Nokia Lumia 520

The other day, I was talking about Lumia 1520 arriving in Malaysia...I guess most people won't even consider a Lumia or Windows Phone given the price (even though it's much cheaper than Note 3) as more people are into Android and Samsung. 

Anyway, while I was looking at some of the Lumia collection, I saw one at an extremely affordable price range: RM499. That's the Lumia 520. 

DESIGN

While most entry level phones feel cheap and less stylish than the higher-end phones, Lumia 520 has no such issue.

It uses a plastic battery cover like virtually all cheap phones, but the backplate cleverly covers the whole phone apart from the screen. 


This gives the phone a similar unibody look to the high-end Lumia phones, even though this is absolutely not a unibody mobile. To ensure a sturdy feel the cover is reasonably thick, and it has a matt, textured finish to avoid the tacky glossy plastic that plagues many budget mobiles. 

For the price, the Lumia 520 looks and feels like a classy product. Even though the plastic is basic opaque stuff, its ergonomics are pretty good, though. The textured finish offers a bit of extra grip and the carefully curved rear sits comfily in your hand. 

There are even a few neat style touches, such as how the Lumia-staple trio of physical buttons on the right edge of the phone are stark black to contrast punchily with the phone’s hue. 

WINDOWS PHONE 8 stands out GREAT even on low end phones

The great thing about the capability of Windows Phone 8 OS. It’s this consistent level of performance in Windows Phone 8 that makes the Lumia 520 such a top device. It may be cheap, but it is as quick and slick as you like. 

Day-to-day performance is great. And it glitched out fewer times than most Windows phones. This grade of overall experience is better than we’d expect from a low-end Android phone – especially from a company that aggressively goes for the entry-level market like Huawei or ZTE.

Of course, we have the same issue each time we talk about Windows Phone OS....the lack of apps is still an issue but it is definitely improving. And if you get this device, you have the Office Apps: Excel, Word, PowerPoint...probably if you need these apps more than the rest, at RM499, this device is a bargain and a must buy.

Social network feels at ease partly, thanks to the deeply integrated Facebook and Twitter feature on the Windows Phone. 

CAMERA 5MP

The Lumia 520 might cost RM499 but it comes with a 5MP camera. The photos taken with it is pretty cool as well. The disadvantage is the lack of a front camera, thus making the Skype feature pretty useless.

CONCLUSION

Nevertheless, at RM499, Nokia Lumia 520 might just be the right smartphone for you. And if you buy it now, there is a year end promotion by Nokia....you stand a chance to win a trip to Legoland or Grand Prize Disneyland.