Nokia announces Lumia 928 destined for Verizon, available May 16th

Colour us surprised, but not so. Nokia has announced the Lumia 928, which will be heading to Verizon and will be available May 16th. According to a post over on Nokia Conversations, we're looking at a new flagship Windows Phone from Nokia that confirms previous rumoured specifications. Pricing for the Lumia 928 will be $99.99 after a $50 main-in-rebate, when taken out with a two-year contract.

The Lumia 928 sports a 4.5-inch AMOLED display (PureMotion HD+), 8.7MP camera (PureView, Carl Zeiss, OIS and Xenon flash), 4G LTE connectivity, wireless charging, three HAAC microphones and a loud speaker. It's an improved Lumia 920. Check out a quick video with Ifi Majid, who heads up product marketing in North America, showing off the new Nokia Windows Phone:

As a limited time offer, those who purchase the Nokia Lumia 928 will get a $25 credit for Windows Phone apps and games.

Update: Nokia US added this video to introduce the Lumia 928 on Verizon, showing off unique features:

Source: Nokia Conversations

Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.

302 Comments

Why NO COLORS?? Wheres Red and Cyan looks like the wait will continue
^
Get a white one and some magic markers...
Or buy and wait a month till gelaskin make a skin for it and turn it any color you want
Chill out
He has the option to wait. Nobody can force him to buy white.
Exactly
I'd be willing to try *cracks knuckles*
Agreed Brad. NO COLOR, so the wait continues...great job Verizon, you don't have the phone I want. I want a color one !!!
It's funny so many people ask for colors, but if you look at the actual sales of any phones, the black outsells every other color by a huge margin. I am not surprised if Nokia/Verizon want to go slow on colors so that they can effectively manage inventories. Once/if it generates enough interest I guess the colors will come.
Yea that makes sense, thinkin it will be another couple months before colors come like when the red Lumia 822 came about 3 months later than the original colors. Thinkin I might cave and just get a white one, gonna be covered in a case anyway but ill give it some time
Perhaps the sales vs forum comments doesn't do it any justice. Clearly ppl talking on the forums want color and the ppl buying the phones clearly just want the phone, no color necessary.
How about a case? I wouldn't use a phone without one, so the color of the phone is not as important to me. I have a blue case on my black 822.
Me too. Phone stays in case to keep it mint condition.
So it's all their fault they don't have colored ones yet to suit your specific wants...oh darn
The go to T-MO and get a color low end device...This is one nice device wish my carrier got it. rather than the low end job.
While I still think this looks like a great phone (and would possibly end up getting black anyway), I am sad to see them not offering many colors. It has become somewhat synonymous with the Lumia brand--doesn't seem like the best idea to stray from that. Just like I was sad that I couldn't get a 920 in cyan here in Europe (or the grey)!
As it says, it's a Verizon phone. Verizon doesn't want the colors for some reason and yes it sucks. Look at the 822, also no colors. Verizon is dumb hahaha
It has red...
No red, limited only I tried getting one back in April. Only silver, black white.
Oh, alright.
WHY WONT IT BLEND? WHY NO PRIVATE ISLAND OPTION?!?
I know the guy's holding a white phone, but where are you seeing there are no colors? I don't see the color options disclosed anywhere.

Edit: Just watched their promo video as well, which only has white. Doesn't look too promising, but still wonder if it's confirmed to not have other colors.

