The Nokia Lumia 520 is still one of the most popular mobile phone’s in 2013 and beyond. This must have been the best and most popular mid range phone to have been released by Nokia. One could say that the phone has an almost cult status and looking at the specs and talk one can see why this mobile phone will still be around 5 years from now. The Lumia range has been an excellent range designed by Nokia which has set a standard in new sleek designs by the phone maker. You can see the Nokia Lumia 520 manual here to see what it all offers.
Below is a review of this Nokia Lumia 520 phone and look at the specs on the side bar you don’t need to wonder why this has taken off so well in 2013 in spite of the mobile phone market being saturated with new models hitting the market.
The Nokia 520 covers most network in the 2G and 3G network. These are for 2G networks the mobile phone covers. All versions of the GSM 850, 900, 1800, 1900 band. As for the 3G network it covers the HSDPA 900, 2100 – RM-914 and also the HSDPA 850, 1900, 2100 – RM-915. There is also the 3G spectrum of HSDPA 850, 1700, 1900, 2100 – RM-917 which is covered. The Lumia 520 we released in April 2013 and I am certain it will still be very popular five years down the road. You can see how to setup the WiFi settings on the phone as well as here.
The Lumia 520 comes with all the normal sound abilities which the Lumia range is known for such as playing WAV ringtones. It also comes with the usual vibration mode ringing and also the facility to use any of your MP3′s as a ringtone for the phone. There is also a loudspeaker which is standard on all phones with an Micro SDcard slot for up to 64GB external storage for all the multimedia files.
The internal memory on the Lumia 520 is more than ample coming in at 500MB and with 8GB of internal storage. With the external card slot of 64GB there is more than enough space for all your multimedia files.
Yes the Lumia 520 also comes with GPRS and also EDGE connectivity with up to 236.8 kbps of bandwidth. and there is also There is also HSDPA at 21.1 Mbps; HSUPA, 5.76 Mbps. This is not as fast the the Nokia Lumia 1520 but still more than reasonable. There is also Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n and also with Wi-Fi hotspot.
The Lumia 520 mobile phone a standard 5 MegaPixel camera with a resolution of 2592х1936 pixels. The camera can record video at 720p@30fps and the 1/4” sensor is more than capable of offering good video resolution.
There is no secondary camera in this phone and it comes with a standard flash which is still very good for photos and video recording. The phone comes with the usual geo-tagging if you are into Facebook.
The Lumia 520 uses the chipset from Qualcomm being the MSM8227 chipset and this is powered by a Dual-core 1 GHz Snapdragon™ S4 processor. The GPU is the Adreno 3050 which is the GPU for the Lumia 520. The phone is rounded off with an accelerometer and proximity sensor. The mobile phone uses the well known and has become standard on Nokia phones being the Microsoft Windows Phone 8 which is upgradable to WP8 operating system.
The Lumia 520 phone also sports an FM radio and the standard ability to send multimedia messages which includes MMS and as always email from the 520. It also allows for Internet Messengers and there are a number of them around. There is also support for GPS and GLONASS. Note that this phone has no Java and only comes in Yellow, Red, Cyan and a combination of White/Black
The microphone is a noise cancelling microphone. There is an MP3 and WMA multimedia player, 7GB of free Skydrive storage facility, document viewer, Video and photo editor if you like making short home movies. Voice memo and dialing and predictive text input to round off a well balanced mobile phone.
Considering the specs as listed above for the Lumia 520 being an average memory size, large screen and above all a dual-core processor one might expect you would need to recharge this mobile phone daily.
The Lumia 520 has a Lithium Ion battery with 1430 mAh storage and this allows the mobile phone when not being used to last at least 15 days before it needs a re-charge. It can play MP3′s for about 61 hours and has about 14 hours of talk time. What comes with this phone. Well the Nokia Lumia 520 with a high efficiency charger and a Quick guide booklet.
If you want a mobile phone which will last you the next 5 years without the need for an upgrade then the Nokia 520 is a really good investment. It comes at a price that just about everyone can afford. You can find the user manual for the Nokia 520 here.
