Wow.. the 520 has to be the best deal for any smartphone

[v10type-r]

K, I was one of the first to get the Rogers Lumia 920s when it launched, I've had it since late October 2012 and I love it. But my wifes Samsung Focus (i917) is dated and she spends more time with the kids at home so I am giving her my 920 to capture those candid photos.

To replace my 920 for now (I hope to get the EOS/925) when it comes to Canada, I initially wanted to get an ATIV-S, but I wasn't satisfied... the lack of support and the missing Nokia apps were too much to overcome. A little worried about going from the top to the bottom of the model range, I had my friend pick me up a Lumia 520. It was a prepaid phone locked to Telus, but he works for a local electronics shop and he "staff purchased" the phone for me.

The phone with Telus retails for $129 here with a no-term contract, so quite cheap to begin with....
Prepaid Nokia Lumia 520*|* Prepaid phones*|* Phones & devices*|* TELUS Mobility

But at his price it came to $98 plus tax! WOW! I had it unlocked ($20) so it ended up being $120 for an unlocked Lumia 520. I've just finished setting it up to my liking and its quite a smooth operating phone.

Sure I no longer have LTE, a nice screen, wireless charging, and better camera but for $100 this phone is fast and functional. And if I break it or drop it I won't be so devastated!

The only thing that bothers me is that I can't play NBA Jam or Tiger Woods golf anymore.. but those games can wait til I get my next WP device.

I'm really happy with this device and I think for anyone out there looking to get into a smart phone or want a cheap backup phone you can't beat the Lumia 520.. Its simple to use, runs smoothly, lightweight and takes decent photos with adequate lighting. It really does provide a great windows phone 8 experience.

The expandable storage is nice too, but with Nokia Music I have no real need for that extra space. (I installed a 32GB microsd in it just cause I can).

That's all I really wanted to say, I love the phone, I love that Nokia can make a phone so affordable without deteriorating the WP experience.

For me, the 520 will easily bridge that gap (3-6 months) and keep me satisfied til I get the next flagship Nokia WP device. :smile:

 

[stmav]

That's the 2nd personal review on the 520 I've seen in the last couple of days. Thanks for the information and your input.

 

[rakesh1995]

Sure I no longer have LTE, a nice screen, wireless charging, and better camera but for $100

Bro you could have bought lumia 521 its a variant of 520 and has LTE

 

[Musicman247]

The 521 does not have LTE. The 925 will be the first T-Mobile Windows Phone with LTE.

 

[v10type-r]

The 521 doesn't have the proper freq bands for my service provider. Plus I am in Canada and getting a T-Mobile one shipped up here would've cost me about double after getting it unlocked.

 

[faceless_el]

But at his price it came to $98 plus tax! WOW! I had it unlocked ($20) so it ended up being $120 for an unlocked Lumia 520. I've just finished setting it up to my liking and its quite a smooth operating phone.

that's a good deal, got mine from Rogers they had it on sale for $119.00, rather than the regular $149.99 but either way you are correct as this really is one of the best deals when it comes to smartphones

 

[Shawn Magm]

I pulled the trigger and purchased a 520 yesterday at one of the AT&T company stores. I have a Galaxy S3 and of course, it would be unfair to compare the two. I really love Android and the S3 is great except for a couple annoying things (battery plummet and a hardware issue that prevents my phone from charging).

I have a post paid AT&T account. I took my SIM out of the S3 and popped it in the Lumia. I was getting 4G data and voice was working.

The hardware is reasonably nice for an entry level phone. As many have pointed out, the screen is a fingerprint magnet. The picture quality is also nice on the 4" screen. The phone feel decently nice to hold. Listening to music on the external speaker is pretty good. I heard that with the Amber update, FM radio will be functional, which is a nice feature for me. A front facing camera isn't that important for me. I will give the camera and GPS a try soon.

I know that this isn't a Windows Mobile vs Android thread, but I'm having a difficult time getting used to Windows Phone 8. I'm not getting any sound notifications for things such as new email, or texts from Google Voice. Google Voice and Google Music are couple of the most important apps for me. The 3rd party apps just aren't as nice as Google's, and Gooroovster/Cloud Musik crash after playing a song or two.

I bought this phone as a holdover phone, as I'm contemplating selling my S3 and either do an early upgrade and purchase another Android. With the Moto X announcement next week and possibly a Nexus 5 announcement in another week, I might wait a little longer.

 

[faceless_el]

the ring sound on the 520 is unified. So if your ringer for the phone is set to High then everything else on the phone is set to high (even your music, sms, email, im notifications)

 

[mark nt]

I bought a 520 after breaking my 720 and having to wait for a new 720 to come in...i also was surprize how well this little trooper worked for a budget phone.
As said above the screen is a finger print magnet but after installing a screen protector this issue is now not a problem. I also found it gets real good reception when on the edge of mobile service where my 720/925 would lose service the 520 still picks up and can travel thous extra km and still have service before having to switch on the satellite phone. Foot note i work in remote Central Australia were phone service is only around larger towns and remote communities.

 

[Slaytor Z]

I bought the 520, which is my first Windows Phone, and it is one of the best value for money budget devices out there on all platforms. You get a lot for your money and you can hardly see the difference between its 200 something ppi display and 400 something full HD. Anyone who's looking for a good budget phone I'd really recommend this.