There are quite a few new Windows Phone devices out in the market today. You can purchase the brand new Lumia 930, or the Verizon-exclusive Lumia Icon, and even snag the Lumia 635 to experience the best of Windows Phone 8.1. But with all these options, how do they compare to each other and which one should you get? Let’s explore.
The Lumia 930 is the sequel to the Lumia 925 and offers a 5-inch 1080p display, a quad-core Snapdragon 800 SoC, 2GB of RAM, 32GB storage, 20MP camera with PureView technology, a 2,420 mAh battery, and runs Windows Phone 8.1 as its operating system. Nokia Lumia Icon (read our review here) and 930 are almost the same except that the Icon is available exclusively from Verizon. The Lumia 930, on the other hand, has different color options and a GSM radio.
Nokia Lumia 630 was the first Windows Phone 8.1 powered device to hit retail in most regions, alongside the Lumia 635. The device comes in single-SIM and dual-SIM flavors, and has a very affordable price tag. The Lumia 630 features a 4.5-inch display sporting a resolution of 854 x 480 pixels, a 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC processor, 512MB of RAM, 8GB expandable storage with free 7GB of OneDrive storage, 5MP rear camera, 1,830 mAh battery, and runs Windows Phone 8.1.
On the specs front, the Lumia 635 sports a 4.5-inch ClearBlack display with 480 x 854 screen resolution. Powered by a 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processor, coupled with 512MB of RAM, Lumia 635 is one of the few handsets that come with Windows Phone 8.1 out of the box and is the first device to be sold in the United States with the operating system pre-installed. There’s 8GB of internal memory, but you can get 15GB of free storage on OneDrive.
The camera is one of the biggest selling points for a Lumia device, so which of these devices have a decent camera? The Lumia 930 and Lumia Icon feature a 20MP camera, while the Lumia 630 and Lumia 635 feature a 5MP camera. Clearly there is a different between the high-end 930/Icon devices and the budget-friendly 630/635 devices.
You can snag the Lumia 630 at Cricket Wireless in the US. The 635 can be snagged from AT&T, T-Mobile, and MetroPCS, as well as Telstra, Optus, and various other carriers outside the US. These two devices feature a fantastic balance between price and specs, so if you are looking for a budget-friendly Windows Phone device, we recommend the 630/635.
You can purchase the Lumia Icon on Verizon only ($49.99 on contract). The Lumia 930, which is considered to be the global variant of the Lumia Icon, is available in Europe, Asia, Middle East, and Australia. This device is hoping to go head-to-head with the Samsung Galaxy S5, among other high-end smartphones. Carphone Warehouse, Vodaphone, Phones 4u, O2, and Unlocked Mobiles will have the Lumia 930. The price is roughly $500 to $600.
On Verizon, the Lumia Icon is hands-down the best Windows Phone you can snag today. AT&T still has the older 41MP Lumia 1020 and 6-inch Lumia 1520, but if you wanted to snag a newer and budget-friendly Windows Phone 8.1 device, we would recommend the Lumia 635. If you are outside the US, we highly recommend the Lumia 930.
