super impressed with Lumia 520

Polymathic

Polymathic

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So my father got his Lumia 520, the OS is super smooth, as smooth if as an Xperia Z which is damn impressive for a bottom of the range sub R2000 phones it blows my Xperia Go out of the water in respects also.
Nokia could cut the screen size to 3.5 inches, lose the gorilla glass, put in a smaller battery and some other minor they could have a pretty decent sub R1400 phone which makes me wonder why are they persisting with the Asha range?
That said I'm not switching to Lumia just yet, compared with Android the app store is pathetic and I really expected more games in the game store considering they are using the xbox brand
 
mmmig said:
So my father got his Lumia 520, the OS is super smooth, as smooth if as an Xperia Z which is damn impressive for a bottom of the range sub R2000 phones it blows my Xperia Go out of the water in respects also.
Nokia could cut the screen size to 3.5 inches, lose the gorilla glass, put in a smaller battery and some other minor they could have a pretty decent sub R1400 phone which makes me wonder why are they persisting with the Asha range?
That said I'm not switching to Lumia just yet, compared with Android the app store is pathetic and I really expected more games in the game store considering they are using the xbox brand
Click to expand...

Thanks for the post. Have you tried using navigation on the 520?
 
mister said:
Thanks for the post. Have you tried using navigation on the 520?
Click to expand...

He should remember to use the true offline option.

Works like a charm on any Lumia.

True offline is not available on Android. Thats R2,000 worth of either data or stand alone GPS on its own.
 
mmmig said:
So my father got his Lumia 520, the OS is super smooth, as smooth if as an Xperia Z which is damn impressive for a bottom of the range sub R2000 phones it blows my Xperia Go out of the water in respects also.
Nokia could cut the screen size to 3.5 inches, lose the gorilla glass, put in a smaller battery and some other minor they could have a pretty decent sub R1400 phone which makes me wonder why are they persisting with the Asha range?
That said I'm not switching to Lumia just yet, compared with Android the app store is pathetic and I really expected more games in the game store considering they are using the xbox brand
Click to expand...

Got a Lumia 720 on Friday. What a phone! Super impressed with it so far. Still finding my way through all the apps, but so far haven't come across anything i'm missing (Don't really use apps much). The only thing that jumps into mind is that a banking app for ABSA would be useful.

The ecosystem is really well put together, and everything just links in so well... skydrive, live account, contacts blah blah blah... as it should on any smartphone with an ecosystem I suppose.
 
shogun said:
Got a Lumia 720 on Friday. What a phone! Super impressed with it so far. Still finding my way through all the apps, but so far haven't come across anything i'm missing (Don't really use apps much). The only thing that jumps into mind is that a banking app for ABSA would be useful.

The ecosystem is really well put together, and everything just links in so well... skydrive, live account, contacts blah blah blah... as it should on any smartphone with an ecosystem I suppose.
Click to expand...

Thats good to know.

I'm using a 610. I went for it because it was the most affordable Lumia at the beginning of the year. The 720 and 520 only came out months after I upgraded.

I now know when to upgrade - mid-year is the right time for low to mid-range phones. These systems (at least Nokia's) seem to run in cycles.

July - September = hero device (a la 820/920) announcements
October - December = hero device release & sales
January - March = mid-range device announcements (a la 520/620/720)
April - June = mid-range device release & sales
 
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I picked up a 620 a couple of days ago. Also extremely impressed. I think this one is going to be a game changer for Nokia. It's such an upgrade from the 610 that I can't believe it; and behind the 720 there isn't much difference. It has the clearblack screen, fantastic build quality, dual core soc with adreno 305 graphics, insanely good audio quality and speakers, decent camera, expandable memory, WP8 -> 8.1 when it comes. Very very happy.
 
cerebus said:
I picked up a 620 a couple of days ago. Also extremely impressed. I think this one is going to be a game changer for Nokia. It's such an upgrade from the 610 that I can't believe it; and behind the 720 there isn't much difference. It has the clearblack screen, fantastic build quality, dual core soc with adreno 305 graphics, insanely good audio quality and speakers, decent camera, expandable memory, WP8 -> 8.1 when it comes. Very very happy.
Click to expand...

From an OS point of view, I think dropping the CE kernel for the NT kernel allowed for some major overhaul.
 
shogun said:
From an OS point of view, I think dropping the CE kernel for the NT kernel allowed for some major overhaul.
Click to expand...

TBH I can't tell much difference in the OS itself. I like the ability to sync with iTunes because I already had all my content on iTunes and it's much better than Zune in the amount of content available (like podcasts). The UI flies though I have to say. It's more about the hardware for me though; I can't find another Android phone at that price range that can match the hardware on the 620 as a total package. And the size is perfect for me as I use it as an ipod in the gym.
 
cerebus said:
TBH I can't tell much difference in the OS itself. I like the ability to sync with iTunes because I already had all my content on iTunes and it's much better than Zune in the amount of content available (like podcasts). The UI flies though I have to say. It's more about the hardware for me though; I can't find another Android phone at that price range that can match the hardware on the 620 as a total package. And the size is perfect for me as I use it as an ipod in the gym.
Click to expand...

