From the TechnoBuffalo piece:
Industry sources speaking to TechnoBuffalo have revealed that the Lumia Icon on Verizon Wireless will launch globally around the world later this year under the Lumia 929 brand. Nokia can’t keep the “Icon” branding since that is a Verizon exclusive. The move will occur sometime in late spring or summer as Microsoft begins to revitalize its Windows Phone portfolio, likely following the Microsoft BUILD conference in early April.
The Lumia brand is particularly important for Microsoft moving forward, especially following Nokia’s decision to launch the X, X+ and XL Android smartphones. Remember – shortly after the deal closes, Microsoft will need to rely on the Lumia name, and not the Nokia brand, to sell smartphones. It’s unclear what Microsoft’s mobile hardware division will be called yet, but we can expect new devices under the name “Microsoft Lumia” or something similar, since using the Nokia brand name will be off the table for two years....
....In the coming months, look for the Lumia 929 to launch globally, and that should be about when Nokia starts kicking its Lumia offering back into high-gear again. The Nokia Android devices are compelling, for sure, but Lumia devices are the company’s real bread and butter and sources say there’s a lot to look forward to.
The Icon's specs did seem pretty compelling for anyone who doesn't need the full 41MP camera and Xenon flash of the 1020. From our earlier story:
The Nokia Lumia Icon, a much previewed Windows Phone 8 device, was today officially announced by Nokia and exclusive operator partner Verizon. The device, a follow on to the Lumia 928, has a five inch, 1080p resolution, AMOLED screen and a focus on media capture with a 20-megapixel PureView branded camera with Carl Zeiss optics, LED flash, and quad omnidirectional microphones.
Other key specifications include 2.2 GHz quad-core processor (Snapdragon 800) with 2GB RAM, built in support for Qi wireless charging, 2420 mAh integrated battery, and 4G LTE based cellular connectivity. In technology terms, the Lumia Icon is essentially a smaller sized version of the Lumia 1520 and is therefore the second device running the third generation of Nokia's high-end Windows Phone hardware family.
As evidenced by the downbeat Windows Phone fans at MWC, the current lull until Windows Phone 8.1 is ready (around BUILD 2014), at which point Microsoft/Nokia's latest creations will be announced and pushed with gusto, can't end soon enough. As with everything in the Microsoft world, it seems, patience is a virtue....