After years of BlackBerry, and Android, Just bought a Nokia 521

[BBerryPowerUser]

A big one for me is Google Now, but yes, WP8 is looking good indeed ecosystem-wise.

And I consider myself mostly platform-agnostic as well. Love them all!

Yep, I may also agree. I have a Droid. Had an iPhone 4s, and still have the Berry along with with WP8. If something else came along, I'd try that too.

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

I have realized over the last week or so that an Upgrade to a more robust WP8 (Nokia) is a must for me.

I love the 521, but a few things it can not do. First, the lack of flash bothers me. I used it more than I thought on my other phones, even as a flashlight.

Second, some apps like "CityLens" and "Quora" do not operate. Citylens needs Compass. Quora needs higher screen resolution than my 521 can deliver.
I'm hoping that when "Flipboard" comes out it will run on the 521, but you never know. I hope so, anyway.

I am probably going to go with a 920 at some point in a few months. As I stated in another thread, I hope Nokia introduces a successor, so the 920 drops in price on the open market for an unlocked phone. I'll give the 521 to my Significant Other. Still think it's a stellar phone, especially for the price.

 

[calfee20]

How about a refurbished 920 for $270.

Deal Alert: Nokia Lumia 920 for $270 and HTC 8X for $180 | Windows Phone Central

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

Appreciate the offer, but too soon. I have to see if Flipboard runs on the 521. If so, I'll sit still for a while. If not, may consider a jump up.



Sent from my Nokia Lumia 521 using Tapatalk

 

[Guytronic]

Anxious to read more of your updates and experience with the 521 BBerryPowerUser
I also came from a BB that I miss dearly then an Asus Infinity andread tablet that just died after 16 months of minor frustration.

Wish I would have tripped on this forum and this thread earlier.
Bought the 521 somewhat on a whim because the wife just got a Win8 notebook.
Really loved the tiled start screen with Windows on her new HP and I started looking at W8 tabs initially.
The tablet format whether it be 7 inch 9 or 10 never did feel right and was just not portable.
The low cost WinPhone fortunately was the answer...absolutely no regrets.

The $99.00 Lumia has been useful and an extremely satisfying to an un-knowledgable non-business user like me.
Also planning to move up if better unlocked Nokia phones drop in price.

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

Guytronic et al:

Well, as time goes by, I like the 521 more and more. Honestly, My BlackBerry has been shelved for over a week and I no longer miss it. I actually tried using it today, and was a little miffed that it did not have a "People" hub like my 521. Now, remember, I'm using a BBerry 9780 on OS6. I am (was) a fan of BIS. Both the Berry and the WindowsPhone are GSM and my Simple Mobile SIM works on both. Luckily, my Blackberry can use the MicroSim that the Lumia takes. You just have to align it well, or buy a 2 dollar adapter.
The more time I spend with WP8, the less I miss my Berry. Honestly, I miss the 521 now when I'm using the Berry.

Some new observations from me after a month of using the 521;

The "People" hub is astounding if you have a lot of contacts or use the big three social media apps (LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter) you no longer have to open each app. All of these are dumped in to "People" for you. You can flip through the People hub to look up people, or see whats new.
There is a WHATS NEW page where all the social media is dumped, a RECENT page where you can see how you interacted with your contacts like phone and text and social, and a TOGETHER page where you can place Rooms and groups for family and friends. Finally the ALL page for looking up contacts. Nice.
I also like the "ME" page. This is ultra convenient. You can post an update to multiple sources, or set your chat status. Or, CHECK IN from that one page. Super convenient.

Business Hub? Outstanding! Free Microsoft Office integration? Heck yes. RECENT page and PLACES pages make it easy to manage documents and Skydrive. NO EXTRA COST to get an app to edit or view your documents. It's built in to the OS. MS drew on their strength here, of course. Why not? Most of us use MS Office. Might as well have a full version on the phone too.

One of the things I liked about Android over iPhone is Widgets. Apple simply does not allow anything "Live" on their home pages. Widgets are cool in my opinion. Well, Live Tiles are widgets. They update what matters. You get glances at email, you get great notifications on Twitter or LinkedIn, and the list goes on and on. And, some Windows phone apps are GORGEOUS compared to iPhone or Android. Not all, but some. Foursquare is really sweet.

I found this article regarding how WindowsPhone crushes iPhone on a few fronts. Read it and decide for yourself. They also mention Android a bit. One of the thing that they say, is how "Fresh" the WP8 OS is compared to iPhone and the copycat Android. I agree. Link below. Enjoy.

