So who all is getting the 521?

[darkoman4]

I got it. Do I really need it. No, I have 820. But just price point is so tempting and since I also have T-Mobile account beside ATT, I could use it for my business line.

 

[Dustin Hodges]

It finally arrived!

Impressions:
Lightweight (Yay! :smile
Fast and clean
Big(er) (my quantum's screen is smaller. Not to mention its heavier too)
Battery cover I have trouble with :/
White (Yay again! :smile
Fits nicely within my hand.
Okay camera (not like I was expecting a DSLR. Camera could improve a bit with settings change. Images are better when viewed on device.)
A nokia (no fiddling to get Nokia Apps this time :grin.
a little limited on memory (according to Windows Explorer, after getting about 1/2 my apps im already around 3.5GB left :sweaty

 

[rmichael75]

went to buy 2 at walmart. At 7:30 PM two were available and wanted to buy 2. 1 for me and 1 for my friend upgrading from Iphoen 3G. 8:30 when I went, only one available. So I will give this to my friend. One more addition to WP family.

 

[anon(5857193)]

Almost ordered one when it was on HSN, but decided to wait. Good thing I did! I bought my 521 for $129 from Walmart today. :smile:

It's been a great little phone so far!

 

[Corepc]

It finally arrived!

Impressions:
Lightweight (Yay! :smile

Battery cover I have trouble with :/

A nokia (no fiddling to get Nokia Apps this time :grin.
a little limited on memory (according to Windows Explorer, after getting about 1/2 my apps im already around 3.5GB left :sweaty

You mean featherweight even with battery in phone, still feels like wind could blow it out of your hand..

Shell is tricky, i do not trust having to push on middle of shell to get to pop off..

I have about 3.2 left (359 in other) after a few games(let golf 2, angry birds), ofline texas map (259mb) and apps (wpcentral, gleek, still loading up essential apps)

My First Nokia and I love it

going to post a personal review tomorrow on how day 1 was for me.

 

[Dustin Hodges]

Shell is tricky, i do not trust having to push on middle of shell to get to pop off..

Funny enough, the manual that comes with it in the box has completely different instructions for opening the battery cover, and I can do it quite easily the way the manual says. found that out a few hours ago.

 

[gibbage]

My mom had a 710 from Tmobile. She washed it with a pair of pants, and got a Samsung android phone at Walmart for 200$ last month. She HATES the Samsung, so much so she instantly purchased the 521 when I sent her a link to HSN's deal. It arrived today!

I also had a problem with the battery cover. The lable on the back of the phone shows you pushing your thumb into the back middle of the phone. This did not work, but I was able to get the back cover off other ways. I noticed that the battery is located in the back middle, were your placing your thumb, but its a hollow area!!! THIS WONT WORK WITHOUT THE BATTERY!!!! HUGE error, and someone should be fired. Once the battery in, the instructions work just fine.

Speedy little sucker, and I was surprised to see the screen respond when I was cleaning the face with a cloth!

Biggest gripe so far is the screen itself feels "sticky". With my HTC HD2 and 8X, my fingers just slide on the surface with little to no friction. The 521 has a LOT of friction, and attracts finger prints like crazy.

 

[vincelac]

Biggest gripe so far is the screen itself feels "sticky". With my HTC HD2 and 8X, my fingers just slide on the surface with little to no friction. The 521 has a LOT of friction, and attracts finger prints like crazy.

The white shell is the worst part for me. I do tree work/landscaping/metal removal and my hands are almost always dirty. My phone will now probably join my hands, haha.

 

[Dustin Hodges]

I also had a problem with the battery cover. The lable on the back of the phone shows you pushing your thumb into the back middle of the phone. This did not work, but I was able to get the back cover off other ways. I noticed that the battery is located in the back middle, were your placing your thumb, but its a hollow area!!! THIS WONT WORK WITHOUT THE BATTERY!!!! HUGE error, and someone should be fired. Once the battery in, the instructions work just fine.

Again. Look in the manual (Or "Product and Safety Info" as its called). It shows you holding the bottom of the phone with one hand, and pulling the case off at the top with your thumb(nail):

This is much easier (imo) then the way demonstrated on the sticker (I believe the sticker is the generic instructions for a number of the lumia devices with removable shells. Removal instructions may vary by device)

You can still do it the other way, however, I can only get one corner off the other way the sticker showed and im afraid ill snap the phone before I get the case off (I fail every time the way the generic sticker showed).

 

[Mike Dupp]

I have been constantly swapping the sim between my Nexus 4 and the 521 the past 2 days. The easiest way I have found to take off the cover is to grab the bottom of the phone with my left hand, screen facing my left palm. I then put my right thumb just over the camera lens and peel the top of the cover off with my right index, middle and ring fingers. The cover pops right off without putting any undue stress on the cover.

 

[Skaughtto]

Paid $150 at the local Microsoft store today, was too lazy to waste the gasoline traveling to various Walmarts. The first MS associate wasn't aware that the phone didn't require a contract, but one of the others knew all the details. I got the TM9190 sim card along with the phone, but the local t-mo store guys said I didn't need it for WiFi calling to work... we'll see about that when the update rolls out.

wifi calling compatibility is the major reason I picked this up. The SD card storage option is going to be a welcomed change from my Lumia 710. I'll miss the camera flash and I think NFS: Undercover doesn't run on WP8, but for the price I'm not going to complain. It's too bad the Lumia 810 didn't get WiFi calling, that would have been perfect.

 

[binthham]

Can you put apps on the sd card?

 

[Villain]

Might pick one up as a backup... Might end up picking up a few for birthday gifts as well.

 

[blackhorse6]

I just sold my 920 in the market place the other day and picked up the 521 at Walmart yesterday. They had 3 in stock, but in their back room locked behind a special room, that is Walmart for you. Anyway I like it, nice light and fast. The 8 gb of memory is a downer, buy a memory card for sure if you are going to do any videos or take lots of pics. I put all that in the cloud so it isn't a issue for me, but for most the space will be an issue.

 

[Troyseph]

I headed over to the Microsoft store in Time Square to pick this phone up, and it was gone. The entire Microsoft store, that is, was gone. I also stopped at a tmobile and they only had a demo unit and no inventory. I guess I will try my luck at another T-mobile. I don't want to have to drive all over for this phone.

I did, however, get to play with the demo unit. I tested the camera, fine. I looked at the screen, excellent. The only thing I did was turn the brightness up. They'll sell more now, if they ever get stock. Those were the only two things about the phone that I wanted to check out in person, since reviewers said both were "alright". It's no Lumia 920, but who would expect it to be at this amazing price.

 

[snarf77]

Got one for $80 YEEEEEEEEEE

I got it cuz I saw the multitasking is similar to webos

 

[RumoredNow]

Got one for $80 YEEEEEEEEEE

I got it cuz I saw the multitasking is similar to webos

Glad you got a deal... But I wouldn't say the multitasking is anything like webOS.

 

[smontoya2]

Bought off of HSN for $79.95 which is an absolute steal. I'm going to be using it as a mobile gaming & music player for my son. Once MS begins the gift cards in lieu of points. He will be able to purchase items without having to link my card for purchases. Should be arriving shortly. Excited for him!

 

[thepolicecall911fordetails]

Glad you got a deal... But I wouldn't say the multitasking is anything like webOS.

WebOS??? Isn't that Palm which is now offically dead.... also wasn't it painfully slow?

 

[RumoredNow]

WebOS??? Isn't that Palm which is now offically dead.... also wasn't it painfully slow?

Yes - webOS
Sort of - Palm > HP > Open Source > Open Source + LG. It's not dead, just hibernating.
No - it isn't slow.