Not sure whether to buy 520 - questions

[Must-cat]

As the title says, I`m not sure.
Its either a moto G or the 520 (i couldnt find the 525 and dont think it will ever be available in EU)
Now i would like your advice

Mr requirements
1) must be budget (+Lumia)
2) I`m highly dependent on google services (+moto)
3) must have the better camera (not sure) - photo quality is imp
4) I use particularly snapchat, twitter and whatsapp, and occasionally facebook, springpad
I dont care for games
5) I use an android app called aCalendar, it allows me to sync with google calendar which then makes it possible to sync my ipad (so basically they are all synced)
the calendar thing is VITAL for me, are there any similar 3rd party apps on wp8

What is your opinion?

Also I read something about 512mb RAM not allowing certain wp8 apps?.. I`m used to slow running apps so them running slow doesnt bug me, but from what i gathered they wont run AT ALL. Is this true?

Basically I use my mobile to update various social media with statues/photos & keep sync/track of calendar events

 

[Jazmac]

512 Ram affects just a few apps as should be expected. But a majority of WP apps work everywhere. Everything else in your list is pretty much covered with the Lumia 520

 

[anon(7900571)]

hello and welcome to wpcentral forums Must-Cat.
will try my best to help you get the best mobile for you. Lets make it simple by comparing what both phone can offer
Moto G:- its a device manufactured my Motorola(google) and has stock android, with a quad core chip;1gb ram and available in 8 and 16 gb,NFC.
you can heavily customize the feel and look of android by installing new themes, launchers, keyboards and lots of applications offered in play store.
cons of using android :- there are many, you are completely depended on google services, resulting , most of your data will be sent to google,many apps on play store are not verified and are some kind of SPAM or some apps which does not make sense can access you phonebook,etc.
camera on Moto g is 8mp shooter with flash which is just average quality but for a daily user it will do the job.
android play store/apps are very much fragmented (there are many android phones in market,thanx to Samsung, and sometimes the develeoper feels so frustrated that he does not code the app for some devices...games is the best example..gpu is different on every model and so developer can not make the app universal, will not able to run on that device)
soon after usage android will show its age, will become laggy, cumbersome ,its very common on android as there are many google,apps services running in the background which you can not close them unless you are expert in installing roms/root.

now on windows phone :- Lumia 520 is a budget and most popular windows phone.
if you buy Lumia 520 or Lumia 820 the performance will be same,very noticeable difference, windows phone is not resource hog/hungry.it is codded in such a way that each and every phone can run fluidly. There are many apps that you mentioned like whatsapp,facebook,snapchat(unofficial),instagarm. no idea about springpad(never used it ).
Lumia 520 has a dual core processor and 512mb of ram, which is more than enough to run apps on windows phone, for some games you need 1gb of ram but developers usually port the apps for 512mb ram,basically apps that are requires only 1gb ram are like beta for me since its only avlaile to lumia8.x,9.x and other phones but soon the developers support the app for Lumia 512 mb with bug fixes and optimize it for low memory phones.
twitter and facebook are deeply integrated into windows phone 8 in people hub(phone book),
for calendar you can do one thing, I too have a iPad, since my daily phone is Lumia 920 which has a Microsoft id, I sync my Microsoft id with my iPad so all my contacts, calendars ,tasks are synced between both, I don't use icloud any more. and oh yes you get 7gb free sky drive storage where as icloud only gives 5gb
or you can sync you Gmail id on your phone, it does support yahoo, Gmail and other, all your gamil contacts, calendars will be synced when you setup email account in settings.
520 have 8gb internal storage and has an option to expand it via sd card upto 64gb to store videos,photos,apps are not yet supported but maybe in next windows phone update they will along with new notification centre and voice assistant ...excited for that
camera is decent, a 5mp shooter with nokia camera beta you can adjust manual focus,iso,exposure,shutter speed just like you do on a professional camera, but the camera does not have flash(price cut down ), it also does not have nfc.(no front camera on 520 , nokia have to cut down the price of this phone somewhere so they did here ).


overall you will love windows phone,live tiles are new,refreshing and you can customize them, they are not just icons (like in ios and android), they act like widgets *** icon, they show you most information when you pin on start screen and oh yes you can choose your fav colour for your start screen from 20 colour shades. Lock screen can have your fav image or a daily new fresh Bing image. The touchscreen is super sensitive so you can use the touchscreen while wearing gloves ,,, very useful in winters.

why not try a windows phone in store,and see your self if you are comfortable with it.

