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Nokia Lumia 520 GoPhone (AT&T) - Nokia
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LG Optimus Exceed 2 (Verizon Prepaid) - LG

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Nokia Lumia 520 GoPhone (AT&T) - Nokia
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LG Optimus Exceed 2 (Verizon Prepaid) - LG
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eComparisons ScoreThe "Comparison Score" Is calculated based on the average number of times this item was compared with other items in this category by our users
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User Rating (Amazon)

Five Star Reviews:

54%
Snappier than my Samsung S3
January 8, 2015
Jan 10 2015 updateI have completed the update / customization of the phone. The process was very easy and trouble-free. It is now running Windows 8.1. Response remains snappy, so performance has not changed. Transferring pictures and music from PC to the phone was again simple. The Samsung Kies is big & slow and, worse, sometimes could not find my S3. I am really beginning to think my next major phone upgrade will be a Windows phone instead of Android. In addition, my wife's S4 is slighter faster but the cost was 10X that of my 520. I just realized that I fell into the trap of buying brand name.The original reason for getting this phone was for the GPS and downloadable maps. It finds the best route very fast, again faster than my S3. The best thing is that the screen will not blank out when navigation was working. The S3 screen will blank out, making it not very useful. I have a Garmin GPS, but the map is out of date, I probably will not buy a replacement but use this Windows phone instead.In summary, this is an extremely under-valued phone that deserves recognition. I now rate it 5 stars instead of 4.Origina reviewI already have a Samsung S3 but was really intrigued by the Map and navigation functions of this Nokia phone. At this low price, I bought it just to play with. And this is my first Windows phone BTW.The Samsung looks fancier and has a smoother touch surface. This Nokia is smaller. However, it is fast and very responsive. Checking emails and surfing web were faster than the S3 by a large margin. Setting the phone up was just as easy as Android; I am quite used to Windows 8.1 as I have 2 Windows tablets.Overall, my initial impression is very positive.
Perfect for an old curmudgeon like myself and an amazing bargain!
December 19, 2014
My wife and I are 77 and resisted owning or using cell phones until just last year when we bought one to use as a "travel phone." We signed-up with Consumer Cellular (phone only) and bought a very, very cheap flip phone. She's had problems using with the basic flip phone and so, when I saw this one for only $30 (along with the great reviews) I grabbed one. Putting it into service was as simple as removing the slick little sim card from the flip phone, snapping the micro sim (already performated for this purpose) and putting it in the 520. Nothing to it!Frankly, I haven't told her about it yet but, after updating the firmware and the GPS maps, I'm mightily impressed and reasonably certain she'll find it a snap to use. I'm a Linux desktop user and left Windows behind years ago but the integration of Windows 8.1 into this thing is impressive. The more I use it the more impressed I am! My Consumer Cellular plan doesn't include data but I can cruise the internet free via wireless (plenty of hotspots around). After downloading the GPS maps I can use them off-line, a plus for me. My wife's SUV has a Garmin 7" GPS that she would never part with and I needed one for my old Chevy. The 520 will do nicely.The bottom-line: If you're an old coot like me I believe you'll love the 520 and, for only $29.95, it's a steal!old arkiedanAddendum on December 27: When the Lumia 520 went on further sale a couple days ago I grabbed another one. At $19.95 it's an ourageous steal! Even if I don't put it into phone service it'll make a terrific little GPS, pocket photo album, music album and quick-camera.
Incredible Windows 8.1 phone at an unbelievable price for what you get!
August 13, 2014
Incredible, especially for the price. Would likely give this 5 stars at a price closer to $200 (maybe 4 at $200). I'm not gonna list everything, but with all the new Windows Phone 8.1 features, this thing can't be beat for twice the price (even when shopping pre-owned). Even if you have a good phone, this is a worthy backup, and if you don't, unless you want to spend a lot of money, this is the phone to get.Some quick highlight of Windows Phone [8.1]:Live tiles are much better than even iPhones current UI, and any android launcher.Quick Notifications (swipe from the top), has customize-able quick toggles and previews of new messages and emails.Cortana voice commands (not too shabby)Swipe to type keyboard (definitely nice, especially helpful on the smaller screen)All your standard phone features... including some you don't see on much more expensive phones. Visual voice mail, call/text blocking by number (AT&T charges a ton to use their service if your phone doesn't do it like this one does), internet sharing (private WiFi network supports 8 devices at once)... and lots more.Nokia specific feature:Nokia Mix radio (Lets you create custom radio stations with no visual or audio advertisements. AND the free account still lets you make 4 stations offline, downloading something like 2 dozen songs each, and can be refreshed at anytime for new songs)Nokia Maps and Drive+ (Let's you download maps so you can use them without service, whether you are on the subway, in the middle of no where, or too cheap to pay for data. Includes turn by turn navigation, as well as course mapping for public transit, walking, or driving)Great camera software (the camera is not half bad for the price. Just no flash, and no front facing)As with all Nokia phones, this thing is very durable (did not really expect that).Has a MicroSD expansion slot (can expand with up to 64gb. Most expensive phones even omit this.)Decent battery life, especially with battery saver on.The size is actually great, I find myself enjoying the fact that it's so small, not too concerned about the screen not being huge.Doesn't come jam packed with software you don't want (I may have uninstalled 3-4 apps, which took seconds to do).The whole Windows Phone interface seems well thought out and simple to adapt to. Everything is pretty much where I expect it to, and easy to get to. The user experience is incredible for the specs (I've had quad core phones seemingly feel less responsive... I don;t know how)Of course there's a few cons. But this is only when comparing to top of the line 5-700 phones.The screen seems to be a magnet for finger prints (makes it a little harder to see in direct sun light, but wipe it off, and its still usable in the sun.No front facing camera (I never video chat, but would have been nice, would have made this phone have pretty much every feature you could ask for if it did).No flash (camera still works fine, but I do like having a flash to double as a flashlight when in a pinch)As far as standard phone features go, this has pretty much all of them, and they all work great. Call quality, even speakerphone, is great.You should buy this whether you need a phone or not. And at $60 (well $40 today!) you can't go wrong. You can also never activate this phone, and it'll be a great GPS, mp3 or streaming music player, and then some.
Great smartphone at a low price that just works!!