Windows Phone Better Than iPhone - Business Insider

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

UPDATE:

I spent the weekend with my BlackBerry. I'm a Race Director in the MultiSport industry. I produce races and during race weekends, I am terribly busy setting up and tearing down venues, as well as managing the race in general and dealing with the athletes.

During hard core heavy email splurges, I still prefer my BlackBerry. NOTHING compares to pounding out emails on it and responding quickly to athletes and vendors that email me constantly during race weeks and weekends. With a QWERTY Keyboard and BIS pumping in emails real time, I'm the king when it comes to timely responses as I'm hustling around doing 1,000 other things.
Mind you, I CAN do emails in bulk on my WindowsPhone, I'm just saying if you are getting 200 emails a day while you are really busy, and EMAILS are the core of what you are using your smartphone for on certain days, in my mind, you cannot beat a QWERTY BlackBerry. My opinion of course, in REAL WORLD USE. Berry has the edge here, but it's not a HUGE edge.

HOWEVER, EVERYTHING ELSE I do on my BlackBerry can't hold a candle to my WindowsPhone. I do a lot to Twitter in my business. It is horrible trying to do tweets on a legacy BlackBerry compared to a WindowsPhone. Horrible. It's clunky and awkward. Same with any social app. Facebook, LinkedIn are a mess on BlackBerry legacy devices compared to WindowsPhone. Hard to see on a tiny screen, hard to scroll through and get to the exact item you want, hard to do anything with management. And I really miss not seeing my latest interactions with my contacts when I use BlackBerry. WindowsPhone really has me spoiled.

There is no PEOPLE hub, no OFFICE hub, no ME hub. No fluid management of anything like on a WindowsPhone. The WP8 Nokia "Glides" as you use it, while a Berry seems very rough and edgy to me, on anything other than raw email handling. And actually making phone calls is truly easier on a WindowsPhone. I'm not sure how I every pushed those tiny QWERTY keys for so many years. I need reading glasses to try and use my BlackBerry for anything but emails these days. Not with my WP8.

Also, I find my self dictating emails and texts more and more on my Nokia. I can't do this during heavy use email days like described above, but it's a handy feature.

C'est vrai mon ami. All my opinions of course, but I'm comparing the devices in real work environments.

At this point, I could shelve my BlackBerry permanently.

 

[Guytronic]

Meant to reply a thanks for the Business insider link and the updates also.
Found the linked article very interesting!
Microsoft\Nokia targeted this phone and it's AT&T counterpart correctly.
They got me hook, line and sinker.

Have to say that WP8 is much more enjoyable for me, took to it as though I had reaffirmed with a long lost friend.
Been learning\using the One Note app and finding it a good clearinghouse for keeping track since my memory is waning.

The cost of this device pretty much makes any worries about device damage or loss negligible.
2 Nokia's for less than 200 bucks is much cheaper than losing and trying to recover a newer iPhone or high dollar Nexus.

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

Very much on-target, Guy.

The OS on this 521 is quite elegant. It truly glides as if I had written the OS myself. It is quite simply "intuitive" to the point that I truly feel it knows what I want to do before I have even realized it myself!

I have my new digital assistant for sure.

Oh, and "One Note' is awesome. Great App.

Keep us posted.



Sent from my Nokia Lumia 521 using Tapatalk

 

[Guytronic]

The OS on this 521 is quite elegant. It truly glides as if I had written the OS myself.

In absolute agreement!
I chuckled and found the quoted statement probably the best description of any mobileOS I've ever read.
Good advertising tag for the Win8phone!

"The only thing better would be an OS created just for you and only you..."

Bought another phone because one is not enough.

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

Thanks Guy.

I think the best UI is always one that is so intuitive, it feels like the user had written it themselves. I felt that way the first time I picked up a BlackBerry.
I remember that well.
I was in Chicago on business. I had a Motorla "Q" which was one of the first "smartphones" that Verizon came out with that was operating on the old Windows platform of the day. It did not have any "Apps". But you could do emails, texts, and a few other things and it had a nice QWERTY keyboard. I wanted transparent VOIP and only T-Mo offered it at the time and the only QWERTY keyboard they had was Berry, so I wanted one.
The Salesperson at T-Mobile in Chicago said it would take me a few weeks to get used to BlackBerry, but not to give up until I tried it for a few weeks. He was very concerned I would come back in a few days and say I wanted OUT of my new T-Mo contract and my BlackBerry. He was dead wrong. I picked up the Berry, started using it, and it made sense to me from the first keyboard click. Everything was as if I had written the OS myself. I never had to read a manual. Sure, I picked up a few tricks and shortcuts online in the forums or by exploration myself, but most everything to me was intuitive.

