Nokia Lumia 520 review

King pf phones in sub-10k category

My ratings: 4/5

Here I am sharing one more review of a phone that was released 8 months back and a successor has already been announced and expected to release soon. But that doesn’t make this phone any inferior from its successor or its competitors.

It is a classy phone by build and looks better than every Samsung phone till Note 3. It has sleek looks with bright funky rectangular and colourful back covers. It is a known secret that design of iPhone 5C was copied from Lumia 520. The best thing is that you can anytime change the colour of back cover and you will get the feel of a new phone in your hand.  

In nutshell, it features dual core processor, dedicated GPU, 512MB RAM, 4 inch IPS LCD Screen with 800x480-pixel resolution of 235ppi, 5MP camera, 720p video recording. The screen is scratch resistant but reflective and finger print magnet. Hence it is advisable to apply screen guard on priority.


The display is very clear and the text, videos and pictures look sharp and crisp. The viewing angles of the Lumia 520 are good and the display works well even under sunlight.

Lumia 520 has 5MP camera with 4x digital zoom and can record 720p videos at 30fps . It is a known negative that it does not have an LED flash or front camera. The camera can shoot pics in bright sunlight with true colours. There are some Nokia specific camera add-ons like Smart Shoot that can be used to click multiple pics for a single shot. Later on best shot can be selected from bunch of pics.

The good thing about the camera is that it is an autofocus rather than fixed focus system considering the budget segment. I could have easily gone for Lumia 620 that sports an LED flash but I was bowled over by the beauty of Lumia 520 and many flashes can be compromised for that.

Misconceptions

1. No sharing : You can definitely share Photos, videos, Music via Bluetooth. Even multiple file sharing is available for pics. No sharing was on WP7.

2. Limited apps : Apps are launching at a faster rate.  WP is gaining popularity and developers are surely taking this platform seriously & coming with more great apps for it. All are aware that IRCTC has launched its official app on WP only.

3. No games : Yes it is a fact that games doesn’t run smooth on it. How can you expect that by investing 8.5k on it? It is a basic smartphone and a big NO for game addicts.

Pros

1. Thinner than expected and feels good in hands. Build quality is awesome with matte finish on back which gives a firm grip.

2. Never felt hanging problem in this OS. The UI is buttery smooth. Windows OS is far better than Android in smoothness in performance .

3. Highly responsive touch, works even with gloves on. It is undoubtedly at par with my iPhone and Note.

4. Offline maps with Nokia Here works smoothly though the downloaded maps occupies GBs of memory space.

5. It has preinstalled fully loaded MS office suite.

6. The colours on the screen appear very sharp and real.

7. It gives awesome battery backup - must for a smartphone.

8. Undoubtedly good Nokia service and support.

9. Best value for money smartphone in the market.

10. Virus risk is considerably reduced as Microsoft checks each and every app before uploading it on Store. When compared to Android, it is very safe.

Cons

1.   Comparatively less apps than Android and App store but it is expected because it is a relatively new platform. But you will definitely find all the useful apps.

2. This device is not for hard-core gamers because of its limited 512MB RAM.

3. There is no toggle switch to enable/ disable 3G, Wi-Fi, and GPS etc. You have to go inside the settings to perform all these basic functions.

4. Physical button of camera has to be pressed very strongly to take snaps.

5. The major drawback is absence of flash LED for camera .

6. Sometime Wi-Fi not getting connected but it happens rarely.

7. There is no option to disable haptic feedback. The phone vibrates whenever back button is pressed and till now I am unable to find any option to disable it.

8. The ringtone and phone volume is controlled by volume rocker on one side of the device and is exposed to presses when the phone is in your pocket. The worst part is that it works even if the phone is in locked mode. So don’t be surprised if you suddenly find your ringtone at minimal level. Be cautious and keep checking it.

9. Removing the back cover is very tricky . I don’t understand why mobile manufacturers are complicating the removal of back covers.

Lumia 525

Nokia Lumia 525 has been announced and features 4-inch IPS LCD touchscreen display at a resolution of 800 x 480 with a 235ppi pixel density. This is powered by 1GHz dual core processor paired with 1GB of RAM. The handset has 8G of built in storage that is expandable up to 64GB. It has 5MP camera without flash.

So it is clear that Lumia 525 is different from the 520 in one major way, i.e., 1GB of RAM instead 512MB. So the question arises if this additional 512 MB RAM is really a big boost or dynamic improvement?  The answer is NO as in a Windows phone you will hardly notice this difference(the same is not valid for an Android phone). Yes, but this 1GB RAM will definitely enable your access to few high-end games.

Verdict

I have used Lumia 800- a Windows 7 phone. That phone was having many glitches and problems. I am proud that Nokia has improved a lot with introduction of Windows 8. Nokia Lumia 520 is king of smartphones in sub-10k categories. Do notice that when I am judging the features, I never consider Indian or Chinese brands.  On date Windows is the most beautiful mobile operating system in the market.

If you are looking for a budget smartphone under 10k that is not running on Android, then Nokia Lumia 520 is the best bet for you. The smartphone looks decent and packs in enough punch for a smartphone of this range. Moreover, this smartphone comes with a Nokia brand name and a build quality that no other phone can match at this price.