January 10, 2014
A few words before I begin: I USED to be an Android user and I've tried an iPhone but didn't "feel the love" there either.About 2.5 years ago, I got hired by a firm that issued me my first Windows Phone; I had no choice in the matter. I was a die-hard Android fan and was displeased at the prospect of giving up my "preferred" platform......until I sat down and actually USED it.I got this phone as my personal device the other day and it's been a gem like the other 2 Windows Phones I've had. So what if it doesn't have a 100-megapixel camera, 32-core processor, 64 GB of RAM, etc....my point is that Windows Phone doesn't NEED all that hardware to run properly (except for the camera if your only camera is your phone, but you can get a better camera with other Nokia models ;)).Windows Phone doesn't come with TouchWhizz, MotoBlunder, HTC NonSense or any of that other bloatware, and runs very well without that stuff bogging it down like it does with most Android devices. Windows Phone isn't twitchy, touchy or glitchy like Android and doesn't have thousands of non-sensical unvetted garbage apps that don't work properly either (or conflict with the operating system). I haven't had any issues with my Windows phones acting like they're possessed (i.e. starting stuff up on their own without user intervention), haven't had to restart my phone because of a misbehaving app, and haven't had to pull the battery because it's frozen up.....EVER. My Windows phones have just worked, period, without fuss, and this one's no exception. Windows phones get their updates directly from Microsoft, without having to go through the manufacturer and carrier first. All Windows Phones operate the same; no learning curve when you switch phones. Best of all, they're as easy to use as an iPhone, and can be a whole lot cheaper.Windows Phone also comes with some nice features built-in that would need to be downloaded on an Android phone via the Play Store. A mobile version of Microsoft Office is preinstalled, so no downloading ThinkFree Office to view or edit your Word and Excel files. Bing search includes a song-identification feature and barcode/QR code scanner; no need to download SoundHound or barcode scanner apps, as on an Android device. When you register your Windows Phone on windowsphone.com using your Windows Live (hotmail.com, live.com or outlook.com) account, you're able to view the content of your SkyDrive--pictures and documents (7 GB free storage for as long as you have your Windows Live account) from any computer connected to the internet. If you lose your phone, you can find it via GPS, make it ring, lock it, or erase the contents of the phone all from the windowsphone.com site. Again, all this is BUILT IN; no need to go download a bunch of apps to get that functionality. If you don't have a Windows Live account, you can create one using your existing email account if you want. Microsoft doesn't force you to get a Hotmail email address like Google forces you to get a Gmail address for Android phones. Syncing your music and pictures with your Windows 7/8 or Macintosh computer is a snap; no "drag and drop," it automatically downloads your pictures into your pictures folder and you can choose what music you want to sync and it happens automatically.One built-in app that's worth special mention is "Local Scout." For travelers, this can be a lifesaver. Local Scout uses your phone's GPS to tell you what's near you, like restaurants, attractions, and places to shop. All you have to do is to tap on a business or attraction name and you can navigate to that business or attraction, call them, add them to your favourites and more, without leaving the app.I guess what I'm saying is that if you want something as a playtoy and don't mind the fragmentation, frustration, glitches, force-closes, and misbehaving apps, then by all means, go get that 100-megapixel, 32-core, 64 GB RAM Android phone....it's gonna need all that hardware! However, if you want something that is useful, has a lot of built-in features, easy, doesn't fuss or fight with you, is fluid and smooth, and just plain works, then get a Windows Phone. If you want a great Windows Phone on a budget, get this one. It won't disappoint you.Edit: It's been a few weeks since I've bought this device for personal use and it still runs like a champ. Recently, I had to switch my work device to a Galaxy S3 and this Nokia runs rings around the GS3, even though the GS3 has a better processor and 4 times the RAM. As soon as work is over, the GS3 gets put away and I switch back to my Nokia 520, and I'm happy again. I get 3 days out of this Nokia; the GS3 won't last a day without charging it.Second Edit (6/7/2014): I downloaded the developer preview for Windows Phone 8.1 on this device and it works beautifully. Yes, great things are coming to Windows Phone, as the general release for WP 8.1 won't be out until summertime. WP 8.1 brings a notification bar that you can swipe down, showing missed calls, emails and texts, as well as toggle switches for wi-fi, bluetooth, airplane mode and screen rotation; you can also set a background wallpaper that shows through your live tiles; and the most important feature......CORTANA! Yes, Cortana, Microsoft's answer to Siri (Cortana works a whole lot better too) is even available for use on the "lowly" Nokia 520. You have to be a US resident for Cortana to work in the developer preview, no word yet if Cortana will be available outside the US in the official WP 8.1 release. Cortana even understands some sequential requests.....something Siri can't do. I put her up against Siri on an iPhone 5S and Cortana outperformed Siri by a comfortable margin.Budget-minded fans take note: When Windows Phone 8.1 comes out this summer, you'll have the best features at an off-contract price that can't be beat. There's no reason, except for FUD about the Windows Phone platform, to own an Android or iPhone anymore now :D.Third edit (2/4/2015): According to Microsoft, Cortana is available in several regions now outside the US, so if you live outside the US, give it a go, especially in UK and Australia. Windows Phone 8.1 will also be upgradable to Windows 10 when it's released, thereby unifying the experience across multiple devices.Fourth edit (3/23/2016): Microsoft announced on 6/17/2016 that only a select few devices will be upgraded to Windows 10 Mobile, and this one isn't going to get the upgrade. The only x2x series device that will get the official upgrade is the Lumia 1520. Having used Windows 10 on a Lumia 920 before, I can say that going from 8.1 to 10 on a low-end device would be totally frustrating. The 920 lagged such that I noticed it, especially switching between apps and launching the Windows Store, camera, and Cortana. It was still usable and that was due to the fact that the 920 has 1 GB RAM. The 520 only has 512 MB RAM, so I wouldn't advise doing the upgrade on this phone. Given that, to upgrade, go to insider.windows,com and register as a Windows 10 mobile insider, download the Windows Insider app on your phone, launch the app and login with your Microsoft account, and then select the "Release Candidate" ring. Then, go to settings and check for updates.A word of caution: Once you upgrade the device to Windows 10, you can't go back to Windows Phone 8.x. Conceivably, one could restore the device using the Nokia Recovery Tool or the Windows Device Recovery Tool, but that route hasn't been successful for me.
