Some Q's About the Lumia 521

[Armada]

Hi guys. I'm an Android, iOS, and Windows 8.1 user but I don't really dabble much in Windows Phone. However for my girlfriend's birthday I'm buying her a Lumia 521 to her off her old Nokia "dumbphone" that apparently can't even send or receive picture messages. This is the most inexpensive option (budget it is way tight) and so since this is her first smartphone I think going overboard with features and cost would end up as a waste. This is mostly a few simple questions:

1. Is Cortana good for reminders? She wants to dictate reminders to her phone. So if it's worth it, I'll just push her to the 8.1 preview.
2. Should I buy a screen protector? I don't think a case is necessary as the back cover seems like it'll be cheap to replace. But since she'll be putting it in her purse with keys and coins I'm wondering if how scratch resistant the glass is.

Beyond that, I think I know what I'll be getting her into. It should be simple enough for her and a big step up from a feature phone. I'm buying later today. Thanks for helping!

 

[calfee20]

The 521 is a fingerprint magnet. I used a skinomi which has a better feel than the bare screen. I haven't tried cortana.

 

[CrossedFaith]

I use Cortana to set reminders all the time. So id say yes to that one.

Glass seems scratch resistant...but it indeed is a fingerprint magnet.

Sent from my magical toaster

 

[Armada]

Thanks guys. I ordered a bit earlier and got a screen protector just in case. About WP8.1, is the battery life really that bad? I guess if anyone using the 521 could say whether or not it's worth the features for the price of some battery. She'll be using this pretty darn causally, so it's a bit different than we who like to geek out.

 

[Aren Clegg]

One day I accidentally put my phone my pocket with my keys and it got a small scratch on the screen. So be careful.

 

[Norris Rochelle]

Thanks guys. I ordered a bit earlier and got a screen protector just in case. About WP8.1, is the battery life really that bad? I guess if anyone using the 521 could say whether or not it's worth the features for the price of some battery. She'll be using this pretty darn causally, so it's a bit different than we who like to geek out.

The battery life on the 521 is excellent even when running 8.1. relatively speaking, it's all based on how often you use your phone.

 

[Eric J F]

There's talk in these forums about 8.1 messing up texts with WiFi (or something like that), so if that's important you should consider waiting until T-Mobile pushes their official release.

Other than that (and the 'fingerprint magnet') it's an excellent bargain.

 

[Armada]

There's talk in these forums about 8.1 messing up texts with WiFi (or something like that), so if that's important you should consider waiting until T-Mobile pushes their official release.

Other than that (and the 'fingerprint magnet') it's an excellent bargain.

So does that mean on WiFi texts won't send? That's a bit distressing if true. If anyone else could charm in with battery life information (approx. percent per hours) I'd like it. Cortana seems like something she'd really use, and "this summer" is a pretty vague window.

 

[calfee20]

Maybe I am more patient than some people but I would wait for T-Mobile to bring the 8.1 update if Wi-Fi calling is important to you. You have to decide which is more important Cortana or Wi-Fi calling. The way T-Mobile immediately announced the 630 and 8.1 for the 521 and 925 I don't think it will be too long getting here.

 

[Eric J F]

So does that mean on WiFi texts won't send? That's a bit distressing if true. If anyone else could charm in with battery life information (approx. percent per hours) I'd like it. Cortana seems like something she'd really use, and "this summer" is a pretty vague window.

I agree with the last poster about waiting if texting and/or WiFi Calling is important- I am since we need WiFi Calling.

I'd look in this and MS's Windows Phone forums for details. I didn't pay much attention since I plan on waiting for T-Mobile to release their official update for our 521. I updated my HTC 8X by the developer's route because T-Mobile doesn't really support that phone anymore.

 

[Armada]

She barely calls to begin with, so WiFi calling is unlikely to be a feature she'll use, so maybe I'll put her on the preview.

 

[CrossedFaith]

You can toggle wifi calling off in the app if it doesn't work, no big deal there.

As far as battery life goes, I take my phone off the charger around 7am usually, and it goes back on the charger at about midnight. Usually around 40-50% battery left.

Sent from my magical toaster

 

[Armada]

We talked about it and she wants to try using it as-is until she gets used to it. She says she does want to try Cortana before the official update though so we may get her on the preview once some kinks are worked out.

 

[Aren Clegg]

We talked about it and she wants to try using it as-is until she gets used to it. She says she does want to try Cortana before the official update though so we may get her on the preview once some kinks are worked out.

I updated my 521, but kind of held off on updating my wife's. Cortana is cool, but my battery was draining fast so I turned her off. Plus after I updated my power button stopped working. Not sure if its a hardware or software issue. The wipe keyboard is awesome. Love notifications center. I don't like how the facebook integration is kind of gone. The me tile is pretty much useless. You're pretty much forced to use the facebook app. I understand that it allows faster app development so I guess that's a plus.

 

[onlysublime]

1. Is Cortana good for reminders? She wants to dictate reminders to her phone. So if it's worth it, I'll just push her to the 8.1 preview.
2. Should I buy a screen protector? I don't think a case is necessary as the back cover seems like it'll be cheap to replace. But since she'll be putting it in her purse with keys and coins I'm wondering if how scratch resistant the glass is.

Beyond that, I think I know what I'll be getting her into. It should be simple enough for her and a big step up from a feature phone. I'm buying later today. Thanks for helping!

Cortana works great for reminders. Put it's in the tasks/calendar. You can say something like "remind me in a couple of hours to buy milk" and it will save the audio recording of what you said and put a ringing reminder that sounds off in a couple of hours as well as put it in text and the tasks/calendar.

Yes, buy the screen protector. for one thing, the 520 and 521 do not have gorilla glass. it's just cheapo glass.

 

[berrydroidapple]

I haven't had any issues with battery on 8.1 preview. The thing I love about my 521, in comparison to my Galaxy S2, is how quickly the battery charges.

I own a power messenger bag, meaning it's a bag with a battery built in for charging, my Lumia charges in less than 30 minutes.

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