One of the most affordable smartphones based on the Windows 8 operating system is the Nokia Lumia 520. The characteristics of its hardware and software components, as well as the reviews of the real owners of this gadget, are what will be discussed in this material.
Equipment
“Lumiya 520” is quite familiar with the configuration, as for an entry-level device. This gadget is sold with the following accessories and components:
- Energy-efficient AC-20 charger.
- Battery BL-5J. Its nominal capacity is 1430 mAh.
- Interface cable CA-189CD. Most often it is used to exchange data with a personal computer or laptop.
- Stereo headset from Nokia WH-108.
- User's manual. On one of its last sheets is a warranty card.
Although it is indicated in the documentation that the front of the device is protected by glass, without the protective film it will be difficult to maintain the front panel in its original state. Also, the cover will also not be amiss. The case of the device is made of plastic and it is not difficult to damage it. Well, an external flash card will increase the amount of internal memory. All these three accessories - a protective film, a cover and a flash drive - will have to be purchased separately. They are not in the basic configuration of the smartphone.
Gadget design
The front panel of the device, as noted earlier, is made of protective glass. Which one - the manufacturer does not specify. But with confidence we can say that this is not about the "Gorilla Eye." In the upper part of the front panel there is a conversational speaker, and in the lower part there are touch keys with which the device is organized. The rest of its central part is occupied by the display. On the right side of the device are the lock, camera and volume buttons. The microUSB port is displayed on the lower edge of the device, and the audio port is on the upper edge. On the back of the device is the main camera and a loud speaker. There are 5 color options for the case of this device: white, blue, red, yellow and black. In terms of practical use, the best of them is the Nokia Lumia 520 BLACK. Characteristics in terms of hardware and software resources are identical, but it does not get so dirty as, for example, the exact same Nokia, but in yellow.
CPU
A very modest entry-level processor solution is used in the Nokia Lumiya 520. The characteristic of the hardware capabilities of the CPU clearly indicates that this solution is focused on the budget segment of smart phones. More specifically, this device is based on the S4 Plus processor solution from the leading developer of chip for smartphones - Qualcomm. Its second name in accordance with the manufacturer's nomenclature is MSM8227. This chip consists of two computing modules based on the Krait architecture. In maximum load mode, their clock frequency can increase to 1 GHz. At the time of its release (2013), this chip could not boast of an outstanding level of performance. Therefore, most resource-intensive applications (these are basically the most demanding 3D toys) did not start on this smartphone. But for ordinary tasks, its computational capabilities are quite enough. This is reading books, and watching movies, and listening to music and radio, well, and surfing the Internet using browsers - this smart phone can handle all this without any problems.
Display and video adapter
One of the main advantages is the display in the Nokia Lumia 520. Its characteristics are far from flagship, but even the type of matrix used (and this is the IPS) is not so common in entry-level gadgets. As a result, the viewing angles of this device are close to 180 degrees. Well, the color reproduction, brightness and contrast are excellent. The presence of an air gap between the screen and the touch surface of the front panel of the device is one of the few drawbacks presented to this gadget.
The display resolution of this device is 480x800 with a diagonal of 4 inches. It is almost impossible to distinguish individual pixels on its surface. The second important component of the graphics subsystem is the graphics adapter. This device uses Adreno 305 from Qualcomm. Of course, this video accelerator cannot boast of an outstanding level of performance. But, on the other hand, he copes excellently with his main task - processing video information.
Camera
There is only the main camera in the Nokia Lumia 520. Its technical specifications are very modest. It is based on a 5 megapixel sensor. There is also an autofocus system. But the owners of this smart phone should not dream of such things as LED backlighting and an image stabilization system. They are not implemented in this device. The quality of panoramic images obtained using the main camera is not satisfactory. But the text will be difficult to photograph so that it can then be parsed. Video on this device is recorded in 720p format. The image quality in commercials is acceptable.