 

[windoors]

If you are that dependent on Google services, you should buy Android!
Lumia+WP8 is decently great!

 

[quadtronix]

I have only had my Lumia 520 for a few days but I am generally pleased with the device... Facebook and Twitter work and Evernote and browser preform great. Decent battery life (about on par with my other phone- the Droid DNA). There's something about WP8 that just feels awesome. I don't know why but it does. Hope that helps...

 

[Shawn Magm]

I'd go with the Moto G. As you are dependent on Google services, the Moto G would be superior. For now, I'm doing OK with MetroVoice and MetroMail for Google Voice and Gmail. I wish Google Keep, Task Play and Drive had better 3rd party apps.

The L520 native calendar app syncs fine with Google Calendar.

I have both a Lumia 520 and Nexus 5. There are features that I like about both platforms.

 

[John20212]

For Google services android is going to be better, but if I were you I would give outlook.com and Microsoft services a try, and then you won't have any issues with anything on the great Lumia 520.

 

[MameTozhio]

I'm also dependant on google's services.. but there is Contact, Calendar, and email sync for it. You have to add you're account without calendar and contact sync first, then manually enable them.

The 512mb of RAM hasn't really effected my usage at all. It's so well optimized, I can't even tell.

We don't have a front camera though. not sure if that will effect snapchat for you.

 

[WillysJeepMan]

I have a lot of computing devices that I regularly switch between. (iOS, Android, OSX, Win8, Win7, WinRT, WP8) I too am heavily focused on Google services because of all the options available, Google is the most platform agnostic. Even in the google-hostile environment of WP8 I have no difficulty accessing all of my data and information.

My current daily phone is a 32GB iPhone 4 (iOS 5.1.1) w/prepaid StraightTalk SIM which is about to be replaced by a Lumia 520. (Bought it a few months ago, kicked the tires, adjusted the settings, now ready to make the switch).

As others have said, live tiles are a great alternative and combination of static icons and widgets. When properly adjusted, the 520 gets just as good battery life as the iPhone 4 (which is stellar). I've owned various Android phones over the years, including the original G1... NONE of them had good battery life. I would have to manually tweak settings throughout a day to get more than a day and half out of the battery.

 

[anon(7900571)]

I have a lot of computing devices that I regularly switch between. (iOS, Android, OSX, Win8, Win7, WinRT, WP8) I too am heavily focused on Google services because of all the options available, Google is the most platform agnostic. Even in the google-hostile environment of WP8 I have no difficulty accessing all of my data and information.

My current daily phone is a 32GB iPhone 4 (iOS 5.1.1) w/prepaid StraightTalk SIM which is about to be replaced by a Lumia 520. (Bought it a few months ago, kicked the tires, adjusted the settings, now ready to make the switch).

As others have said, live tiles are a great alternative and combination of static icons and widgets. When properly adjusted, the 520 gets just as good battery life as the iPhone 4 (which is stellar). I've owned various Android phones over the years, including the original G1... NONE of them had good battery life. I would have to manually tweak settings throughout a day to get more than a day and half out of the battery.

wow how did you get iPhone 4 with ios 5.1.1 update, I am missing the old interface on my iPad,ahh good old days :/
new ios 7 just screwed everything, iPhone 4 acts like an android device.
yes live tiles acts like static icons and widgets

 

[czrtech]

I've made a SpringPad app for Windows Phone Notes | Windows Phone Apps+Games Store (United States).
It should be sufficient for all needs.

 

[Cryio]

1) In Romania for example you can buy the L520 for HALF the price of the Moto G. Anyway, in general the 525 should cost as much as the 520 or be 12% to 20% more expensive. Usually still cheaper than the Moto G

2) What Google Services? Take in consideration Microsoft's services. They are a delight to use ^_^

3) Lumia 520 + the Nokia Camera App simply destroys the Moto G. No debate here. Good lightning, low-lighting, you name it.

4) All the apps you need are here.

5) Yes, you can synchronize calenders

512 MB of Ram on WP8 won't affect speed. The device will be just as speedy as a 920, it's just that apps might take 1-2 seconds more to load than 1 GB+ devices. Only high-end, usually with a price tag games need 1 GB of ram. There is only one Nokia app that needs 1 GB, but it's just a fancy app more than anything, so no worries here.

While Kitkat marked a coming of age for Google, now competing on the performance/smoothness front as well, WP still does it better. And you can be sure things will only get better when WP8.1 launches later this year