Best smart phone value for Consumer Cellular users
December 11, 2013
As so many others have stated, this may be the best smart phone for the money. Our family is Apple centric when it comes to our desktop computers and we have several generations of iPads in the house. So we are comfortable with IOS and appreciate the wealth of educational apps available for our home school program and for for our entertainment. It would seem logical that we would gravitate to the iPhone but given our limited phone usage, but it didn't make sense to make the required investment. The Nokia 520 provides all the functionality we need and for $59, it was an incredible bargain. We simply inserted the Consumer Cellular micro SIM card, called CC to register the device's IEMI, entered the apn and mms apn settings, rebooted the phone and we were connected. I bought the phone for my wife and she finds it very easy to use. I had previously purchased a Nokia 920 for my own use, but I could be happy with a 520. I especially appreciate that it has a user replaceable battery that will extend the useful life of the phone.We don't need an unlimited data plan as we'll connect with wifi at home for browsing or downloads. Likewise, the 8GB phone memory is not an issue because we will only install a few essential apps. The Windows Phone 8 OS is well sorted out, attractive, easy to use and updated with useful features. It would be great if Microsoft, Nokia or a third party created an app to sync iCal and Apple Contacts directly and avoid Google, but for now that doesn't seem to be in the cards.Here are the pluses:1. Convenient size2. Acceptable camera for snaps (has autofocus but no flash).3. Acceptable speaker volume, sound quality okay4. Frequent W8 updates5. Replaceable battery and back cover colors6. Great Nokia Here maps and free voice aided navigation off line7. Good screen for the price . . . we aren't watching HD movies on the phone8. Micro SD slot for up to 64GB storage for photos and music9. Bluetooth connections are easy to connect and stableThe minuses:1. No flash, but most LED flash provides mediocre results at best2. No front facing camera, but we don't do selfies3. 512MB of RAM may be limited for some apps, but none we need or want4. 8GB memory limits the number of apps that can be loaded, but is enough for our needs
Great off contract phone at a steal of a price.
October 11, 2013
I had an iPhone 5 a year ago and then it got stolen. I can't afford to buy another iPhone because it is off contract with AT&T and even the iPhone 4s would cost me over $350 off contract. I've been curious about Windows Phone 8 and thought this would be a good way to try it out. It is a Go Phone ( marketed for prepaid plans), but if you already have an AT&T post paid phone plan, simply swap in your own SIM card and it will work right out of the box with your current phone number and plan (If you have a larger SIM card you can buy a SIM cutter for under $5 and it should work fine).I purchased this Nokia Lumia 520 phone from Amazon in mid-august 2013 (about 8 weeks ago). Anyways, I figured that for $100, I could try out WP8 operating system and if I didn't like it it would be not much of a risk or loss to me. So far, I have been really, really happy with it. It is pretty much equivalent in performance and specs to the iPhone 4s. With the Lumia 520, you lose the front camera and flash of the iPhone 4s, but you get a bigger 4-inch screen and bigger battery. The 520 only comes with 8 GB of storage, but I added a 16 GB SD card for a total of 24 gigabytes, which is more than enough for my purposes. Including the SD card, the total phone cost $115 (w/ free amazon prime shipping). I'd be satisfied with this phone if I paid $200 for it, but at $115 - I'm very happy indeed.The only shortcoming I can think of is there are not as many Windows Phone apps as there are for Android or Apple iOS, but I will not take any stars off of the phone because that is not an issue with the phone and there are more WP apps coming every day. If this was my first smartphone, there would be no complaints whatsoever. I know Apple and Android really have the smartphone market locked up in the US, Japan and UK, but I think Windows Phone will really get a foothold in EU and the developing world, so lots more WP apps should be coming down the pipeline soon form enterprising app developers internationally.My phone use is for texting first, camera second, phone calls third... fourth would be browsing the web while taking the bus to/from school, fifth as a music player and sixth for maps/directions. It does all of those things very well. The Nokia Camera app is great - I'm a photographer and I like that I can change the exposure by +- 2 stops, Nokia Here apps are awesome (maps, public transit and turn-by-tun driving) - the driving app even lets you download maps to your phone so you can get directions and view maps where there is no cell phone service (came very handy driving through the mountains in Western Nevada). The Nokia "Transfer MY Data" app was great and pulled all 300+ of my address book from an iPod Touch in about 20 seconds via bluetooth. I like the Windows Phone integration with SkyDrive and find it much easier to use and more user friendly than iCloud - there is a lot more customization options with SkyDrive whereas iCloud has a really dumbed down and simplistic interface over the web.I've even been able to do a small amount of data tethering with my iPod Touch. I've only had to do it once when I had no Windows Phone app for what I wanted to do. I've hear AT&T locks out tethering from data plans unless you pay more, but I think it was only a small amount of data and since it went to a mobile device it was able to get thru the system. I think if I had tried to tether with a laptop, it might have been blocked. I wouldn't say this is a feature, and your mileage if you try this may vary.I really like this phone and for the price ($100), I LOVE IT! I think my next phone may be a Windows Phone with LTE and I may end up getting an iPad for those few iOS apps I can do without.
64%

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Four Star Reviews:

20%
Great phone! Worth more than the price. MS Phone OS family controls are poor.
December 27, 2014
Fantastic phone for the price! Can't be beat! Poor family safety controlsFor the price-point, the Lumia 520 itself is a great device! I'm still in awe that I can purchase a phone of this quality for such a low price. If you're looking for a second phone for a back-up or even as an inexpensive primary phone, you can't go wrong. It's not the most intuitive device (iOS phones are) or the most configurable (Android) but it's a great alternative to either.Lightweight phone, the dimensions match those of an iPhone 5, though the screen quality isn't the best in the market - but when you consider you're paying a fraction of the price of an iPhone, the Lumia screen is amazing.The major pro, as everyone has noted, is the price.Who should consider this phone:- If you're not looking for a powerhouse of a processor to run 3D games, you should seriously consider this phone.- If your needs don't extend beyond FaceBook, Twitter, Instagram, non-complex web-browsing, and texting (not to say you can't do other things)- If you're going on vacation and want to be able to browse and check your email at the beach and not worry about losing or damaging your phone- If you lose your current phone and want a temporary phone until you upgrade to one that will cost you 50x or more- If you want a starter phone for your kids (more on this later) and are afraid of them losing or breaking a more expensive model- If you're new to the world of smartphones and want to make sure you really need one- If you're looking for a great substitute to an iPod Touch- If you want an navigation deviceSome great features:- The built-in GPS works even if you don't use or pay for phone connectivity! It offers offline maps with turn by turn navigation- Supports Micro SD cards up to 64GB storage for photos and music. Note that you need to go into settings to redirect your storage to the SD card- Microsoft Windows Phone OS is beautiful. Active tiles really come to life on your phone.- Free music streaming Nokia/Microsoft MixRadio.- Replaceable battery: if you find that after a year or more your battery isn't holding its charge like it used to, just buy a new one instead of having to replace the entire phone- Replaceable back cover: you can buy additional covers to suit your tastes- The display is quite readable. For a phone this size it's perfect.