2G Network | GSM: 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 - all versions |
3G Network |
HSDPA: 900 / 2100 - RM-914 HSDPA: 850 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-915 HSDPA: 850 / 1700 / 1900 / 2100 - RM-917 |
SIM <strong>SIM</strong> (Subscriber Identity Module) is a small card that contains mobile network subscriber's account information. This allows the phone using the card to attach to a mobile network. The SIM card is most commonly associated with GSM and UMTS mobile networks. Moving a SIM card from one phone to another allows a subscriber to switch mobile phones without having to contact their mobile network carrier. SIM cards can also be used by a phone to store limited amounts of data, such as phone numbers and text messages. | Micro SIM |
GPRS <strong>GPRS</strong> (General Packet Radio Service) is a packet oriented mobile data service on the 2G and 3G cellular communication system's global system for mobile communications (GSM), Generally, GPRS is used for the purpose of wireless data transfer, such as sharing pictures and videos or browsing the Internet via a mobile phone connection. | |
EDGE <strong>EDGE</strong> (Enhanced Data GSM Environment) is a wireless network technology generally considered the next step in the 2G network offers data transfer rates up to four times faster than ordinary GSM networks, Generally, EDGE is used for the purpose of wireless data transfer, such as sharing pictures and videos or browsing the Internet via a mobile phone connection. | |
Speed | HSPA 21.1/5.76 Mbps |
Web Browser <strong>Web Browser => </strong> a web browser is a software application used to locate, retrieve and display content on the World Wide Web, including Web pages, images, video and other files, The primary function of a web browser is to render HTML, the code used to design or markup webpages. | HTML5 |
Display Type <strong>Display Technology => </strong> A number of display technologies and types used in mobile phones => TFT (Thin Film Transistor), IPS (In-Place Switching), OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode), AMOLED (Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode), Super AMOLED (an even advanced version of AMOLED), Resistive Touchscreen (Resistive touchscreens contain two layer of conductive material with a very small gap between them which acts as a resistance), Capacitive Touchsceen (Capacitive touchscreen technology consists of a layer of glass coated with a transparent conductor) | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen |
Size | 4.0 inches (~59.3% screen-to-body ratio) |
Resolution | 480 x 800 pixels |
Display Colors <strong>Display Colors</strong> is refers to the number of different shades of colors that the screen is capable of displaying => 64K colors, 256K colors and 16 million colors, Obviously 16M is highest available range of colors and better than others. | 16M colors |
Pixel Density <strong>Pixel Density (PPI)</strong> is refers to the concentration of pixels on a particular display, measured in pixels per inch (ppi). Pixel density is calculated by dividing the diagonal pixel resolution of a display by its diagonal size, higher pixel density better display quality. | ~233 ppi pixel density |
Touch Screen | Yes |
Display Protection <strong>Display Protection => </strong> Gorilla Glass is a special alkali-aluminosilicate glass shield with exceptional damage resistance that helps protect mobile displays from scratches, drops, and bumps of everyday use, It is always better to go for a smartphone with Gorilla Glass for that added protection and peace of mind. | Scratch-resistant glass |
Primary <strong>Camera</strong> is able to capture photographs and usually videos, The most important characteristics of a camera are the resolution (measured in megapixels), lens focus type (fixed or automatic), higher megapixel cameras are known to capture higher quality photos, but not always a good measurement of the photos quality. | 5 MP, f/2.4, 28mm, autofocus |
Video | 720p@30fps |
Camera Features | 1/4" sensor size, geo-tagging |
Flash <strong>Flash Light => </strong> There is commonly two types of flash lights are used in camera mobile phones, LED Flash (LED flash offers lower power consumption with drive circuitry that takes up very little room, LEDs can be strobed faster than any other light source), Xenon Flash (xenon flash produces an extremely intense full-spectrum white light for a very short duration) | Yes |
Secondary | No |
Bluetooth <strong>Bluetooth</strong> is a wireless communications technology for exchanging data between mobile phones, headsets, computers and other network devices over short distances without wires, Bluetooth technology was primarily designed to support simple wireless networking of personal consumer devices. | Yes |
Wi-fi <strong>Wi-Fi</strong> is a popular wireless networking technology using radio waves to provide high-speed network connections that allows devices to communicate without cords or cables, Wi-Fi is increasingly becoming the preferred mode of internet connectivity all over the world. | Yes |
Wi-fi Hotspot | |
USB | Yes |
GPS <strong>GPS</strong> The Global Positioning System is a satellite-based radio navigation system, GPS permits users to determine their position, velocity and the time 24 hours a day, in all weather, anywhere in the world, In order to locate your position, your device or GPS receiver must have a clear view of the sky. | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS |
NFC <strong>NFC</strong> (Near field communication) is a set of standards for smartphones and similar devices to establish peer-to-peer radio communications with each other by touching them together or bringing them into proximity, usually no more than a few inches. | |
HDMI <strong>HDMI</strong> (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) is a compact audio/video interface for transferring uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from a HDMI-compliant source device to a compatible computer monitor, video projector, digital television, or digital audio device. | |
Headphone Jack |
Chipset <strong>Chipset</strong> is a group of integrated circuits designed to perform one or a more dedicated functions, often with real time computing constraints, Popular smartphones are equipped with more advanced embedded chipsets that can do many different tasks depending on their programming. | Qualcomm MSM8227 |
