Hi Guys,This is Gizmo96 again and this is an in-depth review of the Nokia Lumia 520.It is an entry-level Windows Phone 8 device with a Price Tag of Rs.9500.So let’s start the Review Now!
Design
*i.imgur.com/aBUJEg5l.jpg
*i.imgur.com/B8XxG6cl.jpg
The first thing that flashes in the eye when you take a look at this phone is its colour.The lumia 520 is available in a variety of colours like blue,black white,red,yellow.Its nice to see such vibrant colours rather than the traditional White and Black panels.The front of the phone has some sensors on the top with the earpiece.Below it we have the 4 inch 800x480 pixel screen with a Pixel Density of 233 .On the bottom are the capacitive buttons for Back,Home and Bing search respectively.On the top is the 3.5mm heaphone jack.The Back of the Phone has a 5 megapixel camera without a flash.There is also a speaker on the bottom right which is fairly loud and nice.On the sides we have the volume rocker,power button and a dedicated camera key.The Back of the phone is removable which reveals a 1430mAh battery and a micro sim slot and memory card slot.Overall the phone is designed really well,at 124 grams the Lumia 520 is really light and feels perfect in the hand.Although,the back is made up of plastic,it doesn't feel that cheap
*i.imgur.com/B8XxG6cl.jpg
Software
*i.imgur.com/yWlZTDrl.jpg
The Lumia 520 runs on the latest iterartion of the Windows Phone operating system which is Windows Phone 8.As a first time user,I was impressed by Windows Phone 8 and its metro interface.As soon as you unlock your device,you get a flat live tiles screen.The sizes of these tiles can be changed according to what you like.You can also change the colour,arrangement and background of these tiles.We have a variety of colours to choose from.SO,This is kind of a homescreen on Windows Phone 8 where you can arrange all your favourite apps.The live tiles also show you your notifications.The tiles pull out your data and keep on updating like the photo tile shows random photos from your album.Swiping across the top reveals the status bar where you get your standard notifications like bluetooth message etc.As you swipe towards the left,You get your app drawer which has each and every app installed on this phone.You can pin any of the app to your homescreen.
*i.imgur.com/dcNeCo6l.jpg
*i.imgur.com/gmHqA76l.jpg
And,Speaking of Apps,here’s where the things get a little dicy.The Windows Phone 8 app store isnt much developed yet because many of the famous apps of iOS and Android are not yet available officialy.For example,If I search up Instagram,I get various 3rd party apps which work well but there is no official app for.Same is the case with SOundCloud.I use metrogram for insagram and audiocloud for soundcloud.The 3rd party apps work great but you miss the latest features from the official apps Like the instagram video support.Same is the case with Games too.Most of them arent available on windows phone 8 although there are many notable titles like Asphalt 7,NFS Hot Pursuit,Assassin’s Creed,Temple run and the angry birds series.
*i.imgur.com/oAL1dtnl.png
Windows phone 8 has inbuilt voice controls too.You can press the windows key and say your command to open various apps or call/text any of the contact.Multitasking is also pretty sweet on this phone.You just need to hold the back button and select th app you want to get into.To exit,press the back button again.Overall,windows phone 8 is a very light,smooth and fast Operaring system.It integrates very well with Services like Google Mail.I never had any random reboot or an application force close on the Lumia 520.Everything here is very simplistic,slick and easy to use.I personally loved using the operaring system.I would say that if you get all the apps you need in a smartphone with windows phone 8,then you can opt for it.The major benefit of WP8 is its optimisation.It runs smoothly and swiftly even on low end hardware.And once,all the major apps and games start coming to windows phone 8,it will give a serious competition to the iOS and Android.
*i.imgur.com/kbT8BTSl.jpg
Hardware and Performance
*i.imgur.com/MTxkCwVl.jpg
The Lumia 520 runs on a 1GHz dual core processor with 512MB RAM.Even with these low specs it runs windows phone 8 without any hitch.Navigating through the menus is very fast,fluid and snappy.The Hardware is capable of running WP8 very well.The browser could easily load up heavy websites like the verge and picnhing in and pinching out was very smooth although sometimes there was a 1 second delay while pinching out but it isnt much noticeable.The 512 MB RAM can cause a bottleneck in Game compatibility because many WP8 games need minimum of 1GB RAM.But still,There were many games on the 520.I played asphalt 7 and the Gameplay was indeed very good with no noticeable lag.Since the screen is 480p,the graphics arent that amazing but the game runs well.Many other games like NFS Hot Pursuit,Assassin’s Creed,Jetpack Joyride ran very well too.I saw some lag in temple run but it doesnt occur frequently.
