Microsoft Lumia 735 (Verizon) First Impressions

The Lumia 735 is now available for purchase from Verizon Wireless. It’s basically identical to the Lumia 735 I first evaluated in late 2014, with Microsoft rather than Nokia branding and some Verizon-specific features including LTE support, HD Voice, and Video Calling.

I noted the pending release of this handset on Verizon last weekend, but here are the pertinent details. This is a truly special Lumia handset, and despite being firmly in the midmarket camp, it has some things I truly enjoy, including a delightful form factor, interchangeable color shells with wireless charging capabilities, and a surprisingly excellent rear camera and a wide-angle, front facing selfie camera.

The specs are all middle of the road, I know: A quad-core 1.2 GHz Snapdragon 400 processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB of internal storage (with microSD expansion to 128 GB), and a 4.7-inch 720p HD (1280 x 720) display with Gorilla Glass 3.

Looking at the Verizon version that arrived today, a number of things stand out compared to the international GSM version of the Lumia 735 I received last fall.

Microsoft branding. The Lumia 73x and 830 were the last Lumias to bear Nokia branding, but the Verizon version of the device sports very prominent Microsoft branding instead, as well as the expected Verizon branding too.

Matte cover. The review unit includes a nice matte dark gray shell, but you can purchase orange, green, white, red, and cyan covers for just $25 each from Verizon. I may need to snag a cyan version.

XLTE-ready. As you know, the Lumia 735 supports Verizon LTE speeds, but Verizon says that it is also XLTE-ready, meaning that in select cities you can actually get about double the normal bandwidth of LTE.

HD voice calling. This feature only works between two compatible Verizon smart phones—and Verizon says there are now 19 models that do support it—enabling voice over LTE, which is apparently clearer and more reliable than normal voice calls. I’ve not experienced this yet but will try to do so.

HD video calling. Related to HD voice, HD video calling lets you perform 1- and 2-way video calls in HD video over LTE. You can also switch between HD voice and video calls. (Interestingly, HD video calling is not supported on iPhone 6 or iPhone 6 Plus.)

Pricing. As I first revealed last weekend, you can obtain the Lumia 735 on Verizon in a variety of ways: $192 off-contract, $29.99 per month with a two-year contract, or $8.00 per month with a Verizon Edge plan for 24 months.

Free Office 365 Personal for a limited time. If you purchase and activate Lumia 735 by July 31, 2015, you will receive one year of Office 365 Personal, a $70 value.

I’ll see if I can test the new HD voice and video calling features, but long story short, the Lumia 735 is solid, feature-packed, and affordable smart phone. If you’re on Verizon and are looking to upgrade, this is worth considering. And be sure to see it in person.