Double edit: Even the Windows Phone Blog says just black and white...so again, I guess not too promising. http://blogs.windows.com/windows_phone/b/windowsphone/archive/2013/05/10/the-wait-is-over-lumia-928-for-verizon-wireless-launches-may-16-for-under-100.aspx
Exactly!!!!! Where are all the colorful options WP8 is known for??
Well, if Verizon does not want enything but black or white it's their choice. This is an exclusive device. I kind of expect to see the global device announced next week Wednesday with the colours..
Its hard to offer colors on a metal body; the colors scratch off and fade making the phone look terrible which lowers its marketing value. If you had a colored phone, dents and chinks in the metal body would become quickly apparent within a month. Friends would look at it and be turned off by it.
Lol! My Nokia N8 completely disagrees with you...still pristine after two years in its Blue, aluminum body.
Is it anodized aluminum?
My green N8 still looks great. It's in my pocket as I type. No cover, either. :-)
I'm jonesing for a Nokia EOS, assuming MS can iron out some of the wrinkles with WP in the mean time. For the present, however, I'm continually amazed at how efficient and smooth Symbian Belle Refresh is. Not the sexiest OS, but man is it functional.
White is sexy on my 920 and anyway 99% of people I see don't have a white phone. Would red, yellow, etc be a cool and welcome addition? Absolutely. Is the lack of those colors a deal breaker? Shouldn't be, especially considering how good white looks with Nokia's designs.
Everyone usually wants specs, specs, specs on here....and now I hear them whine about color options and say they won't buy this great specked phone because they can't have it in their favorite color? Oh brother....
Well, I can't say I'm not disappointed in the lack of colors, especially red, but I'll make due. I'll have to see them in person to decide between black and white.
Well... I've got a yellow 928...
Only it's without the 8... ;)
Buy a case. Pick your own color.
I did a quick look for cases for this phone on Amazon.. oddly they show the phone itself in Red and Yellow.
http://www.amazon.com/Nokia-Lumia-928-Accessory-Protector/dp/B00C9HFYTO
They could and probably are mock-ups, but maybe they are adding colour post launch.
Look closely and you'll see the red/yellow shown are 920's.
yea those are 920's. look at the edges and also look where the longer xenon flash should be, there is only a smaller little led flash not taking up the full space.
I'm holding out for beige.
I'll be there day one. Been waiting a long time for this on big V. Looks awesome.
The first comment...
This is a pre-launch reveal so not everything is shown. Don't worry, you can always get a nice hot pink case for it.
What is the matter with people??? V finally gets a real N phone and we complain about what color it is? Holy crap we are a bunch of spoiled brats.
Lol. Yep
Why do all the good phones go to At&t. Why can't Verizon get a badass phone like the 920? what? Verizon just announced that they're going to sell a phone better than the 920? But I wanted a Henna colored one!!! This is crap. I'm switching to Sprint.
You people that are complaining about there not being enough colors make me laugh. Go with AT&T then.
About bloody time!
^this. Verizon could have had my money for some time and I will be paying full price as I just got the 8X in November.
Nice! You'll love Nokia support, I love it on my 920. :)
I wonder if Sprint is going to play their usual game of "Monkey see, monkey do" with Verizon and release/announce their WP8 handsets soon.
As a Sprint Customer, I can only hope this happens. I don't care what causes them to release the phones, i just want it done.
I like it, and I like the fact that it is announced today and is available next week, not next month.
Good point! I think this device looks really good; I have a white Lumia 900 and I always have in one of 4 different cases that I use, so it's nice to see this device, in white, in all of it's glory. I believe this device is going to sell very well.