Fast-forward many years and WP8 commercials got my interest. I stopped in to a Microsoft store in Honolulu a few months ago and picked up a Nokia and felt the same as I had with BlackBerry - plus the elegance of touch screen and fluid UI - so decided to give it a try.

The 521 is amazing. You can't compare it to a Legacy Berry fairly. My old 9780 simply is a PDA with a phone attached. Sure, I can do rudimentary LinkedIn and Twitter, but it does not "Glide" like WP8 does. The OS and elegance of WP8 is absolutely incredible to me. Just like Berry, it does what I want the way I want to do it as if I'd written the OS myself.
After over a month using it, I can't go back to Berry. I Tried, but I can't. It's just to cumbersome now. I no longer pull the back, and swap the SIM into my Berry. The Berry is sitting idle all week. I never thought I'd say that. But there it is.

OK, if I compared the 521 to a Q10 or a Z10 would I feel the same? Probably not. I played with both new 10 Berries and yes, they are elegant. But they are also $500 bucks or more to buy outright - And I have to buy outright as I'm NOT going contracted plan any more. I'm Pre-Pay Simple Mobile and I will STAY that way. So for a $400 dollar difference, the 521 blows the competition away. 'Nuff said.

My next move is to get a Nokia 9xx. I'm hoping that the price to buy will drop, or T-Mo will offer it Pre-Pay like they did the 521. Even if it is in the $200 range, I'd jump on it. But for now, we are VERY lucky we have the 521 to wet our appetite for WP8. Nokia/MicroSoft were VERY smart to do this. Brilliant marketing. They got me hooked! :amaze:

 

[Guytronic]

Same here on the want for a Lumia 9 something.
I'd love to go with the 1020 it's just the AT&T thing causes me to duck back around the corner.

Gotta say it again the 521 is so much fun I can't believe it.
To date I've spent more on cases, mobile\car chargers, screen protecting and other crazy stuff.
I'm very bad at not spending $$ on electronic devices that have taken a grip.

All the accessories aside the bottom end Lumia is way more than I've ever had before.

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

I'm lucky. I have only purchased two cases. One came with the phone as did a car charger. They were a package deal.

Truly amazing phone. I'm afraid my old BlackBerry is permanently retired.




Sent from my Nokia Lumia 521 using Tapatalk

 

[p1800nut]

I have a 920 and a 520 and I believe the 520 and 521 are virtually similar. I use both and the 520 is good for the price, really can't find anything better off-contract for about $100..

One of the things I really like about my 521 is the battery life (I'm also a former Blackberry user who loved it for the battery life). How does the 920 compare? I would like to upgrade, but not at the cost of battery life.

 

[worldspy99]

I used Windows 6.5 for three years HTC TyTn II - unlocked full price paid. Then I decided to go to Android and had 2 Samsung Galaxy phones (one unlocked from overseas and one pre-paid on T-Mo) for about two years. After that I got a Nexus 4 and then rooted my old pre-paid Samsung - which now screams since all bloatware is gone - and is the wife's daily driver. However, the inability to sync work calendar and email on my Nexus 4 without signing the life away at work was a big issue. I did not want to carry a second phone - work will provide it for me. So I decided to get a cheap BYOD WP phone and I am blown away by what the 521 can do with such low horsepower! After three weeks of heavy use I just bought a used Lumia 810 which should show up on Friday. I think I wanted the rear flash for the camera, I do use Skype quite a bit and wanted the FFC and I like the HERE collection so much that I wanted a phone with a Compass. Also I am intrigued by the prospect of getting a Qi wireless charger which the 810 supports and also the slightly bigger screen would be welcome as well. I looked at the HTC 8X as well but I prefer Nokia hardware. Back in the day I loved all of my Nokia phones.

Long story short we all need to support WP, it does have something unique going for it. iOS is a tired interface. I like Android quite a bit but my work does not support the platform, they support iOS and WP. My mentality to always stick with no contract phones rules out iOS from a BYOD perspective and the Lumia 521 brand new at $76 was too good to pass up.

 

[BBerryPowerUser]

Good posts. I have to say I agree. First, I can't imagine the 920 would have any worse battery life than the 521, unless you are using the flashlight feature for minutes at a time. Second, I am super impressed with the battery life of my 521.

Third, I never would have believed this, however, after over a month of using my 521, I am shelving my BlackBerry 9780. On eBay it goes.
I have been spoiled by the Lumia. Spoiled rotten. And I'm shocked.