Memory
One significant drawback is the memory subsystem of Nokia Lumia 520. Characteristics (reviews indicate this nuance) are not balanced. If the presence of 8 GB as an internal drive can be attributed to the pluses of the device, then 512 MB of RAM is a significant drawback. A bunch of 4 GB (built-in storage) and 1 GB (RAM) looks much more preferable. But the developers carried out an experiment that certainly did not go to the benefit of a smart phone of this model. It is because of 512 MB that the interface in the operating system “slows down” and such toys as “Asphalt 8” and GTA: San Andreas do not start. Although the rest of the hardware is filling (the next device in this line of “Lumiya 525” proves this), they can be easily launched.
There is also a slot for installing an external drive in this gadget. Its maximum size can be 64 GB. If this is not enough for you to store personal data, then you can use various cloud services.
Battery
It is not necessary to expect a high degree of autonomy from the Nokia Lumiya 520. The characteristic of the technical parameters of the battery confirms this once again. As stated earlier, this smart phone uses a BL-5J battery with a nominal capacity of 1430 mAh. Now it is necessary to take into account that this device uses the dual-processor S4 Plus solution from Qualcomm with a frequency of 1 GHz, and the display diagonal is 4 inches. With an average level of load on the gadget, one charge of its battery will definitely last 2 days. If you use the device less intensively, then you can count on the fact that this value will increase to 3-4 days. Well, at maximum load, the battery can last 12-14 hours. That is, it will have to be charged every day with such an intensive mode of use.
Interfaces
All the necessary types of wired and wireless data transfer methods are supported by the Nokia Lumia 520 smartphone. The phone's characteristics indicate the support of such ones:
- The main way to exchange data with the global web is Wai-Fi. Its modifications b, g and n are supported. The maximum speed for obtaining information in this case is limited to 150 Mbps, but this is enough to download files of any size.
- The second way to receive and send information to the global web is through GSM and 3G mobile networks. In the first case, you can chat on social networks or browse unpretentious Internet resources. You can’t count on more at a speed of several hundred kilobits. Well, in the second case, when the device operates on 3G networks, you can not limit yourself to communication and download files of any size. The speed in this case can reach 20 Mbps.
- Another important way to share data is with Bluetooth. It allows you to connect wireless headphones or a similar smart phone to the device. In the latter case, you can exchange photos or music.
- Navigation in this device is carried out immediately in two ways: using GPS and using A-GPS.
- The main wired way to transmit information is the microUSB port. He is also responsible for charging the battery.
- Another wired port is a 3.5mm audio jack. A wired stereo headset or external speakers is connected to it.
System software
As the operating system, Windows Von 8 is used in Nokia Lumia 520. The characteristics of this OS on the part of users indicate a high level of its stability and reliability. In this case, all existing software for this platform on it will run without problems. Its key drawback is that it supports only 32-bit computing, but 64-bit computing is out of the question. But, on the other hand, do not forget that the device went on sale in early 2013 and at that time there was no need to think about anything more.
Application software
An impressive set of supported application software can boast of Nokia Lumia 520. The characteristics of its hardware filling allow most programs of this platform to run without problems on this device. Among the pre-installed software, we can distinguish the presence of clients of the social networks Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. There is also Skype and Office. In general, everything you need to work is immediately on this device. Well, what is missing, you can install from the application store. If you wish, you can even find free programs in it.
User reviews
The specifications of the Nokia Lumia 520 indicate a well-balanced hardware and software device. The processor, the graphics subsystem, the size of the internal drive, the battery capacity - all this does not cause any complaints. A similar situation is with the communication set - it has everything you need. But the main disadvantage of the gadget is only 512 MB of RAM. This leads to problems in the operating system interface (blurry tiles). Well, the inability to launch the most demanding toys of this platform on this gadget is also caused by the same factor.
Summary
One of the most attractive entry-level smartphones at the moment is the Nokia Lumia 520. Its features are excellent. The only criticism is the small amount of RAM. But this shortcoming is compensated by the democratic price tag of $ 100. That's what sellers rate this phone for. Given the stated specifications and capabilities, it can be noted that this device is exactly what it costs today.