This might be a little weird to some, but I think that the Lumia 520 is still one of the phones that I am most impressed with in the market today. One that I think is going to play an important role for Windows Phone as a whole. Now bear with me here.
The problem for Microsoft’s Windows Phone OS, is that it was late to the game. It arrived in the market at a time where Google’s Android, and Apple’s iOS devices dominated the smartphone market. It doesn’t help that the OS in its first incarnation Windows Phone 7 is nothing more than a pretty vase. Beautiful to look at, but empty on the inside. It also doesn’t help that the manufacturers back then had pretty uninspiring hardware design.
Then Nokia came along.
The Lumia 800 was the first Windows Phone that really caught my attention. It has a hardware design (brought forward from the N9) that I consider beautiful even till this day. But it was not just hardware. It was the beautiful blend of the hardware design, and software. Windows Phone 7.5 feels like it was made to run on this phone. As a lover of mobile technology, and design, the Lumia 800 felt like a union of both. I loved the design so much that I had it in Cyan, Black, and White.
Unfortunately, that’s where I drew the line. As beautiful as it looks, the utilitarian aspects of it (or lack thereof) drove me away from it. The lack of a centralised notification centre, the lack of a file manager, the lack of individual sound profile, the lack of… The lists goes on for quite a while, so I’ll spare you guys. Not to say it isn’t any good, but the OS doesn’t fulfil my specific needs and wants from a mobile device. But it just might suit yours. Anyway, this isn’t a review of Windows Phone, so It doesn’t really matter.
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Then came the arrival of the Nokia Lumia 520, Nokia’s entry level Windows Phone device. A device I would say made possible partly due to how frugal Windows Phone is on the hardware specifications.
After my not so great experience with Windows Phone 7.8, I wanted to give Windows Phone 8 a try. But really did not want to spend Lumia 920 money just to “give it a try”. When the Lumia 520 arrived, and pricing announced, I knew that this was the one. Brand new at around SGD200 off-contract, it was dirt cheap. I decided to get one to play around with.
Operating System aside, I was amazed at what Nokia did with the device. The phone is nicely build, and the OS runs really smoothly too despite having only 512mb of RAM. The design of it is simple, nice, and eye-catching. In my opinion it doesn’t feel like a SGD200 phone at all. It definitely punches above its weight.
Of course this is no Lumia 1020, but for a phone that costs no more than SGD200, the phone exceeded my every expectations. Not to mention with a 2 year contract on the lowest tier price plan, the phone is free. NO brand new Android phone at this price point can compete with the experience that the Lumia 520 provides.
As to why I think the Lumia 520 plays an important role for Windows Phone, just take myself for example, why I bought this device.
The biggest barrier I would say when it comes to introducing a brand new platform into an already saturated market, is getting people to give it a try. It doesn’t matter if the OS provides a better experience than iOS or Android if no one is willing to even give it a shot. To try it out. A new platform needs at least a period of adjustment especially coming from iOS or Android, so just playing with it for 10 minutes at a carrier store isn’t going to do the phone any justice at all.
The Lumia 520 is a way to make it cheaper, and easier for consumers to give it a try. If they did not like it, they could just keep it as a back up phone. BUT, if they do like it, they just might upgrade to a flagship Lumia device. Win-win situation for Nokia. At that price point, it makes complete sense to get it over feature phones. My Mom for example, has been a feature phone user all her life. I gave the Lumia 520 to her, and she is now a smartphone owner despite never using anything other than text, calls, and the occasional game.
Does this matter to Nokia or Microsoft? No. All that matter is that she is using a Windows Phone device and it adds her to the amount of Windows Phone users out there. Having a bigger user base is extremely useful when trying to attract developers to make apps for the platform (as we know, the ecosystem is extremely important too).
Not to mention that as a phone, it does a pretty great job at catering to the budget conscious, first time smartphone buyers, and even people who just wants a feature phone.
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In my opinion, the Lumia 520 is as important as the new Lumia 1020. Each part of a bigger piece of the puzzle. The puzzle to build Windows Phone as the 3rd ecosystem, as well as reestablished Nokia as a major player in the mobile industry once again.
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