One day I will brave it, and not use case :)
Yes Nokia played this well. If the 928 wasn't available until next month that would've been a huge disappointment.
+1
Agree, availability next week is great. The momentum for WP is strong so I'm expecting great sales of Lumia 928. Hopefully the supply pipes are loaded with components and manufacuring capacity. Would be a pity if availability would be short.
You do realise until the media blitz starts stating only at Verizon, no one other then tech site junkies know this phone is available...
I went to my local Verizon store (company owned) and they explained that they won't have the phone on the 16th, but that they will be allowed to order one that day. Which is a bit of a let down. I don't know if every store is like that or if it is just the store I went to. Thankfully there is a Microsoft Store here that will be getting it in-stock.
May 16th.. That's a quick turn around time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=mg7RiWMYwUg
Now that's a good promotional video!
I agree.
yeah, this is great! Now if only they'd publish the heck out of it.
Damn why didn't I wait?!
That is a gorgeous phone.
I Second That, Absolutely Gorgeous plus with the aluminum body it looks like it will feel lighter and better in the hand than my slightly slippery 920.
Is it aluminum? I thought that the Catwalk was the aluminum one.
Every preview I've read has said aluminum body that was sleek and felt great in hand. That is my only complaint about my 920 which is a little bulky and slippery slick.
Its NOT aluminium. Upcoming phones will be a mixed construction with polycarbonate and alu.
Did you actually watch the video?
Well Yea, three times... Doesn't say anything about the body, which does admittedly look like polycarbonate, but I was going by every preview I've read in the last couple of months that said it was aluminum. Now I just read at Endgadget it is indeed a polycarbonate. Excuse Me :P
Um... I thought the 928 was Poly-carbonate.
The rumor is that Cake-Walk is their aluminum model.
Ha! Cake Walk. Funny.
Hope they make an international version for us not based in the US.
if they do it needs to be priced around $400-450. This is no longer the hardware of a $650 phone.
Says who? The 920 / 928 is still a beast of a phone, still holding onto a firm grasp against the HTC One and Samsung Galaxy S4
I think what you meant to say was its not the processor of a £600 phone based on a non-analogous platform. As anyone with a modicum of sense would see an 8.7mp stabilized camera, 32gig storage 768p screen at 60fps with clear black, wireless charging, xennon flash and 4g radios a bloody good deal for the price. But you go ahead and dismiss it because its not got 8 cores.
::claps::
wow i think i love u
I know that's Right! Awesome Deal for that kind of hardware!
If you've been here long enough, you'll learn to ignore ammarmalik2011. ammarmalik2011 is the designated WP8 negative commenter on this board.
I think he got lost from Android Central and doesn't know how to get back,
Hopefully he's not using an iPhone for directions.
HaHa, That^ was hilarious... As Kelso would say "Burn!"
He has a point though...
About it not having 8 cores? Yeah, that's enough to put anyone off.
Now THAT was a good post. Kellzea, I dub you Hell-yea!
is the screen still considered "super sensitive" like the 920/820 and is responsive when wearing gloves and whatnot?
Yes. This device is in no way inferior to 920. Only improvements, or similar features.
Except no colors.
Colors don't make a phone. Hardware does. ...and software
i still want a red or cyan phone lol. the colors do make a phone on top of what else you mentioned. it gives it personality and makes it original.
Personally, I really like the yellow lumia 920s, but you could always get a cover for your phone to make it any color you want.
very true but i feel like cases take away from the design of the phone. i usually get a case for when i go somewhere where i can damage the phone, but otherwise i dont use one and just get the insurance for it in case i drop it.
Its Aluminum, so maybe you can powdercoat it to any color of your choice.
custom job? wonder how expensive that would be.
Check out colorware.com, they'll hook you up with whatever color you want. Only downside is that you'll void your warranty.
have you ever gotten anything done by them before? fine print seems to say that they will then take on your warranty instead of having to go to your carrier/manufacturer but i'd have to read it more carefully. just curious how legit this site is.
I haven't had any work done by them, but I've heard they do excellent work. I get the same take when I read their fine print as well. Contact them, hearing the word straight from the "horse's mouth" is always the best. You could also bing Colorware results to get other customers opinions as well.
thanks! may just do this as soon as i know my phone is working perfectly without issue and confirm some of the details in regards to warranty. get the matte black one too, probably easier to cover unless they fine sandblast down the original paint job regardless of color/finish of original. thanks for the recommendation!
This is a polycarbonate device. Not aluminium.
ok. that shouldn't stop them from being able to repaint it, though.
true. but that would be a ludicrous waste of money. people are stupid though, so anything is possible.
yea i just saw a custom iphone purchased directly from them is over a grand. jeez lmao. think i'll just wait longer for red and cyan to eventually make their way to the shelves. if they never get announced i can always go with the black one and get a gelaskin for it (they should have a 928 template by then).
its not ALUMINUM...
I thought the back plate was aluminum in the 928. No?
nope it's polycarbonate
Than get a case or skin...lol
tacky and takes away from the design of the phone
Depends on the case. So I take it you won't be getting the Lumia 928?

You can always go with the 920 if color is that important to you....
will probably cave and get one because i dont want to potentially wait months down the line for new colors. guess i can find quality skins that fit the shape of the phpne perfectly or find some other means to differentiate it color wise. i could go with the 920, sure, i debated that 2 months ago when my contract was up, but i don't want AT&T. have always had reliable and fast data service with verizon.
Looks nice, some nice upgrades on the 920. Seems its only offered in that color?
It raises question as what they will announce on 14th then? EOS?
INSTAGRAM
I thought Instagram was supposed to be announced along with this phone?
Exactly...had to scroll a while to see someone ask this. I was starting to wonder if I was the only one with this question. :-)
And / or Catwalk, and don't forget about the next Here version
They're announcing "Catwalk" on the 14th. Ya know, the aluminum-body variant of the 920 for T-mobile.
Ooh I can't wait! I'm finally going to be able to walk into my store and pick up the phone I want.
Looks really good. AMOLED with the brightness capabilities as the 920? Nice. Can't wait to see what happens in the fall.
Why just Verizon?? Why not the rest of the world??
Um it is available in the rest of the world. Its called the 920.
I wouldn't say 920 as our phones are slightly different lol.
But there could possibly be a 925 :P
Because the screen is AMOLED, does anyone know if it has a pentile subpixel arrangement or not?
Let's not get vulgar ;)
Bwahaha. Get your head out of the gutter.
Could go either way. Nokia has used both pentile and rgb oled in the past and did not use the + moniker that Samsung uses to differentiate. To my knowledge there is no 1280x768 4.5" amoled screen on any Samsung phone currently on the market so there is no reference (the Lumia 900/820 used the screen of the galaxy s2) Since there are pentile 1080p amoled screens on the market (which is about the same resolution as rgb 720P) there's no technical reason why it wouldn't be be full rgb but historically consumers don't care about actual resolution just specs so they may go pentile just to save money. So in short... we don't know yet.
I wish they had some of the color on the front of the phone. But I'm afraid most ppl that would have bought it switched to att.
Not true AT ALL.
So the differences between this and the 920, other than dimensions, are the updated speakers, AMOLED screen, HAAC mics, and...?
HAAC is included in the 920
Sorry I meant the 3-mic HAAC arrangement - I believe 920 has 2?
Nope, it's got 3 :) One on the bottom next to the loud speaker, one next to the earpiece (it's hiden inside) and one next to the headphone jack on the top.
Lumia 920 (and 820) also has HAAC mics.
And 720, right?
3 of them?
920 does. Can't speak for the rest... But I'm guessing (and it's just a guess), that for the whole HAAC principle to work you need 3 mics.
Three HAAC mics, does that mean that we can now record high dynamic range audio in stereo? That plus OIS would make for some killer immersive concert videos.