*i.imgur.com/TA5kol8l.jpg
The display of the phone is a 4 inch 800x480 Pixel display with a PPI of 233.The display is crisp and colours look vibrant.The viewing angles are also good.Although the screen is small,the keyboard and well laid out and is easy to type.I found the display to be reflective but using it in sunlight wasnt a big issue.So thumbs up to Nokia in the display department
*i.imgur.com/QF8TtWZl.jpg
Camera
*i.imgur.com/LU6QNHSl.jpg
The Camera on the lumia 520 is a 5 megapixel shooter capable of 720p video.The camera lacks an LED flash which hampers its performance in low light.The camera app on WP8 is very basic.You can tap to focus and click the picture or use the camera key.The app has some photo settings like ISO,focus,Exposure etc which you can set.There are many nice apps added by Nokia in the form of “Lenses”.You can download various lenses from the store.For Example Bing lens is a barcode scanner and the Cinemagraph lens produces gif like images.There are also other apps like PhotoBeamer and Smart Shoot.Smartshoot is a very nifty feature.It takes more than one shot at a time and then you can select the best one.*i.imgur.com/NS8UM32l.jpg
Here are the sample images from the camera of the Lumia 520 under various light conditions.You can judge them by yourself
Battery Life
Another major aspect in buying a smartphone is its battery life and lumia 520 doesn't disappoint here.I had the phone charged since 7:30 in the morning.With some moderate usage like checking mail,whatsapp,streaming a few songs and watching a few video, I had 45% Battery left by noon.I also had the brightness turned to medium and 3g data was on continuously. So with medium usage you might just make it through a day.If you are a heavy user who watches HD movies,plays a lot of games and uses 3g data,You might need 2 charges a day.
Verdict
Nokia Lumia 520 is a perfect blend of hardware and software.For Rs.9500,it is a serious competition to other android phones.The phone has nice design,its fast and snappy,plays games well and also has a decent battery life.The cons were more on the software side rather than the hardware.Nokia did a great job in making the device.If you get all the apps you use on WP8 then you can give the Lumia 520 a try.
So that's it Guys,this was my complete review of the Lumia 520.If you're interested more,Do check the Full In-depth Review Video on my YouTube Channel.Do leave your views and questions regarding the review.Thank You.
You can support me by sharing/liking/watching my YouTube Videos
Design
*i.imgur.com/aBUJEg5l.jpg
*i.imgur.com/B8XxG6cl.jpg
The first thing that flashes in the eye when you take a look at this phone is its colour.The lumia 520 is available in a variety of colours like blue,black white,red,yellow.Its nice to see such vibrant colours rather than the traditional White and Black panels.The front of the phone has some sensors on the top with the earpiece.Below it we have the 4 inch 800x480 pixel screen with a Pixel Density of 233 .On the bottom are the capacitive buttons for Back,Home and Bing search respectively.On the top is the 3.5mm heaphone jack.The Back of the Phone has a 5 megapixel camera without a flash.There is also a speaker on the bottom right which is fairly loud and nice.On the sides we have the volume rocker,power button and a dedicated camera key.The Back of the phone is removable which reveals a 1430mAh battery and a micro sim slot and memory card slot.Overall the phone is designed really well,at 124 grams the Lumia 520 is really light and feels perfect in the hand.Although,the back is made up of plastic,it doesn't feel that cheap
*i.imgur.com/B8XxG6cl.jpg
Software
*i.imgur.com/yWlZTDrl.jpg
The Lumia 520 runs on the latest iterartion of the Windows Phone operating system which is Windows Phone 8.As a first time user,I was impressed by Windows Phone 8 and its metro interface.As soon as you unlock your device,you get a flat live tiles screen.The sizes of these tiles can be changed according to what you like.You can also change the colour,arrangement and background of these tiles.We have a variety of colours to choose from.SO,This is kind of a homescreen on Windows Phone 8 where you can arrange all your favourite apps.The live tiles also show you your notifications.The tiles pull out your data and keep on updating like the photo tile shows random photos from your album.Swiping across the top reveals the status bar where you get your standard notifications like bluetooth message etc.As you swipe towards the left,You get your app drawer which has each and every app installed on this phone.You can pin any of the app to your homescreen.
