for the Lumia Icon – otherwise known as the Lumia 929 – you would suspect that a launch date and announcement wouldn’t be too far off from now. Granted, expected dates have come and gone in the past, but now that Verizon stores are receiving inventory for accessories and Nokia US is tossing up videos, we’re much more confident this time around.
The latest intel has the Lumia Icon due for availability on Thursday, February 20th. Verizon traditionally launches new devices on that day of the week, so that lines up with expectations. It also matches anticipations that this device will come out before Mobile World Congress (so don’t expect it to be announced there).
Even more, we’re hearing that the Icon will go on pre-order at Microsoft Stores on Wednesday, February 12th, with a $50 deposit, making an official announcement from Verizon by early next week very likely.
Inventory (Click to enlarge)
The information and confirmation comes via in-store inventory listings, seen above. We’ve witnessed such proof in the past, only to have Verizon push the date back. In theory, that could happen here, but as mentioned earlier, in-store inventory and promotions have already begun, making it less likely.
The Lumia Icon, previously known as the Lumia 929, sports some very impressive specifications. In fact, it’s all but the Lumia 1520 in a smaller package. Coming in Black or White, the new Verizon flagship will sport the following features:
Verizon Nokia Lumia Icon
- Windows Phone 8 Update 3, Lumia Black
- 5” 1080P AMOLED Display
- 2.2 GHz Quad-Core Snapdragon 800 CPU
- 32 GB internal Storage
- 2 GB RAM
- 20 MP PureView camera with dual LED flash
- Qi-Wireless charging
- 2510 mAh battery
- 880 hours Standby; 13.83 hours Talk Time
- Dimensions: 5.37 in (H): 2.81 in (W): 0.41 in
All in all, it’s the spitting image of the Lumia 928, but with cutting edge hardware jammed into a device that is only slightly taller than its predecessor. The Lumia Icon also sports a metal-frame around the body, greatly improving the feel (and quality) of the device.
The Lumia Icon was previously known as the Lumia 929, but we’ve been told that Verizon requested the marketing re-brand to better differentiate from AT&T and other carriers. This move is similar to their ‘Droid movement when they first adopted Android devices. There’s no evidence though that this will become the norm for future Lumias (or what those will be called under Microsoft).
Yesterday’s teaser video uses the tagline ‘See and hear what you’ve been missing’, which is the same language used on Verizon’s website that accidentally went live a few times, all but confirming the relatedness.