- The price for cases for the Lumia 820 are quite reasonable!- Dedicated photo button right on the side! This is a fantastic feature as you don't have to fumble with the screen to launch the photo app or snap a picture.- Great battery life- Standard micro-usb connector - no longer having to spend for proprietary cords like you do with an iPhone- Microsoft Cortana!Who shouldn't consider this phone:- Users who are looking to run 3D games- Users who wish the latest apps; though the MS app store is growing, it pales in comparison to iOS or Android- Users who are already financial vested in iOS or Android Apps- Users who wish to share purchases among family members (more later)- Users looking for a fantastic phone camera.- Parents who wish to setup family controlsThings to keep in mind- There is no front facing camera. If you want to take selfies or do Video-Skype. this isn't the phone for you- There is no flash, though on my iOS and Android devices I rarely ever use flash. But it is something to consider if you're thinking of going on vacation and this being your only phone; you won't get many clear evening/nighttime shots indoors or outdoors.- The single speaker is located on the back of the phone; put this down phone faceing up and your music or speaker-phone conversation will be muted. (My daughter uses her Lumia 820 as her music player and unlike on our iOS devices, she has to pick up the Lumia each time she wants to look for a song or do anything with it. Not a major inconvenience, and certainly not something that should stop you from getting this phone, but definitely something to be aware of.)- The Lumia 820 vibrates instead of beeping as you move through the OS. It's a gentile vibration but I wish I could replace it with a sound or turn it off entirely.- Sometimes the phone is slow in rendering web-pages. This is probably due to only having 512mb.Each of these little details (where the speakers are placed, the position of the camera in relation to how you hold your phone, what type of charger it users...) contribute to one's overall satisfaction with a product.Would I buy it again? At this price? Without a doubt!-----------Some thoughts from myself as a parent who bought Lumia 820s as mp3/camera/eventual-phones for his two kids; more of a review of Microsoft Phone OS when it comes to parental controls than the physical phone itself. Skip the rest of this review if you're not looking for a phone for your kids.I'm new to the Windows Phone OS environment, having used both Android and iOS devices and I'm so disappointed by MS lack of vision when it comes to family dynamics. alternateI was looking for an inexpensive device to give to my kids to use as a music player, camera, and controlled web-browsing/application access. For about double the price I could have purchased a bare-bones Android phone but I've heard such great things about Windows Phone OS that for the price of the 820 I figured it was worth a shot.The Windows Family Safety site (familysafety.microsoft.com) allows a parent to filter web content and gives a child who has a desktop Windows 7/8 account to- Request access to blocked sites- Set daily time limits- Set a variety curfew hours which block all accessThere's also a link to Windows Phone: "Add and monitor a Windows Phone" which turns out to not only launch a totally separate and weak parental control model (MyFamily), but as far as I can see does not allow for any monitoring!The Windows Phone MyFamily app control is extremely bare-bones -- You can set a content rating limit- You can block all apps, allow free apps, or allow for any app to be downloaded.That's it. There doesn't appear to be a way to have your child request an app from a parent nor are there any time limit settings or even more importantly, filter web sites!Add on top of this an extremely bare and not-at-all intuitive text-based interface (how do you get to Family Safety from your log in page?- Click on "Security and Privacy" in the web-toolbar (not in the manage section)- Under "Online Safety" you'll find two choices:---- Family safety settings---- Manage permissions for children"Manage Permissions for children" doesn't manage any permissions! Instead you can edit your child's name and contact details."Family Safety Settings" doesn't allow you to add children - Instead what you or your child need to do is setup a Microsoft Account for them. And then, based on the birth-year that's setup for this profile (Under 18? Under 13?) the child-account will then be prompted to have their parent log into their parent's Live account. This will link the child account to the parents.So rather than having a parent whose already logged in create an account for their child, the parent needs to log out and then log back in to create and link a child-account.How is this intuitive?Once you finally have your child's Live account created and linked you'll be able to control thier PC access (if you've setup a separate Windows account for them) but you won't be able to control anything on their phone other than what kind of apps they can download - not which apps, but which kind of apps (none, all free apps, all apps).So since the only way you can control which apps your child can access is by blocking all apps, if there's a particular app you're OK with your child getting, you have to edit their permissions on the MS MyFamily site, log into your child's phone, get the app, and then go back and reset the permissions on the MS site again.As for sharing purchases, there doesn't appear to be a way to do it, therefore you probably need to buy an app for each family member.Another issue I have with Microsoft Phone is how its native apps are geared toward selling rather than focusing on your content.If you're looking for a device with good parental controls, get an Android device and install "Screen Time Parental Control" by Screen Time Labs and any friendly browser.BTW, I've also heard great things about Microsoft Cortana - any account registers as a child's account will be blocked from accessing Cortana until the child turns 14. Microsoft's rational is that since Cortana gathers user information (email, shopping, personal information such as birthday) to improve a users's experience and to COPPA (Children's Online Privacy Protection Act), it is illegal for Microsoft to collect any information from children under 13, it's turned off. No way around it. The only solution would be to falsify your child's birth-year.Using a combination of MS MyFamily, OpenDNS, an Asus router running Asuswrt Merlin firmware, and client-based DSN-filtering, I've managed to cobble together controls that meet my needs (web filtering, morning and bedtime curfew, app controls), but definitely not a solution I recommend for someone whose not inclined to tinker. If you don't have an Asus router, you could probably achieve the same by setting up a VPN into Open DNS or through some other solution.
I really like it
December 24, 2014
Nokia always made incredible phones in terms of hardware and software and I was really sorry to see them lose market share to the point of going out of business. Nokia voice quality beats anything that is out there on the market today. Microsoft's purchase has kept them alive and this is an incredible piece of hardware for the price. As many have noted, although AT&T won't like to publicize it, this phone can be operated without a Sim card. You won't be able to make phone calls or get cellular data, but it is an incredible value as a Wi-Fi only tablet, music player, real GPS with GPS chip device, email reader, camera and so much more. Insertable Sim card, replaceable battery, it's great. Given the choice between spending $600 to $900on an iPhone or $25 on this, the decision was easy for me. The only issue with this phone is Microsoft and their updates. The actual OS is fine and reasonably intuitive. However, when I plugged this phone in, it updated itself to Windows 8.1, which just like a PC easily took a couple of hours. I then downloaded maps for the entire United States for the GPS app, and that took nearly 4 hours. iOS and android Devices do not operate like PCs in this weird Microsoft your time has no value way. Now that the phone is up and running, it is amazing and I would highly recommend it. If you want to save some money, want a really good phone which wont cause you to have a heart attack if you drop and crack it, and also have a day's time to waste, this phone, along with it's more expensive siblings, is a great value.
Awesome bargain phone; or simply use as a music player/wifi web-surfer/GPS. For the price, can't go wrong!
