Verizon has yet to announce the Nokia Lumia 735 as coming to their portfolio, and there may be a good reason for that: it is not due until 2015. Multiple sources have confirmed with Windows Phone Central that the Verizon branded Lumia 735 with LTE, which is in development, is currently not scheduled to come out this calendar year.
Early reports suggest there may be some stability issues with Verizon's dual CDMA/LTE network although it is just as likely that Verizon only wants to schedule it then for their own internal reasons.
This late release for the Lumia 735 is reminiscent of the Lumia Icon, which was supposed to launch in November of 2013, but did not hit shelves until three months later in February 2014. Windows Phone Central had a working Verizon Lumia Icon prototype in possession as early as November of last year.
The Nokia Lumia 735 is already hitting shelves worldwide. Last week, we did an unboxing and first impressions article with the svelte phone and came away impressed. In using the phone as our main Lumia for the last week, the phone has an outstanding design and is just a joy to use. Priced appropriately, and the Lumia 735 could be a hit in the US.
Considering Verizon is the only US carrier planning to get the Lumia 735, this late release date is very troubling for Microsoft, who needs their phones out on the market. Missing the busy holiday shopping season indeed hurts Windows Phone adoption in the US.
Verizon recently retired the Lumia Icon, likely due to poor sales. They currently sell the HTC One for Windows and Samsung ATIV SE, although advertising and promotion for either has been minimal so far. Additionally, Verizon still has not shipped out any Windows Phone 8.1 updates with Lumia Cyan, leaving customers understandably frustrated. Verizon is turning out to be not such a great partner for Microsoft, leaving AT&T as the bulwark in the US.
Release-dates can of course shift and we hope the Lumia 735 for Verizon is officially announced soon with a timely 2014 release instead of next year. Stay tuned.
