Is the Lumia 521 a good starting Windows phone?

[bobbob1016]

I am considering getting the Lumia 521 as I have a TMobile $30 100 min 5gig plan. But, I wanted to give WP a fair chance, and I wasn't sure if the 521 would be a fair test as I've been hearing it's not that powerful. I can go up to around $300, and I've seen the 900 for that on Amazon, but it's WP7.5 and single core iirc. I don't play many mobile games (except for the odd NES game), but that Halo game does look good. Not sure if that can run on the 521 either though. I'd appreciate any advice here though. Thanks in advance!

Edit: I like that the 521 has WiFi calling, but I do get decent TMobile reception where I am so it isn't needed.

 

[stmav]

Here are some threads you can check.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/no...y-wp8-will-phone-give-experience-justice.html

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-521/230931-coming-back-home-wp-looking-hard-521-a.html

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-521/230622-video-nokia-lumia-521-action.html

 

[Oakdale Dude]

Before you buy any device off of Amazon, you need to make sure it's compatable for T-Mo's 3/4 G Signals or your 5 gig plan may not be too satisfying on Edge Speeds.

As far as the 900, it runs Windows Phone 7.5. The Lumia 521 is a Windows Phone 8. No brainer there. With the 521 you get an up to date OS that still has some update life left.

Although the 521 is not as powerful as the 920 or other Lumia Devices, for $130-$150 it will give you a good Windows Phone experience. Good enough to help determine if you like the platform and want to upgrade to a bigger, better device at a later time.

....And you'll still have the other $150 left in your pocket

 

[nube_android]

You might be able to find Lumia 810's for T mobile on ebay for around $170.. Much better hardware, bigger screen and a better camera for a little more..

 

[Oakdale Dude]

You might be able to find Lumia 810's for T mobile on ebay for around $170.. Much better hardware, bigger screen and a better camera for a little more..

Not brand new though.

You buy used or refurbished and you take your chances.

If you buy from a Affiliate Seller you may very well not have the recourse as you would with a brand new under warranty device from T-Mo or Microsoft if you end up with a device that does not work as it should.

 

[Rodrigo Mendes]

With a Dual Core processor and 512mb, all Windows Phone 8 smartphones have a good performance. 1024mb WP8's have less "loading..." screen, but Lumia 521 is the right choice for initiate on Windows Phone world with affordable smart. The bad side of it, is a low quality screen and have no flash mode on cam.

So u can imagine better Windows Phone's have much less "loading..." screens (and more fasters when show up), better cam and screen quality. Nothing else, i think.

 

[anon(6038817)]

The Lumia 521 is the best way to give Windows Phone a try without investing a lot of cash. I've had mine for a few weeks and consider it to be the best smartphone under $150. I have had about 4 instances where it will not wake from sleep and it requires either removing the battery or soft reset, but that might be related to specific apps and not the OS itself. T-Mobile coverage is also terrible where I live and in some of the places I need to travel for work, but that's not the 521's fault, that's T-Mobile's.

Other than those issues, it's been a fantastic phone for the money and has provided me a great "test drive" of the Windows Phone platform. I don't regret my purchase.

 

[WanderingTraveler]

The 521 is a great phone for its price. I should know because I paid twice for my 620 compared to the price of a 521.
And yes, it can run Halo.

 

[bobbob1016]

So, I managed to find a 920 for roughly the same on craigslist. Have it sitting next to me now. Only thing that bugs me is that I can't turn haptic off apparently. Just have to find how I can unlock now, as I don't have an AT&T contract.

 

[calfee20]

TANSTAAFL That sounds like a deal that is too good. I hope it doesn't bite you.

 

[IrRevd]

Yes the 520/1 is the best way to get into WP on a budget. Will let you fall in love with the WP platform and leave you salivating for an upgrade, if it doesn't nor much lost and a good back up phone

 

[bobbob1016]

Yeah, I like the 920. I see what it can do, just needs some more apps. I have it setup nicely though. Nokia does rock the hardware, it's AT&T branded, but I got it unlocked for $6 (craigslist seller said "Yeah it can be unlocked by AT&T, sure" rly::eck, and I get LTE on TMobile. I mean, that speaks to great hardware. Replaced my iPhone as my backup, but I still like my GS4, as I like tweaking EVERYTHING.

 

[Harry Wild]

I purchased the 521 this week and I very much like it! I still have my iPhone5 and sold my 920. I going to be selling the iPhone5 too. Waiting for the person to call me back on it! She said that she need to get the money together! 521 weigh and size is similar to the iPhone5 but $650 less if you add in the 64GB micro SD card. It does not have the bells and whistles of the two; but I found out that don't to have best. I happy with the 521!

 

[pinaklonkar]

I actually don't like the Lumia 521 I bought much. Sure it's a back up phone for international travel, and is quite snappy for the price, but the Windows 8 mobile operating system platform is not as elegant as I had expected it to be. The experience got boring very quickly, I don't use the "People" and "Tiles" functionality at all as it just seems like them trying hard. The "resuming" and "loading" screens with those dots are already very annoying. To me, this operating system is just a tad bit better than the initial Android releases that often felt unfinished and clumsy. Oh and did I mention that almost all apps (of the very few overall number of apps) are a weird port?

That said, the phone features (it's a Nokia phone after all) are great. The phone conversation is clear, and loud and the phone is built well. Windows 8 spoils it for me.

 

[Oakdale Dude]

I guess it just depends on what you like.

I migrated from Android and personally find widgets and icons to be stale and boring and enjoy the Metro Tile Style of Windows Phone. I find it easy to maneuver without it being clumsy at all.

 

[unlimited kojack]

I switched from android and love wp8. The Nokia is a great phone to introduce someone to wp8.

Sent from my Samsung Ativ S using Tapatalk

 

[Scott Kenyon]

Here are some threads you can check.

http://forums.windowscentral.com/no...y-wp8-will-phone-give-experience-justice.html

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-521/230931-coming-back-home-wp-looking-hard-521-a.html

http://forums.windowscentral.com/nokia-lumia-521/230622-video-nokia-lumia-521-action.html

Thanks for those links. I read through all of those as well as the content here. I picked up the 521 off HSN for $80. I figure if I don't like it I'll still have a perfectly usable backup device. Looking forward to checking out WP extensively.