December 7, 2014
For $30, what a great bargain! I have to caveat, however, that I'm only using this as a portable wifi device/MP3 player, not as an actual phone. Thus, my review only covers the functionality of the device except for the phone function, and of course, is my subjective, non-expert opinion.Cosmetically, it is a simple yet elegant design. The back cover (black) has a matte finish that has a nice texture and keeps the device from slipping out of your hands. The smooth back cover is only interrupted by the camera lens, and engraved Nokia logo, speaker hole, and subtle ATT logo. The front is also simple, with only the earpiece speaker and Nokia logo at top (flanked by some sensors, which you cannot really see) and the capacitive touch buttons on the bottom bezel. The glass is smooth, but as one reviewer noted, the surface of the screen has a sort of "stickiness" to it. Hard to describe, but it almost feels like extremely fine sandpaper (like 5000 grit or higher). Nothing that's uncomfortable or detracts from the functionality of the screen, and as I've been using it more and more, that "stickiness" seems to be gone. One other thing with the screen, where the glass ends to meet the plastic framing of the phone, it is elevated ever so slightly from the glass surface, interrupting what would otherwise be a completely smooth/flush face of the phone. Again, nothing big or uncomfortable, but a completely flush front face would add more class. Overall, this phone has a simple elegance to it that makes it look/feel like a much more expensive phone, and is very comfortable to hold.Physical functionality, this phone works as well as many higher end phones. The screen is vibrant and very responsive to touches/swipes, and despite the sub-HD resolution, everything looks pleasant. For me, texts are easy to read, and images look sharp. I'm sure the smaller size of the screen (4" diagonal) helps in this regard. The "soft buttons" work well and are simple and intuitive. All the physical buttons are on the right side of the phone (if looking at the face of the phone); of note, the volume rocker is at the top, the power button below that, and the camera button (very handy!) is below that. I note this because in my experience, the power button is usually the top most button, with the volume rocker below that. Also, having a physical camera button is something not found on many smartphones, but I find is very handy to have and makes snapping pictures easier. Also, pressing the camera button from the home screen automatically opens the camera, so you don't have to look/find your camera app to activate the camera. The speaker is reasonably loud, and sounds typical of "any given smartphone." The camera shoots decent shots on par with many smartphones, but like most smartphone cameras, works best in well lit situations with a stationary subject. Low light shots are only OK to bad at best, and expect moving subjects to be blurry when the picture is taken. Also, there is no flash or front facing camera, so no selfies or video chats like Skype (though oddly, you can download a flashlight app and Skype is pre-loaded). 4 out of 5 for this category, with the main detractors being lack of front camera and flash for rear camera, but for the price ($30) this is an outstanding piece of kit.In terms of performance, I am highly impressed particularly because of this price point. Despite only having 512MB RAM (I prefer a minimum of 1GB) and "only" a dual core processor, it is extremely fluid in operation. Comparatively speaking, I'd put it slightly above my old Galaxy S2, which was a flagship phone back in it's day. Compared to other equivalent Android phones (like an LG Lucid VS840, which has similar specs) I'd give this phone the win (at least for operation). Out of the box, this came with Windows 8, which I promptly updated via Over the Air update to Windows 8.1. I primarily use Android OS, followed by iOS, and comparatively speaking, my opinion is that Win 8.1 is every bit as good as either OS. The interface is intuitive, and I like the tile setup on the home page. I particularly like how the "live tiles" provide updates and realtime information, like widgets do in Android OS. Swipes and transitions are very smooth, better than many Android phones, particularly those that have carrier or manufacturer skins overlaid, like Samsung and transition smoothness is near if not on par with iOS -- actually, the smoothness reminds me much of iOS. Animations occur without lag or stutter. Wifi works great; connected without a problem and have surfed the web and downloaded a few apps already. Speaking of apps, the Microsoft store is still barren compared to iTunes App Store or Google Play. However, the really popular apps all seem to be available. Overall, this phone impresses (at least me) with how smoothly everything runs, particularly because of it's "lower end" hardware specs. Honestly, I'd say the user interface experience is as fluid as the most high powered Android phones, and on par with the industry "standard", iOS, and as intuitive as either.Overall, this device, for the price, is easily on par with other phones costing much, much more. For those looking for an inexpensive device that works well, is intuitive to use, and meets what most might consider basic functionality, this is a deal that must seriously be considered. Only power hogs, gamers, fanboys, and the selfie addicted would turn their nose to this device. Regular people, however, would find this to be a great device at a bargain.UPDATE: 10 days later...I continue to be amazed with this little device. I'm still only using it as a portable wifi device, but have had an opportunity to use it extensively as a GPS unit as well using the HERE DRIVE+ app that comes loaded on the system. I have to say....it works great, particularly because you can use it offline (i.e. without a wifi or mobile data connection). You have to take some time to download maps up front, and one big gripe is that the maps are stored on the phone's internal memory--at least I haven't been able to move it to the SD card. Thus, you can't download all the maps for all 50 states in the US as it exceeds the total remaining phone storage left. You have to be selective in what maps you download, but that's fine as most won't be travelling through every state all the time. And, as a GPS, this thing works like a charm! Directions have been spot on and timely (no "Turn Now" as you're passing the turn), however, if using offline, you can't get real-time traffic updates. But otherwise, this works as well as my dedicated Garmin GPS unit.Also, I have to comment on the versatility of this device as an MP3 player/walkman. First, the MUSIC MIX app that came loaded on the phone. It's a free music streaming app let's you stream via wifi or data, but the real win is that you can also download playlists to listen to offline! It's awesome; certainly a good alternative to streaming music if there's no available wifi and/or if you don't want to burn up your data plan if you've activated the phone. Also, this device has a built in FM radio (needs headphones though, to use as the antenna) which is nice and works great...not even my Nexus 6 has a built in FM tuner. The radio is another way to get music or your favorite station without wifi or burning up your data plan. And because of it's small size, this device is easy to bring along while working out or running.I've also downloaded some games as well. Unfortunately, diversity of games in the Microsoft store is much less than iTunes or Google Play, and even then, some games won't play (or load) because the phone doesn't have enough RAM, storage space, or both, to play. That said, games like Angry Birds Star Wars and Hill Climber play just as well as they do on other devices. I did notice that when playing Angry Birds, the back of the phone got pretty warm. However, all of my Android phones get warm if not hot playing Angry Birds as well. Bottomline is that while this device can play games, don't expect too much out of it.The additional time with this phone has made me like it even more. Seriously, I can't believe this only cost $30!!UPDATE 1 YEAR LATER: Wow, 1 year later and I'm still impressed by this little device. Still only using it as my MP3/wifi device, but I've also used it as a GPS unit as well; the HERE app is so good, I use it now on my Android devices for off-line GPS capability! I've also been using it paired to a set of bluetooth headphones and it's a great combo for working out. Still can't believe I got this for $30 when it does just as well as an iPod Touch costing hundreds more!
