Nokia Lumia 521 and Windows Phone 8: A Long Term Review

"Pessimippopotamus" (pessimippopotamus) 09/13/2013 at 18:21 • Filed to: NOKIA, WINDOWS PHONE, LUMIA, SMARTPHONE

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So, since June, I had been meaning to replace my aging !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Android phone with something new, but before I could make a decision, it decided to die on me. As I needed a new phone fast, I decided to get a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! Windows Phone. Just after two months of use, I'm going back to Android, not because it's a bad phone but because I've outgrown budget phone market. It's going to be a long post, but if you've ever considered jumping into Windows Phone 8, you might want to give it a read.

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Hardware

The 521 is a budget smartphone that runs on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network. It's based on the 520, built to T-Mobile specs (a bit taller as a result).

It comes with a dual core 1Ghz Qualcomm Krait processor with 512MB of memory. It sounds lacking, but Windows Phone 8 (WP8) doesn't need much processing power to run, so the phone never feels like it's struggling to run apps.

The screen, however, is a disappointment. While the phone is equipped with the super sensitive Nokia touchscreen technology that allows it to be used with glove on, the screen itself is very dimly lit with motion blur artifact being very noticeable. The color seemed a bit off as well out of the box, but the last major WP8 update added an option to change the color balance.

The phone has a 4 inch screen, and the body itself is a bit larger than an iPhone 5. It's encased in a matte polycarbonate shell that makes the 521 look and better to touch than any other budget phone I looked at. It doesn't feel cheap at all at a glance.

The sound quality is as expected from a budget phone, but it's too easy to silence the phone altogether by simply blocking the speaker hole on the back. And there is a problem with the volume control that I will cover in the software side.

The camera is also budget quality, and it does not have a flash LED, but it comes with a dedicated hard shutter button at the right place (meaning upper right corner in landscape orientation). Even when the phone's screen is off, you can hold the shutter button, and the camera app will open, and like a normal camera, pressing the button half way will focus, and a full press will take the picture. I wish more manufacturers built their phones this way, and it makes more sense than flicking your wrist to turn the camera on. Overall, while picture quality is suitable only for practical uses, the picture taking experience was very positive.

Software

Windows Phone 8 operating system itself is very pleasant to use. The tiles are pretty much glorified icons, but they do an excellent job at distinguishing WP8 from other mobile OSs. They lack the functionality of a widget, but many of them actively display current information, and all of them are resizeable (to set sizes). There is also a palette of theme colors to pick from which keeps things fresh. A vertically listed app drawer is accessible by a horizontal swipe. While it sounds like a hassle to go through all the apps vertically one by one, there's a nifty letter-based shortcut function built into all lists that makes it easier to find things. Overall, I think WP8 is easier to use for casual users than Android or the iOS.

As for the app selection, the phone comes preloaded with several Nokia apps that do a decent job at taking over for the Gapps that I missed on my Android phone. It is completely hassle-free to sync a WP8 phone with a Google account, and for the most part, the WP8 has all the basics covered. However, when it comes to non-essential apps, things come a bit empty handed. There is no doubt that there are tons of apps in the appstore, but it's true that there is little support from big name developers. Sure, there's plenty of knockoff apps here and there, but if you're already part of Android or iOS ecosystem, it'll be very hard for you to adjust. What makes it difficult is that there aren't enough useful reviews on the marketplace. There are plenty of one word, one phrase reviews, often in foreign language, which makes it hard for users to make an informed decision.

One other problem I ran into was video playback. First, I had problem accessing the internal storage because installing a new version of .NET Framework on my computer was mandatory. Even when I did load my files through a MicroSD card, it failed to play them, even an older and common format like .avi . As far as I know, there isn't a video player that supports software decoding for formats not supported by WP8.

Another problem I had, and this is a big one, is the volume control. There is just one master volume control and no individual volume control for ringtones, alerts, and media playback. The problem is worsened by the fact that the volume range is extremely narrow. The volume levels go from 0-30, and 1/30 is already too loud for normal media playback, but it's also hard to hear incoming phone call if the a quiet ringtone was set. The lack of adjustability was a frequent source of ire for me.

There's not much to write about the Internet Explorer browser. It's a bare bones browser that acts inconsistent sometimes. I believe other browsers are available, but I haven't tried them out myself.

Microsoft SkyDrive is the primary cloud solution for WP8, and it works as well as any cloud storage, although there were often connectivity issues with streaming videos I uploaded.

On another front, WP8 tries to stand out by being quirky. For some reason, there's a surfer dude voice option for the Nokia Here navigation app, most stock ringtones are disturbingly cutesy, and official selections for downloadable ringtones include what can be best described as kitty porn music and dog hip hop.

