What's good
- Affordable price
- Smooth performance despite modest specs sheet
- Memory expansion option
What's bad
- Meager 512MB of RAM
- Lacks apps
- Display does not have enhancements of ClearBlack Display technology
Unveiled at Mobile World Congress, the Nokia Lumia 520 is another budget offering for the Windows Phone platform. James Rogerson of TechRadar said that "At first glance it's certainly an impressive handset for the price."
The Nokia Lumia 520 comes with all the features that the average smartphone user needs but at its rock-bottom pricing, certain corners have to be cut. But as Marie Brewis of PC Advisor put it, “So you don't get 4G LTE support, wireless charging, near-field communication, City Lens augmented reality or the latest Bluetooth connectivity standard, but, until these technologies really take off, do you care?”
Design-wise, the Nokia Lumia 520 is a comfortable fit in the hands and its rounded sides and corners give way to easy single-handed operation. Despite being very lightweight at just 124 grams, the handset still feels solid although its build is a bit plasticky.
Under the hood, the Nokia Lumia 520 runs Windows Phone 8 for its operating system which in turn is powered by the handset’s dual-core 1 GHz QualComm SnapDragon S4 processor. The processor is paired with just 512 MB of RAM (and this might sound meager when compared to the competition) but this is already more than enough to power Windows Phone 8. In fact, the only time you will notice a lag on the handset is when you launch a third-party application or its camera.
Due to its affordable price point, the Nokia Lumia 520 only has 8GB of onboard storage but at least, the handset comes with a dedicated microSD card slot in its chassis for memory expansion purposes so the measly internal memory of the handset shouldn’t be too much of an issue. In terms of its screen, the handset sports a 4-inch IPS LCD panel with a 480 x 800 resolution. Though the screen itself is pretty decent, it doesn’t have the ClearBlack Display technology found in other higher-end Lumias which makes the display of the Nokia Lumia 520 slightly inferior.
Overall, you get what you pay for in the Nokia Lumia 520. It may not have all the bells and whistles you are looking for but at the very least, it certainly comes with all those you need best.
What the Critics Are Saying...
- Adam Z. Lein, PocketnowOur final rating is going to be an 7 out of 10. While there are a lot of limitations and areas that are lacking with the Lumia 521, the big draw for it is its pricing. Given the crazy low price, there is a huge amount of value included with this phone and it’s still fast, stable, and easy to u...
- James Rogerson, TechRadarThe Nokia Lumia 520, much like its big brother the Nokia Lumia 620, is a jack of all trades and a master of none - although manages to make a good fist of nearly all it tries, for the price.It looks good, it's got a decent screen both in terms of size and resolution, it rarely stutters or slows down...
- Marie Brewis, Tech AdvisorIf you're looking for a cheap smartphone, you may have just found it. The Nokia Lumia 520 doesn't tick all the boxes on our features wishlist, but it capably handles those that are most important. Windows Phone 8 is a beautiful operating system, but it still lacks apps. If you can get past this and...
- Chris Burns, SlashGearThe Nokia Lumia 521 isn’t the nicest Windows Phone 8 device on the market – and it’s certainly not the hottest Nokia machine out today – but it’s not meant to be. Working to be the cost-cutting entry level to the Windows Phone 8 universe with the good ship Nokia –...
- K. T. Bradford, Digital TrendsThe Nokia Lumia 521 is the kind of budget phone that really feels like one. It has some nice aspects – speedy performance, decent design, good call quality – but they’re overshadowed by the mediocre display and slow mobile data speeds. Plus, Windows Phone has it’s own overall...
Prices (Where to Buy)
Common Questions
We've got you covered! Download a free PDF copy of the Nokia Lumia 520 user manual here.
Nokia backs up the Lumia 520 with a 1 Year parts & labour warranty.
If your Lumia 520 has problems and is still within its warranty period, you could contact Nokia support or the retailer you purchased the phone from. You'll find Nokia's contact information here. If your phone is off warranty and needs repair for a physical problem such as a broken screen or bad battery, you should visit an authorized service centre or a local phone repair shop. You can also connect with others in The Informr Community Forum to find and share answers to questions.
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Resources
Manuals / User Guides
- Nokia Lumia 520 Manual (PDF)
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