Any rumors of the Lumia 930 (or similar) coming to USA?

[Megatomic]

I have been following the Windows Phone scene for a few months now and with the advent of WP 8.1 and Cortana I am now considering going that route with my next upgrade. The only problem for me is that there are no Windows Phone models in the wild that are interesting to me aside from the Lumia 930. I am on AT&T (work plan) so the Icon is a no-go.

Has anyone heard any rumors of the Lumia 930 (or similar) coming to the US market this year? I am not interested in the 1020 or 1520. The 1020 camera bulge is hideous, the 1520 is flat out too large.

 

[Trader05]

I'm in the same boat. AT&T needs to get the 930 or a newer 5" device. The 1020 is a way older chipset and the 1520 is way too big for me.

 

[AstroManLuca]

At this point it's all just speculation. There haven't even been rumors or unofficial "leaks" or anything regarding the 930 or Icon coming to AT&T. The only recently announced WP8.1 device coming to AT&T is the Lumia 635, which is low end.

I feel like they have to bring something to AT&T since Verizon has had the Icon for several months and the 925/1020 are both running very old hardware. I'm sure it's retarded carrier politics getting in the way as usual.

One thing I can say is that a Lenovo executive recently announced that his company would launch a WP 8.1 phone by the end of the year. No details about what it would be like or what carriers, just that they're working on one.

Samsung released the ATIV SE, with the same chipset as the Icon, but that's also on Verizon. No idea if it or a similar device will make it to AT&T.

HTC appears to have abandoned WP so I wouldn't count on anything from them.

It is possible but not economical to bring over an international 930.

 

[InfiniteLurker]

I've been in the same boat - waiting to see what I could upgrade to from my 920. Once I saw that the 930 didn't have Glance, it was out of the running for me and I don't love the look of the Icon. Also, I can't stand what AT&T has started doing to the Lumia's by lowering the available storage, removing the wireless charging, etc. So I may change carriers in the future.

Even though I'm worried that the 1520 is too big for my liking, I just went ahead and ordered the unlocked 1520.3 variant that has the 32GB and Qi wireless charging. I have some friends that were worried about it being too big, but have adjusted and say they couldn't go back at this point. Time will tell for me, but either way I'll be able to switch providers easily if need be when a worthy successor (hopefully) is released.

 

[AstroManLuca]

I've heard a lot of people who were skeptical about the 1520 at first, but they quickly get used to it and don't mind the size after a little while.

Just think, a few years ago the original Galaxy Note came out with a 5.3" screen that everyone was saying was totally ridiculous. Now we're seeing a lot of phones with 5" screens and they're not necessarily considered to be phablets.

 

[quikah]

AFAIK 930 is not coming to the US. I don't get MS, they are killing Windowsphone in the US due to all these carrier exclusives. Tmobile has no flagship WP, ATT only has 1520, verizon has icon and Samsung ATIV SE (why they have 2?) and of course sprint is just sad in general...

 

[AstroManLuca]

AFAIK 930 is not coming to the US. I don't get MS, they are killing Windowsphone in the US due to all these carrier exclusives. Tmobile has no flagship WP, ATT only has 1520, verizon has icon and Samsung ATIV SE (why they have 2?) and of course sprint is just sad in general...

Apparently the problem is that, because Windows Phone is an underdog, MS/Nokia have no leverage. Carriers insist on exclusivity and draft up contracts that grant it for X months (which also leads to gimped variations appearing on other carriers in order to not violate the exclusivity clause).

In the case of Apple or Samsung, the manufacturer can dictate things to some extent. Verizon doesn't want to play by Apple's rules? Fine, no more iPhone for you, see how many customers you lose. But they don't really care if they lose WP users because they're a small segment.

 

[EightySix Four]

Nokia Goldfinger was supposed to launch with Windows Phone 8.1 but was delayed due to some special hardware features that wouldn't have OS support until 8.1's first update which is supposed to hit mid to late summer. That delay left them essentially phone-less on AT&T and T-Mobile due to the exclusivity on Icon.

Quite the screw up.

 

[Crono]

You do get used to the 1520 after a few days. 6.0" display comes in handy for things like remote desktop or SSH, where most other phones leave you squinting at the screen. I recommend getting a case for it if you do, though, because unlike most other Lumias, the back is glossy and potentially slippery. Cracked the screen on mine, but mostly because I wasn't being careful enough (it happens) and didn't have a screen protector or case, either. Other than that it is an excellent phone. Great battery life (lasts more than a day), gorgeous screen, fast processor with rarely any slowdowns, it has a microSD slot, speakers are loud and fairly clear (louder even than the original HTC One M7, though not quite as good as the HTC One M8's) and the 20 MP camera is fantastic.

Unless you have tiny hands and the phone is really too big for you to use or carry around, the pluses of the Lumia 1520 far outweigh the possible downside of such a large smartphone. And if you were in the market for a mini tablet (7 to 8") a 6" phablet pretty much eliminates the need for one for most potential buyers.

All the phones I had prior were much smaller (from 2.5" to 4.7") and while the Lumia 1520 does feel big at first, it's not too heavy given the size. If any manufacturer tries to make a smartphone any larger than that, though, they need to be smacked upside their heads. Any larger than that and it would be really hard to even hold with just one hand.

 

[wasabiman123]

I agree with you on the 1520 but it is still too big for me, I have a 920 and a 6" phone isn't as conveniently tucked away or handled in the use cases I find myself in.

Definitely stuck in the quandary of wanting the 1020's camera, and the 1520's newer hardware.
I do hope that when/if ATT gets a sanely sized flagship it is using the Snapdragon 801 at least, I want those refinements over the 800. Anything new is more or less assured to have a better imaging experience than my (still awesome) 920, so even if I don't get the proverbial 1030, I'll be fine.

 

[Deeko]

AFAIK 930 is not coming to the US. I don't get MS, they are killing Windowsphone in the US due to all these carrier exclusives. Tmobile has no flagship WP, ATT only has 1520, verizon has icon and Samsung ATIV SE (why they have 2?) and of course sprint is just sad in general...

Yep. I don't get what they're doing. Fall of 2012 they launched a bunch of really nice phones - the 920 and 8x were solid in their day. Since then? The 1020 is just the 920 with a nicer camera, the 925 is just the 920 in a nicer body, the 1520 is a gigantic monster and the Icon is exclusive to Verizon. HTC was rumored to be releasing a One variant that ran Windows Phone last fall but that just sorta disappeared without a trace.

Irritating. On top of the fact that they've severely crippled the music experience in 8.1, I might have to move on....