CPU <strong>CPU</strong> (Central Processing Unit) mostly known as processors, CPU processes instructions in order to carry out certain functions that make your device operate properly. Processors are often described as the brain of computers, smartphones and tablets, Smartphones and tablets rely on processors to carry out their every task, Processors are an incredibly important factor in selecting any type of computing device, including your smartphone. | Dual-core 1.0 GHz |
GPU <strong>GPU</strong> (Graphics Processing Unit) is a single-chip processor designed to rapidly manipulate and alter memory to accelerate the creation of images in a frame buffer intended for output to a display, This includes things such as lighting effects, object transformations, and 3D motion. | Adreno 305 |
RAM (Memory) <strong>RAM</strong> (Random Access Memory) is a type of computer memory that can be accessed randomly, any byte of memory can be accessed without touching the preceding bytes that allows information to be stored and accessed quickly from random locations. RAM is the most common type of memory found in computer systems, smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices. | 8 GB, 512 MB RAM |
Internal Storage <strong>Internal Storage</strong> is a data storage space (flash memory) mostly used in smartphones, tablets and other electronic devices where operating system, apps, music, photos, videos, files and other user data Is stored. | 8 GB, 512 MB RAM |
Card Slot <strong>Memory Card Slot</strong> is a special slot for inserting a memory card. Memory cards allow you to expand the phone's built-in memory, A memory card (sometimes called a flash memory card or a storage card) is a small storage medium used to store data such as text, pictures, audio, and video, for use on small, portable or remote computing devices such as mobile phones, mp3 players, digital cameras. | Yes |
Sensors <strong>Sensors</strong> are electronic components that detects and responds to some type of input from the physical environment. The specific input could be light, heat, motion, moisture, pressure and location, The output is generally a signal that is converted to use in computing systems, a location sensor, such as a GPS receiver is able to detect current location of your electronic device. | Accelerometer, proximity |
Audio Playback | Yes |
Video Playback | Yes |
FM Radio | FM Radio |
Ring Tones | Vibration; MP3, WAV ringtones |
Loudspeaker | Yes |
SMS <strong>SMS</strong> (Short Messaging Service) is a text messaging service component of phone, Web, or mobile communication systems. It uses standardized communications protocols to allow mobile phone devices to exchange short text messages over the networks. | Yes (threaded view) |
MMS <strong>MMS</strong> (Multimedia Messaging Service) is a standard way to send messages that include multimedia content (audio clips, video clips and images) to and from mobile phones over wireless networks using the WAP protocol. | |
Email <strong>Email</strong> (Electronic Mail) is a system for receiving, sending, and storing electronic messages, Similar to a letter, email is text messages that may contain files, images, or other attachments sent via the internet to a recipient by using applications and software prograps. An email address is required to receive email, and that address is unique to the user. | Yes |
IM <strong>IM</strong> (Instant Messaging) is an exchange of text messages through a software application, it enable you to create a kind of private chat room with another individual in order to communicate in real time over the Internet. | Yes |
Operating System <strong>OS => </strong> Every computer system run on a base software called Operating System (OS). Operating System controls all basic operations of the computer (such as smartphone, PDAs, tablet computers and other handheld devices). The Operating System allows the user to install and run third party applications (apps), apps are used to add new functionality to the device. | Microsoft Windows Phone 8, upgradeable to v8.1 |
Java Support <strong>Java</strong> for Mobile Devices is a set of technologies that let developers deliver applications and services to all types of mobile handsets, ranging from price efficient feature-phones to the latest smartphones. Java is currently running on over 3 billion phones worldwide, and growing. It offers unrivaled potential for the distribution and monetization of mobile applications. | No |
Features |
- MP3/WAV/eAAC+/WMA player - MP4/H.264/WMV player - OneDrive (15 GB cloud storage) - Document viewer - Video/photo editor |
Battery Type <strong>Battery Type => </strong> Cell phones run on various kinds of batteries depending on the manufacturer, phone size or shape and features. There are basically four types of cell phone batteries => Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium. | Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) |
Battery Life | Up to 360 h (3G) |
Batteries Included | Yes |
Battery Type <strong>Battery Type => </strong> Cell phones run on various kinds of batteries depending on the manufacturer, phone size or shape and features. There are basically four types of cell phone batteries => Lithium Polymer, Lithium Ion, Nickel Metal Hydride and Nickel Cadmium. | Li-Ion (Lithium Ion) |
Capacity <strong>Battery Capacity</strong> is a measure (typically in Amp-hr) of the charge stored by the battery, and is determined by the mass of active material contained in the battery. The battery capacity represents the maximum amount of energy that can be extracted from the battery under certain conditions. | Removable Li-Ion 1430 mAh battery (BL-5J) |
Placement | Rear |
Standby <strong>Standby Time</strong> is the total amount of time that you can leave your is fully charged, turned on and ready to send and receive calls or data transmissions before completely discharging the battery. | Up to 360 h (3G) |
Talk Time <strong>Talk Time</strong> is the longest time that a single battery charge will last when you are constantly talking on the phone under perfect conditions, Ambient temperature and highly dependent on the cellular network environment such as the distance to the closest cell network tower. | Up to 14 h 40 min (2G) / Up to 9 h 40 min (3G) |
Music Play | Up to 61 h |