The Qualcomm Snapdragon processor CPU cores enable extra performance when you need it and puts you in charge of running the most demanding applications, including gaming, photography, as well as business and personal productivity.
Imagine a radio station where every track is chosen just for you, from music you love and music you’ll want to discover. Meet Nokia MixRadio – we bring you free streamed mixes of music created to your personal taste that you just click and play. No subscription and no advertising, just great music everyday.
Pin places to Start screen, Public transportation routing guidance, Reveal the surrounding places, Reviews, info and photos for places, Routing options, Save favorite destinations, Call, share and get directions to places, Free maps, Find upcoming departure times, See places through the camera viewfinder, Live traffic information, Automatic day/night view switching, Venue maps - shopping and transport centers, Offline maps, Online and offline favorites, Speed limit warnings, Free turn-by-turn walk navigation, Save and sync favorites with HERE.com, Free regional voice guided turn-by-turn drive navigation
- No annual contract - 4G coverage with data plans starting at $40/month.
- Meet Cortana, your personal assistant, with the improved Windows Phone 8.1 experience. (This device ships with Windows Phone 8.0, and is eligible for a free "Over the Air" update to 8.1.
- Snap creative photos with built-in digital lenses and 5MP camera.
- View video and share images on the 4inch WVGA LCD display.
- Get all the best apps: Netflix, Instagram, Twitter, OneDrive, Facebook and Uber.
Product Specs
Display 4.0 inches (Resolution: 800x480, PPI: 235)
Camera Rear-facing 5MP
Bettery Life Talk Time: 9.2 Hours, Standby Time: 270 Hours
Processor Dual core 1.0 GHz (Qualcomm 8227)
Wireless Technology 3G/4G HSPA+ - GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/900 MHz)
Operating System Windows Phone
Weight 4.4 ounces
some user reviews.
Given the MSRP for this phone, you have to set some expectations. But then you realize it doesn't carry a 2-year agreement. You can use this phone out of the box on an AT&T Prepaid (GoPhone) line or on AT&T postpaid (contract) plans. It comes with a Micro SIM card and GoPhone activation kit in the box.
It performs great! I've owned a Lumia 920, HTC 8x, Lumia 822, and a few older WP7 devices. This, just like any other Windows Phone, feels smooth and fluid throughout. Sometimes when a larger operation (filtering a photo, opening a big app) takes place, you will notice a "Resuming..." screen for a split second. Otherwise, it's every bit as smooth as any other Windows Phone. You can't really say that about an Android device at this price point.
Pros
1) Price! This phone can be used as a daily driver, backup phone, "I dropped my other phone in the toilet and I'm not due for an upgrade" phone, or even just a device you use with WiFi only.
2) The software library for Windows Phone is getting there. It still doesn't have Instagram, but it has everything else you could really want.
3) Comcast Xfinity remote lets me control my TV/DVR with this thing. It's like I got an amazing touch screen smart remote for free.
4) First-party Xbox apps. Xbox Smartglass lets you use this as a makeshift Xbox 360 controller. Xbox Live lets you keep track of anything like achievements, recently played, your avatar, etc.
5) Nokia Music lets you stream lots of music. FOR FREE!
6) Nokia HERE (Maps, Drive) are awesome! You can download GPS maps for offline use. Use it in the car for turn-by-turn directions, or use it while you're out and about for mapping. If this was the only feature this device had, it would be worth the MSRP!
7) You can swap the cover! If you get tired of the plain black color on this device, you can easily buy a colored variant from Nokia and just swap it out. The yellow one looks amazing!
Cons
1) There's no Front Facing Camera, so video calls are out.
2) It only has 512MB of RAM, which limits some apps. I've noticed very few that haven't been able to install, and none of them are deal-breakers.
3) The camera is 5MP, has no flash, and rather poor. But - it's still comparable or better than any Android device I've tested at this price point.
4) The display isn't the best, but what can you expect for the price? It's crisp and readable at WVGA resolution, and the nature of Windows Phone really makes up for any other shortcomings the display may have. The colors are pretty good, considering it's an IPS panel.
Note: I purchased this device directly from AT&T at full MSRP + sales tax. Any of my comments are based on that price point, which is definitely the upper limit you will see for this device. This phone is already listed cheaper here on Amazon just 3 days after it was released.
UPDATE
This phone (retail packaging from AT&T) DOES come with a USB cable. I previously stated that it did not, which is incorrect.
Amazon Customer
Verified Purchase
I had an iPhone 5 a year ago and then it got stolen. I can't afford to buy another iPhone because it is off contract with AT&T and even the iPhone 4s would cost me over $350 off contract. I've been curious about Windows Phone 8 and thought this would be a good way to try it out. It is a Go Phone ( marketed for prepaid plans), but if you already have an AT&T post paid phone plan, simply swap in your own SIM card and it will work right out of the box with your current phone number and plan (If you have a larger SIM card you can buy a SIM cutter for under $5 and it should work fine).
I purchased this Nokia Lumia 520 phone from Amazon in mid-august 2013 (about 8 weeks ago). Anyways, I figured that for $100, I could try out WP8 operating system and if I didn't like it it would be not much of a risk or loss to me. So far, I have been really, really happy with it. It is pretty much equivalent in performance and specs to the iPhone 4s. With the Lumia 520, you lose the front camera and flash of the iPhone 4s, but you get a bigger 4-inch screen and bigger battery. The 520 only comes with 8 GB of storage, but I added a 16 GB SD card for a total of 24 gigabytes, which is more than enough for my purposes. Including the SD card, the total phone cost $115 (w/ free amazon prime shipping). I'd be satisfied with this phone if I paid $200 for it, but at $115 - I'm very happy indeed.
The only shortcoming I can think of is there are not as many Windows Phone apps as there are for Android or Apple iOS, but I will not take any stars off of the phone because that is not an issue with the phone and there are more WP apps coming every day. If this was my first smartphone, there would be no complaints whatsoever. I know Apple and Android really have the smartphone market locked up in the US, Japan and UK, but I think Windows Phone will really get a foothold in EU and the developing world, so lots more WP apps should be coming down the pipeline soon form enterprising app developers internationally.
My phone use is for texting first, camera second, phone calls third... fourth would be browsing the web while taking the bus to/from school, fifth as a music player and sixth for maps/directions. It does all of those things very well. The Nokia Camera app is great - I'm a photographer and I like that I can change the exposure by +- 2 stops, Nokia Here apps are awesome (maps, public transit and turn-by-tun driving) - the driving app even lets you download maps to your phone so you can get directions and view maps where there is no cell phone service (came very handy driving through the mountains in Western Nevada). The Nokia "Transfer MY Data" app was great and pulled all 300+ of my address book from an iPod Touch in about 20 seconds via bluetooth. I like the Windows Phone integration with SkyDrive and find it much easier to use and more user friendly than iCloud - there is a lot more customization options with SkyDrive whereas iCloud has a really dumbed down and simplistic interface over the web.
I've even been able to do a small amount of data tethering with my iPod Touch. I've only had to do it once when I had no Windows Phone app for what I wanted to do. I've hear AT&T locks out tethering from data plans unless you pay more, but I think it was only a small amount of data and since it went to a mobile device it was able to get thru the system. I think if I had tried to tether with a laptop, it might have been blocked. I wouldn't say this is a feature, and your mileage if you try this may vary.
I really like this phone and for the price ($100), I LOVE IT! I think my next phone may be a Windows Phone with LTE and I may end up getting an iPad for those few iOS apps I can do without.
