List Price: $149.99
Sale Price: $135.99
Today's Bonus: 9% Off
Let me first start of by saying, this is an amazing phone! I bought it as a cheap entry into Windows Phone 8, and I'm completely blown away. I wasn't expecting this. This phone was going to be something I use as a backup, but I'm currently using this as my daily driver, and I love it!
Let me also say, that I'm not new to the world of smart phones. I consider myself a techie enthusiast that buys and tries new phones / tech every few months or so. I've been on every phone carrier, and tried every platform except for WP8 (until now). I've also picked up every iPhone released (1st gen to iPhone 5), and I'm HEAVILY invested in Google services. I've had the last 3 generations of Galaxy S devices, tried many of the Verizon Droid line devices (X, Droid, Droid2). My most recent love has been the pureness of the LG Nexus 4. The fact that I'm impressed with this budget device is no small thing.
Pros:
-Fantastic Battery Life (Appears to hold its charge while on stand by like an iPhone. Unlike Android phones that continue to drain heavily even without use. The phone also charges fairly quickly since the battery only rated at 1430mAH).
-Great Nokia Construction (Nokia does an amazing job with plastics. Remember the days of the old Nokia 3300's? You could drop those things over and over again without worry. I have nearly the same confidence in this phone. Something you definitely don't see in other phones these days. The phone even has a good weight to it. Not the light, cheapy feeling you get from some Samsung devices).
-Removable Rear Cover (Most WP8 phones that I see even other Nokia ones don't have a removable back. I was very pleased to see one on the 521. Scratch or crack a back? No problem! Replace it. Hopefully there will be some 3rd party support here making other colors and designs. I haven't had the need for it yet, but I can't tell you how many battery pulls I've had to do with some of my Android phones. I like knowing that if I ever have to reset my phone, I'm just a pop of the cover away. Even the buttons come off with the cover! This means if you ever have wear on the buttons, it'll be replaced with the new cover you put on there as well).
-Dedicated Camera Key (From what I've read online, this is a feature implemented by WP8. I was glad to see that this transferred even down to their entry level 521. I like having quick access to my camera, and this is a feature that is rarely seen on Android devices, and has NEVER been on an iOS device. It's also a 2-stage button. 1st click focus, 2nd click snap).
-Acceptable Camera (Now, you might be wondering why this is a Pro, since the camera is only a 5mp sensor. However, considering the 5mp limitation, I was very impressed with its quality. Even in low lighting, images are very acceptable. I rate this camera higher than my iPad3 & iPod5, and probably the best 5mp phone shooter that I've seen so far).
-Great Speaker (This was something that I didn't even care about right away. Then I tried using this to play some music from Pandora, and wow. It really caught me off guard. It can get really loud without distorting).
-Snappy Processor (I can't find any lag on this thing. I can't say whether this is hardware or software since I'm new to WP8, but it certainly makes it easy for me to switch back from an iPhone 5, Nexus 4, & S3 without really noticing a difference.
-Generous Storage (8 Gigs internal, with expandable storage options. There are phones that cost 3x this that don't even give you the expandable storage option. Other phones in this price segment don't give you anything close to 8 gigs internal space).
There are other great things about this phone, but these are just the things that stand out.
Cons:
-Screen Technology (I'm sure Nokia cut some cost here to keep the phone at a great price, so this is in NO WAY a deal breaker, but it picks up a ton of finger prints. You can't touch this screen without leaving smudges. It's just impossible. Higher end phones use a glass that's gone through anti-smudge treatment to prevent this. Wipe your screen more often, or put an anti-smudge screen protector and you're problems are solved. No biggie).
-No LED flash (Again another way Nokia cut cost, and again NOT a deal breaker. I only use LED flash on my other phones as a flash light. Everyone knows that those tiny lights don't do crap to help dark photos anyways. If I really have to pop some night shots, I'll be busting out a DSLR or a Point & shoot).
Conclusion: If you're on the fence about this device, let me help you. Stop reading my review here, and go buy this thing! You won't find a better value anywhere else. Prior to purchasing this phone, I stood by the Nexus 4 as being one of the best value's on the market, but Nokia is really putting a different spin on things. Any Android phone that you find in this price segment will be using an old OS (you'll be lucky to get Gingerbread), & extremely dated hardware. Here you have up to date hardware with an up to date OS at a 3rd of the competition's cost.
Suggestions: Buy this at Walmart if you can find it. I got mine for $129.00 at a local Walmart. T-Mobile sells this for $150.00, and right now Amazon has it for $199.00. Also I'm currently using this on Straight Talk. I see ton's of forum posted questions asking if this will work with Straight Talk, and I CAN confirm that it does. You just have to be sure you're using a T-Mobile compatible Micro-Sim. I also had to enter the APN setting manually. After just putting my sim in, I could receive calls and texts, but no data service. After entering the proper APN settings (available on Straight Talk's website), data worked just fine.
... New $700 smart phones come out everyday, but the $129 Nokia 521 is a true gem.
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7/26/13 UPDATE!
I still can't get over what an awesome deal this is. You can now get this phone as little as $99 OFF CONTRACT / OUTRIGHT. Since purchasing this phone, I've also picked up a Samsung Galaxy S4 & an HTC One. I can honestly say, that the differences between this phone and those other 2 "Flagship" phones don't justify the price difference. I still switch to his 521 regularly, and the only thing I miss or feel I'm sacrificing is the screen quality (resolution and technology). Still, it doesn't justify a near $500 price difference. The differences aren't even all sacrifices! The 521 at times feels quicker and less buggy than my S4 (although credit must go to WP8 for that), and the rear speaker is louder.
I just have a few other notes to share:
Battery I love the battery life that I'm getting with this 521. I keep my phone on "Battery Saver", and I can go 24+ hours and still have about 30% battery life by the end of that cycle. I have this phone linked to my business Exchange account, and use this phone for work regularly (so the 521 is being used fairly heavily). Also, thanks to the small battery capacity, charging this thing really is EXTREMELY quick in comparison to the HUGE battery in my S4 that takes forever to charge. I suppose I must also credit WP8 for some of that.
I did have that battery sucking bug that another reviewer experienced as well. For some reason, my battery life would just go from 100% to 30% in minutes. This had me really freaked out at first. After half an hour of testing, I found the culprit to be a bad app. Pretty simple fix: deleted the app, restarted my phone. Problem solved. I didn't even have to wipe my phone or clear it of any data (other than removing the bad app).
Loud Speaker Man. I don't think paid / "Pro" Phone reviewers give this phone enough credit. The rear loud speaker on this phone is amazing. I wouldn't say the quality is as good as the Beats Audio on my HTC One, but it may very well be the loudest speaker among my large phone collection.
For anyone looking at this phone thinking that it's just a cheap phone to settle on, let me assure you, this is an AMAZING value, and you won't be disappointed. You absolutely won't find a better deal than the 521. If Nokia did more advertising in the US, the 521 would kill sales of many more popular devices out there. I truly hope the 521 pushes the market to create more budget friendly devices with fewer sacrifices just as Nokia managed to do. I find it truly ridiculous that phones are costing so much that some people are having to step into financing options to pay for the "latest & greatest" devices.
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