I like this better than the Android platform as far as ...
December 3, 2014
I like this better than the Android platform as far as general usability. The new voice assistant seems to work well, it does everything I did with Siri on my iPhone, but the Windows app need smoothing out still and most of your favorite apps may not yet be on the platform. The phone seems well built, solid buttons, and I prefer this smaller and thinner size in a phone.For 30 dollars though you can't beat this little thing. I'm not using the cell function right now, but as a piece of technology it's a great deal and I suspect it would make a good phone. I like the touchpad as much or more than my iPhone 4s and far more than my old Android. My problem with Android phones is the lack of consistent interface and workflow coupled with bloatware from phone makers, otherwise Android seems to have the devs and app support that I would want.The speaker is LOUD, so this thing makes a great MP3 player or even cheap portable mini room system. It's way loud enough to hear in a room and even loud enough in the shower. Not sure how fast the wifi is, but everything seems fairly snappy overall with the phone.I think I like MS's email app better than anything in iphone or android, their office apps are cool looking, not sure I need them, but pretty nice. The tiles work great for mobile platforms, not sure why they smeared the metro interface so badly by forcing it on desktop users. For no reason I can explain the virtual keyboard works better for me than the iphone and I make less typos, though auto suggest still needs improvement as it does on all platforms.The single biggest flaw for me is the App view being a single row, that's a pretty big flaw, but yeah for 30 dollars I can deal with it. I wanted to try a Windows 8 phone so this gave me the opportunity to own one on the cheap.Even as an mp3 player alone this thing blow away everything else on the market at 30 dollars, plus it's a full fledged smart phone AND has GPS and offline maps. It also has a built in FM tuner. I have certainly not tested all the features or longevity.As a little compact computer this thing rocks. I can't really comment on it as a phone, but if MS keeps improving this platform and gets apps I'll probably make my next actual smart PHONE an MS based one.
Excellent First Smartphone
August 12, 2014
The Nokia Lumia 520 is a very solid phone for it's price.If you want a phone that runs smoothly, has built in GPS that doesn't require data, and looks decent, this phone is great!If you want the latest and greatest hardware, a super high resolution screen, and a front facing camera, this phone is not for you.Pros:The OS runs great on the low specs of this phone.The camera while not the greatest, isn't terrible.When upgraded to Windows Phone 8.1, you have a virtual assistant that is arguably better than Siri.The GPS works great. Offline maps and turn by turn directions can be a lifesaver.Micro SD card slot means you can expand the low memory on this device.Build quality, Nokia is good at this. Doesn't feel to fancy, but definitely feels solid.Price, not much to say on this one.Physical camera button, this is a very nice feature that I wish more phones had.Cons:The specs of this phone are low, so while the OS runs fine, you may run across some apps you can't get.No front facing camera, if you're into selfies, you'll want to look for different phone.Conclusion: This is a great first smartphone for a kid, or for a parent. It's not a beast on paper, but it gets done what needs to be done, and does a good job of it.
Surprising Performance!
September 12, 2013
I needed a replacement phone for a Galaxy S3 phone where the screen had cracked and I didn't want to invest in buying a full-priced phone since I was still within my contract.Opening the phone, placing the micro-SIM (pay attention to the picture symbol that tells you which direction it goes in), and going to a fully usable phone, took about 5 to 10 minutes.Coming from an Android/Galaxy phone, was a big change. As with any transition, there's always pro's and con's, however given the price/value of the phone, I'm not disappointed because I think it was the best choice I could of made.Remember I'm coming from a Galaxy S3/Android phone, so my opinions are based on that:Pro's- Shipped with the latest version of Windows Mobile 8.0.10327 (GDR2) that supports Amber alerts- Display screen was better than expected. I was expecting a display that was going to be subpar. Of course, it isn't as crisp as an OLED based display but good enough!- Responsiveness - I was expecting a "slow experience" but was surprised at the performance. It handled the scrolls and display pretty well- Sound - pretty good and on-par with my previous phones- Keyboard - good word prediction- Apps - Contrary to what I've heard, most of the apps that a business user needs, is there. Sure, the app market doesn't have the breath of games etc, but for what a business user needs, it's good enough.- Nokia Radio - Impressive.. I was able to store off-line radio stations. NICE!!!Con's- Battery : I'm not sure of the battery. I was expecting better performance compared to the S3 but so far it looks to be the same from a perspective of percent usage throughout the day. I'm still tweaking the performance, so I'll see.- Configurability of email sync options; doesn't support the ability to setup regular versus off-hours schedule. I would of thought that this would be supported but perhaps it doesn't because this is the lower-end version of the Nokia.- Keyboard - I miss Swype. It was fast to just draw the words that type, however I think it will be just a learning curve- Browser - Internet Explorer doesn't support the ability to remember/save login info on a web form.- Notification bar - I wish the battery and wireless indicator has the option to be persistent all the time. Right now, I have to swype it down. However, I believe the proper way is to have tiles setup to show this info.- Camera Quality - I wasn't prepared for how poor quality the megapixels was going to be.. coming from an 8 megapixel down to a 5 megapixel, was surprisingly very noticeable.Anyway, the Lumia 520 isn't an exact replacement for a Galaxy S3, but it's good enough! For the value for the money, it was a great buy!!!!
18%

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Three Star Reviews:

10%
Great for those that like Windows, great backup for those who don't.
December 29, 2014
Great (especially for the price) backup phone if your phone goes out and you're not quite able to upgrade. That said, Windows Phones I guess are a love it or hate it kind of thing. I've used Iphones and currently use an android so I can do a pretty level job of comparing the features. First off, the basic phone stuff, call, text, it does fine, no complaints. The interface is a little busy, especially compared to other phones. All the little 'windows' give it a 'too much is going on' appearance. And there were two different navigation windows on there, xbox live, and a few others. If you're totally integrated into everything, all these shortcuts can be great. If you're not, it's wasted space. There is most definitely a learning curve on this phone and will take a bit of playing around with it before you are comfortable, moreso than witha n iphone or android device, which still took time. The huge HUGE plus for this phone? Cortana. She's the virtual assistant that kicks the pants off Siri and Galaxy (or whatever they're calling her now). Voice sounds human, no robotic tone, answers the same stupid questions like "tell me a joke" etc, and functions just as well as a personal assistant as the rest. Although to be honest I only ever used any of them to ask stupid questions. The voice for the GPS is better too, although the directions are a little confusing, like it will tell you to make a slight right to get in the right turn lane to make a right turn. While tenchically correct, that's kind of a 'well duh' thing and is a little confusing when you see a slight right arrow, as your next 'action' but need to make a full right turn. App store is also disappointing. Alot of apps that are for iphone and android dont' exist here. Windows phones most definitely do NOT get the app support other devices do, and this makes it especially bad since Google and Microsoft fued with eachother, so alot of Google apps are either cumbersome or nonexistant. Like I had said, this made a great temporary backup phone for me, and if you like the windows interface, you'll probably enjoy this. I'll keep it as a backup, but I'll stick with Android as my primary.
