Lumia 810 or 521 on T-Mobile?

[JuryDuty]

I'm planning to switch to T-Mobile and have the option to get a new 521 or a lightly used 810 for about $30 more. I know the 810 is discontinued...but is it still considered a better phone? Not sure which way to go...love to hear your thoughts.

Battery life is important to me (521 seems better), but so are good pictures (810 seems better).

 

[HyperChrisX]

Looking at the specs the 810 actually seems to have a larger battery, as well as more RAM (1GB), and a better camera. It also has NFC, and Wireless Charging (with a shell) if you want those. The 521 has more built in memory though (4GB vs. 8GB), but both seem to have SD card slots.

 

[Deaconclgi]

Spend the extra $30 for a better device. The 810 has a better screen, camera and processor. With the 810, you can shoot 1080p videos instead of just 720p on the 521. The 810 has an AMOLED screen vs the LCD on the 521. The 810 has a Front Facing Camera and the 521 does not. The 810 has the same processor and GPU (Dual Core 1.5Ghz Adreno 225) as the 920 and 1020 and the 521 has a newer but slower CPU and weaker GPU (1Ghz, Adreno 305) than the 810. The 810 has 1GB RAM and the 521 only has 512MB.

The 521 does offer better battery life, even with a smaller battery than the 810, seemingly due to it's lesser components though oddly, the 810 has nearly double the video playback time.

The 810 is a win by a far margin and is factually, technically the better device except for price and overall battery life.

Here is a direct spec comparison:

Nokia Lumia 520 vs Nokia Lumia 810 - Phone specs comparison

I would buy the 810 as you will get a more app compatible device with far less technical shortcomings.

 

[dznk]

I don't actually own either of these phones, however I would say go for the 810 for $30 more. Both are great phones, but spec wise the 810 obviously beats the 521 in most areas. Like Chris says above it is better in most hardware areas although I think both have 8GB onboard storage. The 1GB RAM means it can run some of the heavier apps and games (although most apps work fine on 512MB phones). Also the extra RAM enables you to have Glance and Double Tap To Wake features. With the battery side of things, it may be better hearing from someone who has used one of these phones, but the 810 has a bigger battery but with the higher specs and larger screen etc it looks like battery times are fairly close to each other.

 

[JuryDuty]

Yes, that's confirmation to what I was thinking. I also like the slimmer size of the 521, but ultimately, the improved specs of the 810 intrigue me.

The reason I said battery was better on the 521 is because from what I understand, the 521s battery, while smaller, actually lasts longer because the phone doesn't use nearly as much power as the 810.

 

[adg5]

810 all the way. I have been using the 810 for a year now and I love it. I thought about the 521 for my wife but after looking into it I will probably find her an 810 as well. Great screen, great battery life, great camera, great speaker, very few cons in my humble and slightly biased opinion.

 

[dznk]

I wouldn't worry too much on the battery side of things. GSM Arena did an endurance battery test and the 810 got 48hrs and the 520 got 49hrs, so not a lot in it.

 

[PB_H]

Looking at the specs the 810 actually seems to have a larger battery, as well as more RAM (1GB), and a better camera. It also has NFC, and Wireless Charging (with a shell) if you want those. The 521 has more built in memory though (4GB vs. 8GB), but both seem to have SD card slots.

The 810 and 521 has same (8GB) memory actually, but only about 7.2 GB available to user (521) (7.1 GB for 810)
because 1.8 GB (1.9 /810) is used for the OS out of that 8GB
If you live where signal is an issue get the 521 it has Wi-Fi calling, need more battery life ? buy an extra on eBay I have several and they cost less than $10. each

 

[HyperChrisX]

The 810 and 521 has same (8GB) memory actually, but only about 7.2 GB available to user (521) (7.1 GB for 810)
because 1.8 GB (1.9 /810) is used for the OS out of that 8GB
If you live where signal is an issue get the 521 it has Wi-Fi calling, need more battery life ? buy an extra on eBay I have several and they cost less than $10. each

I was pretty sure the 810 only had 4GB, may have been thinking about the 8S though, my bad.

 

[waazzupppp]

The deal breaker for me is he no Qi Charging on the 521... If I had to get a new one, I would snag one in a pinch, but even the 1520 is off the table for me because of the lack of Qi. I am seriously hoping that T-Mo's 1520 variant has Qi or backing plates added in to it. If not, the 925 just got to be a bit more appealing as my next Nokia device...

Other than that, the 521 is a great starter phone and the 810 is a good mid-range phone. The better camera, sharper screen and premium feel of the device takes the win in my book - even at $100 more for a new one!

Oh and a side note - the 521 has an HSPA+21 radio in it and the 810 has the full HSPA+42 radio in it... that's a deal breaker for me as well... Need those 15MB download speeds!

 

[metalchick719]

The 810 is definitely the superior phone. I've had it since last November but switched to a Rogers 920 in May. Still, there are times when I really miss my 810. It has a beautiful screen, good camera and definitely better specs than the 521. The 521 is a good phone too, but it's definitely not as up to par as the 810.

 

[ThaKrazyOne]

Well The 810 is a better phone than the 521. I used to own a 520 on AT&T which is the same as the 521, and I switched to T-Mobile and had to upgrade. The extra RAM and front camera made me upgrade from a 5 series device. I would like to see a 925 with 32 or 64GB in the near future or a new phone with a 32GB memory option.

 

[worldspy99]

Used a 521 for three weeks, really, really liked it. But based on the usage wanted the flash for the rear camera, FFC and slightly more RAM. Hence just purchased a used Lumia 810 to try it out. I am intrigued about the shell required for wireless charging though.

 

[JuryDuty]

Used a 521 for three weeks, really, really liked it. But based on the usage wanted the flash for the rear camera, FFC and slightly more RAM. Hence just purchased a used Lumia 810 to try it out. I am intrigued about the shell required for wireless charging though.

I'd love to hear your opinion of the differences, worldspy99. Good stuff!

 

[Robert Novak1]

other than the paltry 8GB of storage space, the 810 is an awesome phone. I am overall very happy with mine.

 

[worldspy99]

I like the Lumia 810 better. Got mine on Ebay for about $86, they seem to go for about $80 to $110 in general. Mine needs a USB port fix, which should happen tomorrow, fngers crossed. I have a buyer lined up for my Lumia 521 especially now that it is unlocked by T-Mo.

 

[worldspy99]

other than the paltry 8GB of storage space, the 810 is an awesome phone. I am overall very happy with mine.

Agreed. I just got outbid for a great looking 822 which is a 16GB phone and will work on T-Mo provided you do not want to send MMS. But my guess is since data works, I plan to use Whatsapp or Viber. I am going to keep looking on Craigslist, slightly better prices there.

 

[PB_H]

other than the paltry 8GB of storage space, the 810 is an awesome phone. I am overall very happy with mine.

I have over 140 apps on my 810 many photo lenses and photo editing and they take up lots of storage and I still have 3GB left
with a 32BG ( 29.73 usable) SD card, 8GB is enough unless one is really an appwhore.

 

[Christian Holmstedt]

The 810 is just a great device overall. Excellent screen, nice looks with a Scandinavian design feel about it.
Great camera, shoots full HD video.
A shame that it is discontinued.

8 GB of memory with support for SD card. I use 32 Gb and it's just awesome.

 

[Robert Novak1]

put a few good quality games on there and watch that storage space dissapear faster than crak at a halfway house...