Sorry I'm a little OT here - are you saying the 620 syncs with iTunes? If so on which PC OS? and which version of iTunes?

And for the last question, since the thread is about the 520, will a 520 sync to iTunes?
 
Park@82 said:
It is avaliable via 3rd party apps.
Click to expand...

Really? That's interesting. I am uninformed as I have only been exposed to the Symbian & WP smartphone environments.

Please enlighten us on which options there are and how much they cost.

We are all 'Here' to learn.
 
riscbroker said:
Sorry I'm a little OT here - are you saying the 620 syncs with iTunes? If so on which PC OS? and which version of iTunes?

And for the last question, since the thread is about the 520, will a 520 sync to iTunes?
Click to expand...

The Windows Phone app shows a set of options for syncing your Music/video/podcasts. As far as I know it is available for all WP8 applications.
 
McCrazieGoalz said:
Really? That's interesting. I am uninformed as I have only been exposed to the Symbian & WP smartphone environments.

Please enlighten us on which options there are and how much they cost.

We are all 'Here' to learn.
Click to expand...

Somehow I get the impression that you're being incredibly facetious but... my Note 2 came pre installed with Garmin Navigon for free. I've also seen a plethora of other offline navigation apps in the store...
 
Ndrive is pure offline, well at least the version i was using. Google maps + nav ftw though.
 
I need t replace my phone which has fallen one too many times. I've read up on the 520 and the only reason I haven't gone out and bought it yet is because apparently the screen is no good in sunlight. (Read: very reflective). This true?

Is the 720 really worth the extra R3500?
 
Hamster said:
I need t replace my phone which has fallen one too many times. I've read up on the 520 and the only reason I haven't gone out and bought it yet is because apparently the screen is no good in sunlight. (Read: very reflective). This true?

Is the 720 really worth the extra R3500?
Click to expand...

I would probably be as happy with a 520 for what I use a phone for. They've cut a lot of unnecessary features to get to a very good price. Looking at the features lacking, I could live with them all. After playing with the phone for a few days now, I realise it's the OS and UI that are the things I would not want to compromise on, and the 520 and 720 share the same processor and graphics chips if i'm not mistaken.

The only one I found strange was the lack of a camera flash LED on the back of the 520, but I haven't tested the camera, so i'm not sure how bad that is.

The other interesting question would be how the smaller battery affects it. Last night my 720 was still at roughly 70% charge before putting back on charge. What are the 520 owners here getting on average? It has 550mAh less capacity, but i'm not sure that would even be a problem.

I have no idea about screen clarity in the sun on the 520 yet. 720 is not bad.

If it was a choice between the 720 and the 520 with the extra dosh in the pocket, the 520 may win next time around.
 
The two things that the 520 is missing that really impacts the value are the screen and the GPU. It's got a normal LCD TN panel which looks quite washed out, the same as the 610 had - whereas the 620 has the Clearblack which is strikingly better. And the 205 gpu is quite puny.
 
iceman23 said:
Ndrive is pure offline, well at least the version i was using. Google maps + nav ftw though.
Click to expand...

Ahh..h. No.

No, true offline navigation with Google Maps there I am afraid.

And I am not being facetious.

There are many videos on YouTube of how 'not so offline' Google maps are. It is also possible that the third party apps are also not truely offline. They just might be giving the impression of being offline.

Like this one by CNet (skip to 2'45'' to the point where they explain the lack of offline navigation in the offline maps):

[video=youtube;mADm1D6ozDI]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mADm1D6ozDI[/video]
 
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shogun said:
I would probably be as happy with a 520 for what I use a phone for. They've cut a lot of unnecessary features to get to a very good price. Looking at the features lacking, I could live with them all. After playing with the phone for a few days now, I realise it's the OS and UI that are the things I would not want to compromise on, and the 520 and 720 share the same processor and graphics chips if i'm not mistaken.

The only one I found strange was the lack of a camera flash LED on the back of the 520, but I haven't tested the camera, so i'm not sure how bad that is.

The other interesting question would be how the smaller battery affects it. Last night my 720 was still at roughly 70% charge before putting back on charge. What are the 520 owners here getting on average? It has 550mAh less capacity, but i'm not sure that would even be a problem.

I have no idea about screen clarity in the sun on the 520 yet. 720 is not bad.

If it was a choice between the 720 and the 520 with the extra dosh in the pocket, the 520 may win next time around.
Click to expand...

Bought my mom a 520 and wouldn't swap my 720 for it any day. Even using my L800 seems like a stretch lately. Battery is unbeliveable, small hiccups regarding the proximity sensor but amazing other than that.

What colour 720 did you get?
 
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