Not as good as Android OS
December 23, 2014
I normally use and android OS phone at home and iphone at work. Love them both, but prefer android OS for apps.I got the phone for under 20 buck from amazon on a daily deal. So I figured I check out the Windows OS.The phone seems nice, but I got it to use as a hand held WIFI device, to run apps and to cast video to my smart tv.From what I can see so far is windows phone OS has no casting ability. No YouTube (googles brand). No Xfinity. No amazon prime. Well when it comes to apps, windows store falls way short compared to google play store or apple. Even amazon seem to have more relevant apps.The windows phone seems more like a pocket version of my laptop, then a smart phone. For me I'm gonna stick with android, better apps and casting ability.
Wanted to use it as a GPS, but...
December 21, 2014
I purchased this phone to use without cell service for the GPS primarily. The Here GPS app works great most of the time, however, there have been occasions when it has led me down private roads, driveways, dead ends. The other day I was in my car and tried to use the Here GPS and a message came up that I had to update it, and, until then, I couldn't use it! What??? When I tried to update it, I kept getting an error code. Eventually figured out that I had to log into my Microsoft account first before it would download. Why doesn't a sign in screen come up automatically instead of an error code? Is it necessary to deny use of Here GPS because it hasn't been updated? Better have a back up, either another GPS or old school maps in the car.I also use this for Sibley's birding app and have had no problems there. No other birding apps are available for this platform.
You get what you pay for
October 22, 2014
I bought this as a replacement to my Samsung Focus (original). I was excited because I was finally going to have Win OS 8 and all of its inherent functionality. The functionality is there but....the phone crashes. A lot. Not so much the entire phone, but the individual apps. As if the phone doesn't have the RAM or CPU power available to handle something like instagram, MS Office, Onedrive. If you push it enough it will shut down.Navigating in IE or UC browser is kind of a crapshoot. If you swipe too fast left or right the browsers think you want to go back a page. This is especially true in FB for some reason. The Music app is another thing that crashes A LOT. Being someone who listens to music all the time, this is a HUGE annoyance. The music will just stop. Randomly. For no reason. I don't have other apps open. I'm not using the phone. It's just the phone playing music while i'm driving and all of a sudden, silence. So if I have to listen to music I need to have 3 apps open so that it DOESN"T crash. The phone also lacks flash for the camera (which is otherwise a really good camera) and no front facing camera (which for me is not a big deal)The phone benefits from all of the available apps that are not available in Win Phone 7, but the execution of the apps makes this phone annoying to use at times. A lot more apps than previous windows phones. Lots of sharing apps. Xim eg or Beam.
Great price for a mediocre phone
August 6, 2014
Be aware of what you're getting into with Windows Phone - do your research ahead of time, and make sure any killer, must-have apps that you rely on are actually available on the Windows Phone store (hint: they're probably not).As of when I received it on 8/5/14, this phone has the Windows Phone 8.1 update available for it, making it one of the first Windows Phone 8.1 devices available. Getting to 8.1 from out of the box took about 1.5 hours worth of updates - first about an hour of catch-up type updates, and then about 30 minutes for the 8.1 update to download and install.Overall, I'm OK with the phone. I purchased this for a development test device, not to use day-to-day, so my expectations weren't high. I think one of the things Microsoft nailed with Windows Phone is the Live Tiles - they absolutely work on a phone interface, and provide a sort of beautiful consistency that's hard to achieve with Android's widgets, or Apple's, well, app icons. I do wish there was a bit more power in our ability to create a decent home screen layout - like an option for multiple pages, or even just spacers between groups of apps, like in Windows 8/8.1 desktop.I'm also incredibly pleased that there's minimal locked-on bloatware - and all of it is from Microsoft, trying to provide some sort of out-of-the-box fully functional device. I was able to effortlessly remove all the AT&T and Nokia junk that I don't want, without having to root/jailbreak the phone, or flash a custom ROM.I'm quite content with my current phones, an iPhone 5s and a Galaxy S4, however this low budget phone undoubtedly differentiates itself from those. When it's time to upgrade one of my phones, I'll honestly probably give Windows Phones a closer look than I might have in the past.One other thing I'll mention is that the phone I got has likely been sitting in a warehouse for quite some time. There are two stickers on the phone when you first open it up: one on the screen, and one that runs the length of the interior shell, and protrudes from the top as sort of a pull-tab type thing to help you get the back shell off to insert the battery and SIM card. The front sticker left an annoying residue on the screen that make it difficult to use until I cleaned it off. The sticker inside the shell had become so strongly affixed, that it tore off a decent chunk of the foam pad meant to keep the battery in place.
After a few months of use...
July 23, 2014
Purchased this phone a few months ago as a replacement for my iphone mostly because of it's price along with being able to avoid needing to re-do a contract just to get a new phone. My iphone was reaching close to 4 yrs old but still seems to outperform this lumia in everyday tasks. I literally once spent 2+hrs trying to navigate amazon's site to place an order of a few products using this phone using both the preinstalled ie browser and the highly reviewed UC browser from their app store. It's hard to explain but simple things like browsing web sites seem to be a chore on this phone compared to my old iphone. Maybe it's just me but I also make many more typing errors when texting on this phone vs the iphone. I've decided to simply use this lumia for calls & texts & maybe an occasional podcast but will be looking for a replacement iphone just to keep around the house for times when I want to jump on a website real fast.
7%

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Two Star Reviews:

5%
Well...
