I realize that, generally speaking, only the flagship phones get talked about here, and for good reason. I just wanted to do a little review of the 521 because, well, it is an incredible value ($130-$150 contract free) and it might just be the phone that gets those who are interested in checking out Windows Phone to take the plunge.
As a quick background, I had the Lumia 900 for about a month at launch and returned it. The two main reasons were screen resolution and the fact that I knew that WP8 was around the corner and would not be compatible with WP7 devices. While the resolution on this modest little phone is 800x480, just like the L900, the price difference is night and day. The 520 launched at a little over 1/4 the 900's price tag with roughly a year between them. It sports the same ram, although a much speedier dual core (vs single core) processor, and of course WP8. IMO, it is better than the 900 in almost every way, and in those that it isn't, it is pretty equal. My decision to pick this unit up was based largely on price, and of course the fact that I am eager to check TMobile out as I can potentially save a boatload of money switching carriers.
Size
The size of a phone seems to be a hot topic, especially on iPhone forums. It is almost a carbon copy, in terms of size, as the iPhone 5. It is slightly thicker, but stacked on top of one another, you can barely see a difference. The corners of the 520 are larger by a few mm and that is it. The 920 is a bit thicker. I use a fairly thin Belkin case on my 5, and they are about the same thickness at that point (the 920 is naked). I would compare the thickness to that of the 4/4S all things equal (completely naked). It's also about as light as the iPhone 5. I didn't look up specs here, but I am just going be feel. Specs be damned, it feels light, certainly lighter than Nokia's flagship 920 line.
Storage
The phone comes with 8GB on board, but also has a micro SD card slot that will accept up to 64GB cards. Unfortunately, this is limited to media only (no apps), so that could be a problem for a power user but, let's be honest, this phone isn't meant for power users anyway.
Screen
The 520 does sport an extremely modest 800x480 lcd screen, but I felt it was pretty adequate. Again, remember the price point here folks. I can honestly say that it is somewhere between what you get from a 3GS and an iPhone 4 and beyond. Things just don't feel pixelated, and this can very well be due to how Microsoft designed the operating system. While I did mention that I returned an L900 partially due to low screen resolution, it was because I felt like I was paying for something that SHOULD have a much higher resolution for the money. Nokia has also omitted the "ultra black" technology, which wasn't a big deal to me, but some reviewers were disappointed. They did keep the "sensitive touch" which means you can use the screen with gloves on. It works very well, and it's nice to have this feature, especially in a budget model. Take some flagships like the HTC ONE, SGSIV, and iPhone 5 and try them on for size with a pair of winter gloves; you would be SOL. This little champion just beat out the big boys in those regards!
Battery
The battery is 1430maH and it sucks. If you use the phone like I use my smartphones, it won't last the day. On the plus side, it is removable, and it is quite small and lightweight, so carrying around an extra might not be too bad for some users.
Speaker
There is this strange phenomenon where people seem to want really good speakers on their tiny little phones. Why? I am not sure, but who am I to judge? I was actually quite surprised by how good the tiny speaker sounded on this device. Unfortunately, it is on the back, however the back isn't exactly flat, so the speaker won't sit against the surface the phone is resting on. If you were to look at the back of the phone, the speaker is offset to the right. I listened to some Pandora in the shower on the phone, rather than over the bluetooth speakers I have in there (Jambox), and it was actually quite listenable. For those who don't care about music, there is still good news; speakerphone is quite decent, and so are alerts and tones.
Voice
I don't do a ton of talking, but the phonecalls I took sounded great. The person on the other end thought they were fine too. I have yet to try out TMO Wifi calling, but apparently as long as I have wifi I should be able to take and make calls even in no/low reception areas.
Camera
This is another aspect where the 520 surprised me. Now let's get one thing straight from the get go. She isn't going to compete with a flagship. For startes there is no flash to speak of, and there is no front facing camera, so you can kiss Skype goodbye. Even without flash, that rear 5MP camera takes some pretty decent pics, even in relatively low light. No, you aren't going to be taking pictures in the dark, like you might with the 920 line, but let's remember the price point folks!
Overall Thoughts
I think it's pretty clear that this phone impressed me. In many ways it is damn near on par with even flagships. I almost feel like Nokia did a disservice to themselves because the Windows phone flagships just don't seem to be worth the premium in comparison. The flagships are better, but not four times better. I wouldn't even say they are two times better. For the moment, this is going to be my go-to Windows Phone device. I had some gripes (still do, but thats for another thread) with WP8, but I feel that this device is priced well enough for me to actually keep and see how Windows Phone develops.
I wanted to give an idea of the battery. Overnight I lost almost 30% charge. This is with nothing running in the background. I have also deleted some of the stock apps, and installed very few additional (Netflix, Widgets, Pandora, and eBay). Granted, reception in the house is pretty poor (which might mean dealbreaker for TMO, we will see) so that is likely causing at least some of the drainage.