*i.imgur.com/dcNeCo6l.jpg
*i.imgur.com/gmHqA76l.jpg
And,Speaking of Apps,here’s where the things get a little dicy.The Windows Phone 8 app store isnt much developed yet because many of the famous apps of iOS and Android are not yet available officialy.For example,If I search up Instagram,I get various 3rd party apps which work well but there is no official app for.Same is the case with SOundCloud.I use metrogram for insagram and audiocloud for soundcloud.The 3rd party apps work great but you miss the latest features from the official apps Like the instagram video support.Same is the case with Games too.Most of them arent available on windows phone 8 although there are many notable titles like Asphalt 7,NFS Hot Pursuit,Assassin’s Creed,Temple run and the angry birds series.
*i.imgur.com/oAL1dtnl.png
Windows phone 8 has inbuilt voice controls too.You can press the windows key and say your command to open various apps or call/text any of the contact.Multitasking is also pretty sweet on this phone.You just need to hold the back button and select th app you want to get into.To exit,press the back button again.Overall,windows phone 8 is a very light,smooth and fast Operaring system.It integrates very well with Services like Google Mail.I never had any random reboot or an application force close on the Lumia 520.Everything here is very simplistic,slick and easy to use.I personally loved using the operaring system.I would say that if you get all the apps you need in a smartphone with windows phone 8,then you can opt for it.The major benefit of WP8 is its optimisation.It runs smoothly and swiftly even on low end hardware.And once,all the major apps and games start coming to windows phone 8,it will give a serious competition to the iOS and Android.
*i.imgur.com/kbT8BTSl.jpg
Hardware and Performance
*i.imgur.com/MTxkCwVl.jpg
The Lumia 520 runs on a 1GHz dual core processor with 512MB RAM.Even with these low specs it runs windows phone 8 without any hitch.Navigating through the menus is very fast,fluid and snappy.The Hardware is capable of running WP8 very well.The browser could easily load up heavy websites like the verge and picnhing in and pinching out was very smooth although sometimes there was a 1 second delay while pinching out but it isnt much noticeable.The 512 MB RAM can cause a bottleneck in Game compatibility because many WP8 games need minimum of 1GB RAM.But still,There were many games on the 520.I played asphalt 7 and the Gameplay was indeed very good with no noticeable lag.Since the screen is 480p,the graphics arent that amazing but the game runs well.Many other games like NFS Hot Pursuit,Assassin’s Creed,Jetpack Joyride ran very well too.I saw some lag in temple run but it doesnt occur frequently.
*i.imgur.com/TA5kol8l.jpg
The display of the phone is a 4 inch 800x480 Pixel display with a PPI of 233.The display is crisp and colours look vibrant.The viewing angles are also good.Although the screen is small,the keyboard and well laid out and is easy to type.I found the display to be reflective but using it in sunlight wasnt a big issue.So thumbs up to Nokia in the display department
*i.imgur.com/QF8TtWZl.jpg
Camera
*i.imgur.com/LU6QNHSl.jpg
The Camera on the lumia 520 is a 5 megapixel shooter capable of 720p video.The camera lacks an LED flash which hampers its performance in low light.The camera app on WP8 is very basic.You can tap to focus and click the picture or use the camera key.The app has some photo settings like ISO,focus,Exposure etc which you can set.There are many nice apps added by Nokia in the form of “Lenses”.You can download various lenses from the store.For Example Bing lens is a barcode scanner and the Cinemagraph lens produces gif like images.There are also other apps like PhotoBeamer and Smart Shoot.Smartshoot is a very nifty feature.It takes more than one shot at a time and then you can select the best one.*i.imgur.com/NS8UM32l.jpg
Here are the sample images from the camera of the Lumia 520 under various light conditions.You can judge them by yourself
Battery Life
Another major aspect in buying a smartphone is its battery life and lumia 520 doesn't disappoint here.I had the phone charged since 7:30 in the morning.With some moderate usage like checking mail,whatsapp,streaming a few songs and watching a few video, I had 45% Battery left by noon.I also had the brightness turned to medium and 3g data was on continuously. So with medium usage you might just make it through a day.If you are a heavy user who watches HD movies,plays a lot of games and uses 3g data,You might need 2 charges a day.
Verdict
Nokia Lumia 520 is a perfect blend of hardware and software.For Rs.9500,it is a serious competition to other android phones.The phone has nice design,its fast and snappy,plays games well and also has a decent battery life.The cons were more on the software side rather than the hardware.Nokia did a great job in making the device.If you get all the apps you use on WP8 then you can give the Lumia 520 a try.
So that's it Guys,this was my complete review of the Lumia 520.If you're interested more,Do check the Full In-depth Review Video on my YouTube Channel.Do leave your views and questions regarding the review.Thank You.
You can support me by sharing/liking/watching my YouTube Videos