Conclusion

Although I'm leaving my Lumia 521 behind, I have many good things to say about it. The Nokia-built body feels solid, and its dedicated shutter button is something that I'll miss very much. The UI is eye-catching and buttery-smooth even on a base-level bargain phone. Official app design language is clean and cohesive. And for the most part, all the critical apps are all there on the WP8 ecosystem. However, I missed the apps I already had on my old Android phone, I'm ready to graduate the budget phone market, and I like the promise of timely OS updates through the Nexus program.

While the 521 and WP8 aren't suitable for power users or people who have already spent real money on another ecosystem, I would definitely recommend it to a new smartphone user or a casual consumer, especially as Microsoft is now even more committed to the Window Phone development with its purchase of Nokia's smartphone division.

LoremIpsum010101 > Pessimippopotamus 09/13/2013 at 19:42

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Interesting review. I just replaced my ancient Galaxy S1 with a Lumia 928. I'm still in the honeymoon phase, but so far I love it. I'm not a heavy app user, though; it has a good flashlight app for working on the bike, great map app, and there is a decent instagram workaround (instance). I have Windows 8 at home, so I appreciate the Metro theme, and the microsoft cloud is pretty easy to use. Unless there is that ONE app you really need, I have no reservations about recommending WP8 to anybody. Their app selection is getting better, too.

Also, the camera on the 928 is the bee's knees. In fact, its probably good enough to get a great shot of a bee's knees.

Pessimippopotamus > LoremIpsum010101 09/13/2013 at 19:49

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You do have a flagship phone where as I have a bargain phone. I think it's really the desire to move up that made me switch more than anything. If Nexus 4 didn't cost $250, I probably would've stayed with the 521.

A question for you. Does your Lumia also have just one volume control? It always baffles me why Microsoft didn't program individual volume control.

LoremIpsum010101 > Pessimippopotamus 09/13/2013 at 19:54

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Good question. My ringer is always set to vibrate, so I only use the volume for listening to music. I'll check it out, because that does seem like a huge design flaw.

LoremIpsum010101 > Pessimippopotamus 09/13/2013 at 19:55

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Also, they dropped the price of the 928 to FREE with the 2 yr upgrade. That was a big part of my decision ;)

N51fanatic > Pessimippopotamus 09/13/2013 at 20:45

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920 owner here, got it on launch day. My only complaint, is notifications. But the leaks of Windows Phone 8.1 due out in January look to resolve those.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Pessimippopotamus 09/13/2013 at 22:10

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I will have a reply to this soon.

ADabOfOppo; Gone Plaid (Instructables Can Be Confusable) > Pessimippopotamus 09/14/2013 at 09:34

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Glad you hear you had a good experience with Windows Phone. I'd bet you would have really liked it had you been able to go with the Lumia.

Though, I must admit my 920 is really having a hard time being a phone and not a paper-weight at the moment.

I had to have my original 920 sent back to ATT for warranty repair. It was having serious connection issues, and when I was on LTE it would get scarily warm, which lead to a battery drain issue.

They sent me a factory refurbished unit, but it was still the same initial hardware revision as my first phone that I ordered on release day. I'm still having the same problems with it trying to find a signal, which leads to a heat problem and then drains the battery.

We have WiFi at work, but it's not consistent, and it would seem that my desk is in a signal black hole, as it has trouble staying connected.

As much as I love this phone, and I really do like the design and OS, I am very tired of the connectivity issues. ATT is less than helpful. I haven't had a chance to contact Nokia yet. That's next on the list. If there is a newer hardware revision, I would hope they are willing to resolve my issues.

The updates to Windows Phone cannot come soon enough.

Jane *is* the... blue passport > Pessimippopotamus 09/14/2013 at 10:15

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So would you recommend a WP8 bargain phone to someone who uses and dislikes Win8 at home, hasn't had a smartphone yet, and never really got on with Nokias?

UKStory135 > Pessimippopotamus 09/14/2013 at 10:43

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I have a 928, and many of the complaints you mentioned go away at the higher end.

Pessimippopotamus > Jane *is* the... blue passport 09/14/2013 at 12:13

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I'm assuming you're using Win 8 at home with no touchscreen. While aesthetics are similar, they are different operating systems. And if you've never had a smartphone before, then you should really try out all three major operating systems when you do decide to get it. Windows Phone has a really consistent UI that I think makes it easy for people to use. And if you do decide on a Windows Phone, you have no choice since Nokia produces like 90% of the entire Windows Phone being sold, and Microsoft just bought out Nokia's phone division last week. Nokia hardware is great though. It feels so solid.