So Nokia launched the revamped Lumia 520 as 525 couple of weeks ago with a price tag of Rs.10,000 and if you are wondering if its a good buy and will it be a value for money? Then look no further, just read on.
Hardware
The hardware is no different than its very popular predecessor, the Lumia 520 but the new and revamped Lumia 525 gets a RAM bum. That's right, 1GB of RAM for you to play any game available on the Windows Phone store. Besides that it still retains the 4 inch: 480x800 resolution with 233 ppi and scratch resistant IPS LCD panel. Honestly, the screen in beautiful, like really beautiful but when compared to the AMOLEDs of other high end Lumias like 925 and 1020, the blacks may not be as deep but the brightness is superb. I was able to read clearly in direct sunlight even on low brightness. Yes, there is no screen brightness control option like there is in Android except for the fact that it has Auto brightness which works pretty well and 3 different brightness settings: low, medium and high. But let's face it you'd never fiddle with the brightness in direct sunlight because you'd just keep it at max or at Auto so the whole able to "control" the brightness at various degrees is really not missed. On the internal side, a 1GHZ Dual Core Snapdragon S4 CPU and Adreno 305 GPU run along fine with almost anything you throw at them and you get 8GB of internal storage with expansion upto 64GB via microSD card.
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Software
The Lumia 525 comes with the latest Windows Phone 8 GDR3 update along with Lumia Black. The update from Nokia is also present on various other highend Lumias like 1520, 1320 and 1020 with 920,925 and others recieving or have recieved by now. So you ask what Lumia Black update is? Well watch the video below and I'm pretty sure you'll get the idea instantly. Besides that if you think you're gonna the third row of tiles then tough luck. But on the bright side you get to play all the hight end games all thanks to the RAM bump which made this possible. On other note, the Nokia Camera caught my eye. The app lets you have shutter speeds upto 1 sec, ISO upto 1600 and exposure up till 3 which is awesome. Summing it all up, I'd say the user experience is pretty much the same what we got from the 2012 flagship- Lumia 920, since no major OS changes have been made. It still lacks a proper file manager, the ability of moving pictures from folder to folder within the gallery is still missing as well as others. But if you can get past these quirks, you'll do just fine.
Camera & Battery
To say the truth, the 5MP shooter on the back does take some pretty low light shots especially when you use the Nokia Camera app. But the absence of flash makes it a bit of a pain right when you need one but most of the time its not the absence of a flash that irks me, its the shakiness that shows up in low ligt shots. Thats due to the lack of OIS built-in but that is something you wouldn't expect from a 10K phone. But on the other hand if you are calm and stable enough the low light shots turn out incredible with the right low light settings. One thing to keep in mind some users have reported a rapid battery drain while using Nokia Camera app to which I see the heavy algorithms and coding inside as the main reason. Hopefully this gets sorted out in the next update. Talking about the battery, you get a rather feeble 1430 mAh which is the same in the Lumia 520 but if you use the device for basically texting, calling and a few games, the phone should last you for almost a day. But if you are a heavy gamer and a movie hound then you should probably look elsewhere.
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Conclusion
It is clear that some things have changed for the better with the latest camera update and the support for Nokia Camera. There are less washed out photos, better colour management and overall more desirable results. On the software side, it has gotten even better. For example, you can technically create small light trails with the Lumia 525 and its maximum 1 second exposure, or you can have the minimum focus point using manual focus and try to create a bokeh effect, all on a device that costs only about 10k INR. Overall its a perfect device for someone getting there very first windows phone or for someone who wants a great camera for an awesome price. I'm not sure if I'd recommend it to my Android geek friends but if you are looking for a breath of fresh air then this is a good place to start. The Nokia Lumia 525 is now available for purchase on various online stores for a price of Rs.10,200 (more or less).
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Author : Nadeem Ansari
Designation: Senior Editor
Bio: A gadget freak who can't make a day without his tiny little toys and is constantly trying to keep himself up to date with the latest events in tech history. Loves to read and write articles.
Bio: A gadget freak who can't make a day without his tiny little toys and is constantly trying to keep himself up to date with the latest events in tech history. Loves to read and write articles.
