Last year, Nokia's Verizon Lumia 928 was one of the best Windows Phone devices available. The new Lumia Icon shares many physical features with its predecessor, namely its shape and it's prepared and ready for the U.S. market.

The internal hardware of the Lumia Icon is much more impressive. It is equipped with a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon CPU 800, Adreno 330 graphics and 2GB of RAM. Battery life was "fantastic," according to IGN and gaming performance was never a problem.

The OLED screen is 5 inches, slightly larger than the 4.5-inch Lumia 928 mobile phone and it is easy to maneuver the Windows Phone with one hand. The Lumia is larger than the 5.5 -inch Samsung Galaxy Note 3 with a thicker body and almost as heavy. The weight gives a sense of sustainability.

The Nokia camera is one of the best ones on a smartphone. Radial menus are easy to use, and not presented in a way that is confusing. Nokia realignment allows you to adjust the focus of a photo after shooting. Sony offers similar functionality with its Xperia Z1S, but the Nokia software offers a more realistic final product.

The application developers have an increased platform support, with more formal applications available and some third party options that have filled in the gaps. Some popular services are still not available through official channels. Social networks like Instagram and Vine have support, but Dropbox and Google applications only have disappointing alternatives.

The Windows operating system is not as versatile as Android or as effective as iOS, but the leaked Windows Phone 8.1 might be bringing improvements to the operating system. In total, the Lumia Icon has an impressive camera, a great battery life and screen but has a heavier design and an operating system that is not as refined as its main competitors'.