Phone Review Nokia Lumia 525

The Nokia Lumia 525 is here , so what’s new in it. The Lumia 520 is without doubt one of the best selling Smartphone’s of the Lumia range. Other than being the best selling smartphone, the 520 has also been working as a gateway to the windows phone platform because of its affordability. Let’s, try and compare the Lumia 520 and the Lumia 525 

 I mentioned in my earlier talk about the windows operating system that as far as the OS is concerned it tends to run very smoothly even with the some decent processors and does not require too much RAM. About, 512MB RAM is enough to make it run pretty well. Well with 512, the windows operating system runs pretty well, but it’s the graphic intensive games that become a problem as they simply refuse to run on the 512MB RAM, so that’s where Nokia decided to upgrade the hardware , so that graphic intensive games will be able to run smoothly on the 525. 

Build and Design

The Lumia 525 doesn’t differ much when it comes to design from the 520. The only difference is maybe the back panel which is of matte finish in the 520 and of glossy finish in the 525 . The panels are however interchangeable, and  you can attach a glossy panel to your 520 if you wish to. Apart from this, the screen size is same 4 inches, with a 800x480p resolution, which does make the pictures and text appear a little bit pixelated, but if you go and look at the other phones in the similar price range you will find the 525 to be a better choice. The phone weighs the same as the 520 and does feel pretty strong and durable if you hold it. On the right edge of the phone you will find the lock/power, camera and the volume control keys. And like all windows phones you will find the capacitive keys for home, back and search right below the screen.  

Hardware

The Lumia 525 is powered by the same 1GHz dual-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 which powers the Lumia 520 , but the difference is the RAM which is 1GB , which is almost double that of the 520 which sports 512MB RAM. The internal storage is 8GB and you can extend the storeage upto 64GB using a SD card. Like all windows devices you get Skydrive storage. The connective is same as the Lumia 520 that is 2G, 3G and Wi-Fi and the battery is same as well.  

Software

Software is Windows Phone 8 with the usual custom made look from Nokia with Nokia specific apps like Here Maps, Nokia Misic, Smart Shoot and Cinemagraph. The Windows Phone 8 OS is the updated version with the Black Update already installed. It does come with some of the features of the black update like better multitasking ability and double tap to wake up , but there is no glance screen . Wondering what the Black Update is , here follow this link and let Nokia tell you.

http://www.nokia.com/global/windows-phone-black-update/

Apps like Flipkart and BigFlix come preloaded and Gameloft games are available for free download with your 525 and better still the 525 because of the 1GB RAM is able to run the graphic intensive games. So, now you can play Assassin’s Creed and Asphalt 8 effortlessly. A lot of India specific apps like M-Indicator and various bank apps are now available on the windows phone platform so the selection of apps are pretty decent. The App market of the Windows Phone universe is still growing and will take some more time to be as comprehensive like the Google Store and IOS app market.  

Performance

Windows Phone as an Operating system is something which does not require too many resources to run smoothly and while navigating the menus you find it to be pretty fluid and smooth. As far as games like Temple Run 2  go they run pretty smoothly because of the upgraded RAM and Nokia’s Gamble of keeping the same processor seemed to have paid off.  At the price point at which you will be able to buy this phone, no Android phone will come close when it come to performance.

Camera

 The camera is the same as the 520 and is able to take good or should I say decent images in outdoor and sunlight filled places. It’s in low light conditions that you will get grainy pictures. I seriously feel that an LED flash would have been a pretty good enhancement to the camera. What the 520 lacked in terms of camera was a Flash , which sadly is same for the 525. A Flash would have made it possible to click pictures in low light and in the night. So here once the sun sets the picture quality goes for a toss. No front camera is again a drawback and reduces the usability of Skype. The Nokia Camera app app is part of the standard features of this phone, I just wish the camera would have complimented it.

Verdict

I would say that the entry level Windows phone got better with the 1GB RAM upgrade, which allows you to play more games than before. The latest build of the Windows OS also improves the user experience a bit. The pricing is a little above Rs 10000 which is tad bit more expensive than the 520 which is priced somewhere between Rs 7000 to Rs 8000, but if you miss the gaming experience in the 520 then it’s time to upgrade to the 525. Well if gaming is not your thing then the 520 is also a pretty decent phone with almost all the other apps and functions remaining the same.