Nokia’s Lumia 520 is an entry-level smartphone with Windows Phone 8. It was introduced few months ago at the Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona. This is the fifth phone of the Lumia second generation. The technical specifications of the Lumia 520 are good for a smartphone of this class. It has a 1GHz dual-core S4 processor and 512MB RAM. The display is 4-inches in size diagonally and triggers with WVGA (800 × 480) on the pixel density of 235ppi. In this article we have prepared a review of Nokia 520.

Delivery, the hardware and the first impression

The Nokia Lumia package comes with the usual accessories: a charger, a headset and a short USB cable. Then there’s the manual and the 1.430mAh strong battery. That’s about it.

The Lumia 520 is an affordable smartphone and comes with most advanced and innovative technologies. It is made of polycarbonate material with a matte finish. On the front it has four inch displays with an earpiece, a Nokia logo and a few sensors. Below the display there are the three Windows Phone buttons Back, Start and Bing. The polycarbonate casing goes over the edges and consists of a large piece that you can remove to get to the battery, the SIM and micro SDHC slot. On the back there is a 5 megapixel camera, a small speaker and a Nokia logo. On the upper side there is a 3.5 mm jack, on the right there is a volume rocker, the On-/Off-/Standby-Taste and the two-stage camera button. Down at the bottom there is only one micro USB port.

The first impression is good – it is quite an affordable set. It is very easy and handy. If the  display goes  in off-mode. the screen color changes to grey, not black, which is due to its cheap looking panel. The polycarbonate is dull and looks appealing , the material is selected sensibly and is also found in the other Lumia smartphones. Opening the battery cover is bit tricky: you have to remove the entire plastic back cover to reach the battery.

Performance, Software and Camera

Despite the entry-level hardware, the performance of the Lumia 520 is not bad, because it’s a Windows Phone. The device has a 1GHz processor with 512MB RAM. Its loading time may be a little long sometimes though, but everything is running extremely smooth and quick when all programs are loaded. Especially in the menu, the apps are nicely organized, they run perfectly every time. We can say without hesitation that this smartphone is better than some middle-class androids.

The Lumia 520 runs Windows Phone OS 8.0, plus Nokia has a few additional apps and features installed in it. The operating system blends well with the device. On a large display large buttons may perhaps contribute to some space-filling, but it makes the operation and navigation much easier. The 5 megapixel camera of the entry Lumia shoots acceptable photos if you keep the price of the phone in mind. The photos are not too dark but the camera is rushing and some photos can appear slightly out of focus. You cannot take LED pictures in low light conditions. The camera definitely lacks some options and the quality that are needed for social networks and some other applications.

Display

The display of the Lumia 520 measures 101mm diagonal. Nokia relies on an IPS LC display; it dissolves with 800 × 480 pixels, and it has a pixel density of 235ppi. The display is not that good, which is not due to the pixel density but because of the installed panel. Black looks more like grey, the colors shown are little too pale and outdoor use, especially in bright sunlight, is hardly possible.

Acoustics, reception and battery

The acoustics of the 520 is not bad, the interlocutor needs to be understood with telephone calls and there is no unusual noise. The speaker is fine, it produces good sound with HQ songs. The device is relatively loud, the sound is high for some songs. Although the battery capacity of the Lumia 520 is greater than that of the Lumia 620 (1.430mAh and 1.350mAh), the results ​​are not better. On the contrary: the battery values ​​of the Lumia 520 are not sufficient under normal use the Windows Phone creates about half a day (8:00 to 16:00).

Conclusion

The Lumia 520 from Nokia is at first glance an attractive smartphone, not because of the affordable price but because of its technical features. However, the smartphone is weak in some essential points such as the display and the battery life. It’s a good handy smartphone for Nokia Lovers.

This article is contributed Marina James. She is currently serving as Android App Developer in Algometric, which is leading mobile solutions providing company in California. Her article is mostly related to Android Gadgets, Apps and related stuff.