Slogan: Nokia Lumia 928 - recording on stereoids. (wait no, that sounds like an illness)
I wish they would have left the logo off or put it on the back like the 8x.
While I'd like more color options, I can be satisfied with the white one.

It's also nice that they are making it available right away. The game of releasing it 1-3 months after announcing it doesn't work so well.
Doubt, I´m an AT&T costumer. Could I buy the 928 off contrat and use on my AT&T SIM?
Not likely....
No. Verizon doesn't use sim cards.
Verizon does use sim cards on their 4G phones.
Yes and all LTE based phones are world phones....so you might be able to use it on AT&T...
Verizon LTE and Global Ready phones do use a SIM.
EDIT: Sorry, missed the reply that beat me.
Verizon has been using SIM cards since Q1 2011.
Yes you can, the new phones from verizon are gsm unlocked, you wont get lte though, only hspa
This.
No LTE? humm I will keep my 920 :) Thanks Pankaj.
While its true that Verizon phones are GSM unlocked, I always thought that these phones will only work in Europe given that Verizon phone in US will always try to find Verizon network first.
Not if you have a different carriers' SIM card in it.
I was wondering the same thing.
There is LTE but it works only on Verizon band. Maybe the AWS portion of it could work for T Mobile, but don't quote me on that. It will not work on AT&T 700MHz spectrum for sure.
Lte kills my 920 battery anyway.
It seems like they chose a more narrow corner radius for the phone's edges. I like it a lot. Might just be an optical illusion though...
I wish I knew enough geometry to understand what this means. :D
Evster is saying that the corners, while still rounded, seem sharper or more "boxy." I think they are as well, and I like the look a lot.
Agreed. Even with my 920, I appreciate both styles equally as much, aesthetically speaking. I must also be one of the few who doesn't mind the color selection all that much either. While I love my Red 920, either choice of black or white on the 928 is going to look more appealing than the competition, particularly with its color live tiles and all of its other hardware perks.
What is the full price without a new contract? Used my upgrade on the 822 back in December. Couldn't wait this long for a new phone, but now I am thinking I want this phone!
Same here, got my 8X in January but am really liking the look of this phone!
Specs seem good. Not a big fan of the design however...
This phone looks so much better in motion than those previous pictures led us to believe. I hope there is a way to use this phone in the US without signing a Verizon contract. My only concern is OLED. Isn't OLED prone to burn-in?
from what i've read, verizon WP8's are global unlocked so you can use the sim of any other carrier as long as it supports bands the other carrier uses. i believe this phone works on ATT but won't have LTE, just hspa.
Which is fine if you ask me. ATT HSPA really is pretty good for just about anything.
Retail not contract price is rumored to be about $549.99, so you can buy it off contract for full retail.
I haven't had that issue on any of my OLED devices.
Had several AMOLED MP3 players and a Dell Venue Pro which also was AMOLED.
My Zune HD is oled and I have had no burn in whatsoever, super-heavy use since 2010.
Oh I want one pleasee
http://youtu.be/mg7RiWMYwUg
Not a SINGLE peep from Verizon. So nice of them to make Nokia do all of the advertising. I bet if this was a mediocre Android device sharing a name with a crappy flip-phone from the late 90's they'd have ads and announcements all over the place.
http://news.verizonwireless.com/news/2013/05/nokia-lumia-928.html
It's not even on their website yet. Perhaps they're waiting for the 16th for a media blitz?
Maybe, just maybe there is another reason. Maybe that reason is that they are currently having a sale and that sale ends May 12th. Just sayin.. sometimes there is a really simple reason. More directed at WheelmanForHire and anyone else that thinks the same.
The store I went to (yes a company owned Verizon Store) told me they are not getting any of the phones, they will be able to take orders on the 16th. I hope they are wrong.
Group text messaging? Verizon's bizarrly crippled that feature on their other WP8 phones. Anyone know if that still holds true on this one?
It's been incredibly irritating to see WPCentral continue to ignore the issue of a carr