U.S. consumers can now purchase the Nokia Lumia 930 through a third-party vender, but the device is not selling for cheap.
Just to be clear, the Lumia 930 is essentially the international version of the Lumia Icon, which works exclusively through Verizon. Though Nokia is not planning to sell the Lumia 930 in the U.S., the mobile device is now for sale at the Expansys USA online store for $699.99.
In contrast, the Lumia Icon sells for $49.99 with a two-year contract at the Verizon and Amazon store, and the pre-paid Verizon Lumia Icon can be had for $599.99 through Microsoft. Even so, the pre-paid phone only functions with Verizon.
Diehard Nokia fans may consider the Lumia 930 as a more flexible, but expensive alternative to purchasing the Lumia Icon. Still, buyers should be aware of potential compatibility issues when using the phone with alternate service providers.
"Before you take the plunge, though, make sure that the phone's supported network bands match up with your carrier's, both in terms of 3G as well as 4G LTE connectivity," GSM Arena warned on Thursday.
On paper, there is very little difference between the Lumia Icon and Lumia 930. Both are powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 SoC with 2.2 GHz quad-core CPU. These two devices share 2 GB RAM, and up to 32 GB internal storage. In regards to screen, they each share a 5-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels. Also, the phones use Li-Ion 2320 mAh batteries.
The only major difference is that the Lumia Icon uses the Microsoft Windows Phone 8, while the Lumia 930 comes with Windows Phone 8.1.
At this time, Expansys USA is offering the unlocked Nokia Lumia 930 in four color options -- white, green, orange, or black.
