Worthwhile upgrade?

[pantsaregood]

I currently own a Lumia 920, and I've had it since December 2012. It still works great, but I've got this random urge to upgrade that I can't explain. I'm fairly invested in the Microsoft ecosystem, so I'm probably staying with WP8.

Is moving to a Lumia 1520 a worthwhile upgrade? That's a move from 1.5 GHz dual-core Krait/1 GB RAM/Adreno 225 to 2.2 GHz quad-core Krait/2 GB RAM/Adreno 330. Sounds great, but at the same time I don't really have any performance issues to speak of at the moment. The larger battery does seem appealing, though.

The big issue, however, is this: I don't want to use the AT&T model. It has only 16 GB of onboard storage (as opposed to 32 GB) and Qi charging removed, and I have Qi chargers around my home. If I switch devices, I'll be using an international device. The international version will work fine with 2G/3G/HSPA+ on AT&T, but the LTE bands just won't work on AT&T. I don't use my data much (usually have WiFi), so is it worth it to give up LTE?

 

[Trombe]

I wouldn't unless you really want the 6 inch screen size.

 

[pantsaregood]

Screen size isn't really a big deal either way for me. It is absurdly large, but I am legally blind and have very large hands. I'm not sure if either of those justifies a huge phone, though, as I can easily work with a 4 inch device.

Oh, and the reason Snapdragon 800 sounds so appealing is because it doesn't look like Qualcomm is going to be overhauling it any time soon. The 801 and 805 are improvements, but relatively minor. The 808 and 810 revealed today don't seem like huge advances, and they won't be out for over a year.

 

[bassoprofundo]

The RM-938 model is out in the wild now if you want it. It has Qi, 32gb, and AT&T LTE. They had black and whit in stock at Newegg when I last checked. I made the same upgrade (920 to 1520) via the AT&T 32gb model and got it for only $50, so it was very much worth it for me. I love the screen, and while performance never stuttered on the 920, the difference is noticeable between it and my 1520. I've considered swapping it for the RM-938 model now that it's available, but it's just not worth the money for me just to get carrier independent upgrades and Qi. I can live with USB or the PMA case.

 

[gmaster456]

Windows Phone 8.1 will breathe new life into your phone and should scratch that upgrade itch for you. At least for a while. The 920 is till an excellent device. If it still doesn't everything you need I wouldn't bother.

 

[crashtestdummy]

Windows Phone 8.1 will breathe new life into your phone and should scratch that upgrade itch for you. At least for a while. The 920 is till an excellent device. If it still doesn't everything you need I wouldn't bother.

This. Get on the developer preview (free, it just requires an App Studio account and the preview for developers app) so that you can get 8.1 next week.

The switch from 8->8.1 will probably be a bigger day-to-day change than getting a new device.