I spent years with BlackBerry. I loved it. I was not a fan of touch screens. I really did not like iOS. I tried a 4s. It was not for me. Android is OK. I could, if I had to, use it. But I preferred BlackBerry. Now? No way. I tried going back to Black last week. It seems outdated, sluggish, and limited. You can do rudimentary things for social media, but nothing like you can on WP8. Without a HUB for contacts/Social/Me, I have to open a few more apps and go between them. You can link Twitter and Facebook, but not Instagram nor LinkedIn (my most important social app). And the tiny screen with trackpad does in no way compare to Windows 8. WP8 glides. It's a superbly unique OS. I'm really hooked.

Now, if my business consisted ONLY of emails and texts, I'd stay with BlackBerry. Otherwise, I'm now with WP8 full time.
If I HAD to go back to BlackBerry, I'd at least have to go with a 9900 so I could have touch screen.

I'm blown away.

 

[12Danny123]

Good posts. I have to say I agree. First, I can't imagine the 920 would have any worse battery life than the 521, unless you are using the flashlight feature for minutes at a time. Second, I am super impressed with the battery life of my 521.

Third, I never would have believed this, however, after over a month of using my 521, I am shelving my BlackBerry 9780. On eBay it goes.
I have been spoiled by the Lumia. Spoiled rotten. And I'm shocked.

I spent years with BlackBerry. I loved it. I was not a fan of touch screens. I really did not like iOS. I tried a 4s. It was not for me. Android is OK. I could, if I had to, use it. But I preferred BlackBerry. Now? No way. I tried going back to Black last week. It seems outdated, sluggish, and limited. You can do rudimentary things for social media, but nothing like you can on WP8. Without a HUB for contacts/Social/Me, I have to open a few more apps and go between them. You can link Twitter and Facebook, but not Instagram nor LinkedIn (my most important social app). And the tiny screen with trackpad does in no way compare to Windows 8. WP8 glides. It's a superbly unique OS. I'm really hooked.

Now, if my business consisted ONLY of emails and texts, I'd stay with BlackBerry. Otherwise, I'm now with WP8 full time.
If I HAD to go back to BlackBerry, I'd at least have to go with a 9900 so I could have touch screen.

I'm blown away.

Hey man what is LinkedIn??? I heard its a businessy thing. Is there an app for it??

 

[Guytronic]

Amazing how the L521 at it's level is totally usable for the connected business user.
I recently read an owner review on Amazon that was complaining about the phones contact feature being clogged with facebook contacts after installing the FB app.
Of course there are options to disable that if a user wanted this, yet why would you if there were viable business contacts in your friends list.

May not be a "bells and whistles" device but it's still a powerhouse with office and cloud capabilities.
Boils down to:
WP8 has the Hub, email and data thing down.

 

[metalchick719]

After over a month using it, I can't go back to Berry. I Tried, but I can't. It's just to cumbersome now. I no longer pull the back, and swap the SIM into my Berry. The Berry is sitting idle all week. I never thought I'd say that. But there it is.

This is exactly how I feel since switching to WP8 from my iPhone 4. I loved the iPhone (still use iOS as I have since gotten an iPod touch), but when I got my Lumia 810, that was just IT. Like you, I also tried going back to the iPhone, but after around 5 months of having the 810. I couldn't last more than about 5 minutes. Less than a month after that, I picked myself up a 920 from Negri Electronics. I absolutely love WP8! :grin:

 

[12Danny123]

Good posts. I have to say I agree. First, I can't imagine the 920 would have any worse battery life than the 521, unless you are using the flashlight feature for minutes at a time. Second, I am super impressed with the battery life of my 521.

Third, I never would have believed this, however, after over a month of using my 521, I am shelving my BlackBerry 9780. On eBay it goes.
I have been spoiled by the Lumia. Spoiled rotten. And I'm shocked.

I spent years with BlackBerry. I loved it. I was not a fan of touch screens. I really did not like iOS. I tried a 4s. It was not for me. Android is OK. I could, if I had to, use it. But I preferred BlackBerry. Now? No way. I tried going back to Black last week. It seems outdated, sluggish, and limited. You can do rudimentary things for social media, but nothing like you can on WP8. Without a HUB for contacts/Social/Me, I have to open a few more apps and go between them. You can link Twitter and Facebook, but not Instagram nor LinkedIn (my most important social app). And the tiny screen with trackpad does in no way compare to Windows 8. WP8 glides. It's a superbly unique OS. I'm really hooked.

Now, if my business consisted ONLY of emails and texts, I'd stay with BlackBerry. Otherwise, I'm now with WP8 full time.
If I HAD to go back to BlackBerry, I'd at least have to go with a 9900 so I could have touch screen.

I'm blown away.

welcome to WP8 FULL Time man