As a quick background, I had the Lumia 900 for about a month at launch and returned it. The two main reasons were screen resolution and the fact that I knew that WP8 was around the corner and would not be compatible with WP7 devices. While the resolution on this modest little phone is 800x480, just like the L900, the price difference is night and day. The 520 launched at a little over 1/4 the 900's price tag with roughly a year between them. It sports the same ram, although a much speedier dual core (vs single core) processor, and of course WP8. IMO, it is better than the 900 in almost every way, and in those that it isn't, it is pretty equal. My decision to pick this unit up was based largely on price, and of course the fact that I am eager to check TMobile out as I can potentially save a boatload of money switching carriers.
Size
The size of a phone seems to be a hot topic, especially on iPhone forums. It is almost a carbon copy, in terms of size, as the iPhone 5. It is slightly thicker, but stacked on top of one another, you can barely see a difference. The corners of the 520 are larger by a few mm and that is it. The 920 is a bit thicker. I use a fairly thin Belkin case on my 5, and they are about the same thickness at that point (the 920 is naked). I would compare the thickness to that of the 4/4S all things equal (completely naked). It's also about as light as the iPhone 5. I didn't look up specs here, but I am just going be feel. Specs be damned, it feels light, certainly lighter than Nokia's flagship 920 line.
Storage
The phone comes with 8GB on board, but also has a micro SD card slot that will accept up to 64GB cards. Unfortunately, this is limited to media only (no apps), so that could be a problem for a power user but, let's be honest, this phone isn't meant for power users anyway.
Screen
The 520 does sport an extremely modest 800x480 lcd screen, but I felt it was pretty adequate. Again, remember the price point here folks. I can honestly say that it is somewhere between what you get from a 3GS and an iPhone 4 and beyond. Things just don't feel pixelated, and this can very well be due to how Microsoft designed the operating system. While I did mention that I returned an L900 partially due to low screen resolution, it was because I felt like I was paying for something that SHOULD have a much higher resolution for the money. Nokia has also omitted the "ultra black" technology, which wasn't a big deal to me, but some reviewers were disappointed. They did keep the "sensitive touch" which means you can use the screen with gloves on. It works very well, and it's nice to have this feature, especially in a budget model. Take some flagships like the HTC ONE, SGSIV, and iPhone 5 and try them on for size with a pair of winter gloves; you would be SOL. This little champion just beat out the big boys in those regards!
Battery
The battery is 1430maH and it sucks. If you use the phone like I use my smartphones, it won't last the day. On the plus side, it is removable, and it is quite small and lightweight, so carrying around an extra might not be too bad for some users.
Speaker
There is this strange phenomenon where people seem to want really good speakers on their tiny little phones. Why? I am not sure, but who am I to judge? I was actually quite surprised by how good the tiny speaker sounded on this device. Unfortunately, it is on the back, however the back isn't exactly flat, so the speaker won't sit against the surface the phone is resting on. If you were to look at the back of the phone, the speaker is offset to the right. I listened to some Pandora in the shower on the phone, rather than over the bluetooth speakers I have in there (Jambox), and it was actually quite listenable. For those who don't care about music, there is still good news; speakerphone is quite decent, and so are alerts and tones.
Voice
I don't do a ton of talking, but the phonecalls I took sounded great. The person on the other end thought they were fine too. I have yet to try out TMO Wifi calling, but apparently as long as I have wifi I should be able to take and make calls even in no/low reception areas.
Camera
This is another aspect where the 520 surprised me. Now let's get one thing straight from the get go. She isn't going to compete with a flagship. For startes there is no flash to speak of, and there is no front facing camera, so you can kiss Skype goodbye. Even without flash, that rear 5MP camera takes some pretty decent pics, even in relatively low light. No, you aren't going to be taking pictures in the dark, like you might with the 920 line, but let's remember the price point folks!
Overall Thoughts
I think it's pretty clear that this phone impressed me. In many ways it is damn near on par with even flagships. I almost feel like Nokia did a disservice to themselves because the Windows phone flagships just don't seem to be worth the premium in comparison. The flagships are better, but not four times better. I wouldn't even say they are two times better. For the moment, this is going to be my go-to Windows Phone device. I had some gripes (still do, but thats for another thread) with WP8, but I feel that this device is priced well enough for me to actually keep and see how Windows Phone develops.
I wanted to give an idea of the battery. Overnight I lost almost 30% charge. This is with nothing running in the background. I have also deleted some of the stock apps, and installed very few additional (Netflix, Widgets, Pandora, and eBay). Granted, reception in the house is pretty poor (which might mean dealbreaker for TMO, we will see) so that is likely causing at least some of the drainage.
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