December 14, 2016
For the price, it is an ok phone. I have used apple, google (android), and now this windows phone. I cannot stand the apps on this phone. Not nearly the amount of option for games nor apps on this phone. There is no way to access gmail from this phone or its apps because google will block the sign in attempts every time! The Facebook app is very awkward and hard to follow and get in to. The pictures are also not very clear and not good quality. There is no flash. I do like the maps/gps. Not much more about this phone I like...
at best! Quality is an issue
May 22, 2015
It is just o.k. at best! Quality is an issue. Often when I set the phone down on a table, it turns off. Most of the time I have to remove the battery to restart the phone. Forget putting it in a pocket, it might turn off and restart, who knows how many times. The volume is low so hearing someone on or off speaker phone needs to happen is a quiet area. I see there is a "better" (more expensive) upgrade of this phone. Why put out junk in the first place? Does Nokia think I will be eager to upgrade after testing this one out? The camera is very good in bright light, if it is a lamp lit room, I usually don't even try because the images are grainy. It has the Windows operating system which is pretty good. On this phone it runs slow. This is felt when a program like the web browser opens.
I also wanted to try something other than an apple product like a windows phone or galaxy
January 7, 2015
I bought this phone between breaking my iPhone and waiting for a new one. I also wanted to try something other than an apple product like a windows phone or galaxy. The performance wasn't terrible it was very smooth. However, the apps are limited. Everything I wanted wasn't available or in beta form. The apps were awful for the most part. It also had a lot of limitations, I couldn't download attachments from emails, and I couldn't attach anything to an email. I found myself having to email things I needed on my phone like my work schedule to my boyfriend so he could take a screenshot of it on his phone and message it to me. Overall, I was very relieved to have my iPhone back.
There are probably better choices but you might have to pay more
September 14, 2014
The phone works ok, but I notice the antenna must not be as good as my previous phone. I almost always had four bars on my old phone here at my house. With this phone it is one or two bars and once I even lost connection. Also the Wi-Fi icon shows that connection is weaker than on my previous phone.The battery charge on my old phone lasted five to seven days (I don't use the phone much). On this phone, the battery charge phone lasts only two days and I'm not using it any more than I did the old phone.I thought that since it was a Microsoft phone I could sync directly with Outlook on my PC, but I can't. With my old phone there was an app on my PC and on the phone and all I had to do was plug the phone into the PC to sync contacts, calendar, and tasks. I haven't found that app for the new phone. I have had to set up an Outlook.com email account and copy my contacts to that account. I didn't need another email account. I still haven't figured out how to get my calendar into Outlook.com with the event descriptions. I followed the import directions I found on the internet and the events must have transferred, because it showed "busy" times, but none of the descriptions were there. It doesn't do any good to show I have an appointment on Wednesday, but not tell me what it is.The texting keyboard is slightly off so I have to be sure to hit the space left of a letter, otherwise I get the letter that is on the keyboard to the right of the one I want. The text prediction is nice - when I start a word, the app predicts what I'm going to type and I can select the word for a list rather than typing the whole word. If I type "tha", "thank" is one of the words at the top of the screen that I can select and then "you" is displayed on the next selection list. The texting keyboard didn't have a comma, but after I had to do a phone reset for another reason, the comma was there. ????The camera is much better than the one on my old phone, but there is no forward camera to take selfies. I uploaded the pictures of my grandkids and wanted them to display in file name order. I named the .jpg documents so they would display in family order. The only option I seem to have is for them to display in the order the pictures were taken (which I understand makes sense for pictures you take with the phone). I just wish there was an option to display in other orders.I haven't loaded any apps into the phone. The one app I wanted is available for android and i-phone only.
My first smart phone
February 8, 2014
overall i like it; its my first smart phone so i really cant compare it to others. It has alot of personal customization available to it which seems nicer than my wifes Iphone. The only flaw i found was that you can't set text notifications to be only vibrate and still have a sound ringer for calls. It has to be sound and vibrate, vibrate for all, or nothing. This is the reason for the 4 stars. Seems like a major thing to overlook. Even my old school phone was capable of setting texts to be vibrate.5/3/15 UPDATE: I dont know if they changed something in an update but lately this phone will not hold a charge longer than half the day. I bought a new battery thinking that the battery had gone out (after only three months of owning this), but this problem still occurs. I would stay away from windows phone and stick to android.
DONT DO IT!
January 24, 2014
I recently purchased the Nokia Lumia 520 Gophone from Amazon brand new in December 2013 and I think you should know some problems I am experiencing with the phone. I experience problems with accessing the web, starting apps, and sending media in text messages DAILY. I constantly have to restart my phone to get things to work properly.For one, apps refuse to start unless they are updated. And when I say apps I mean apps that both come pre-installed on the phone (even At&T's apps like "HEREdrive") and ones you can download from the internet onto the phone. This issue is extremely irritating because some apps release updates every week or so. A Nokia representative told me that they can't guarantee apps to work properly on their phone. So basically, they cant even guarantee their own carrier (aT&T) apps to function properly. Several times now, I've been on the road and in need of some GPS guidance from my phone and before anything else I need to stop and update the GPS navigation app. A side note regarding the default application for navigation-- it sucks. I was trying to find an on-ramp to get onto Interstate 5 South in downtown Seattle recently and the navigation gave me directions to 5 North when my destination was clearly set as Portland, OR. If you miss one of your turns while the program is navigating the program will literally freak out and start telling you to turn in the middle of a street or make u-turns on a one way street and it takes a good 5 minutes for the program to recalculate a route.. The navigation program in the andriod is much better I'll have to see if theres an app I can download to change the default program in the Windows phone.Another issue I have is with 4G not working. A customer service representative at Nokia informed me that "4G/LTE is not supported by your device"....wait what?! That thing in the left-hand corner of my phone that says "4G" is that an hallucination? Sometimes I'll go to play Pandora, for example, and it will open but can't "connect to the network" when it clearly says I have 4G. Yet, for whatever reason, after restarting the phone it works fine. This particular issue happens pretty often. So much in fact, that it would be more rare if an app actually started working the very first time I opened it then not. Something similar happens when trying to send a text-- it says I have 2 or 3 bars yet it cannot send the message, or cannot send/retrieve media content. I have to flick the "flight mode" switch on and off to force a reconnection to the network, and I find myself doing this a lot.I also just discovered that sometimes the camera decides that when you take pictures its going to take 2 at the same time. Go to delete one and it's "copy" gets deleted as well. So you just have to be stuck with "doubles" of some pictures. This only happens sometimes and I cant seem to recreate the problem in a controlled manner.My advice: look for a different phone!December 2014 update:Decided to try adding music onto my phone. This was, for the most part, a huge disappointment! Mp3s I purchased directly from Amazon will not play on the phone. Meanwhile some pirated content will. Oh when transferring songs onto the phone everything gets copied TWICE (just like the photo problem!) so have to go into the phone and delete all duplicates. Best of all, digital albums I purchased from amazon will only play HALF OF THE SONGS on my phone, saying it can't open the other tracks. WOW just WOW. No wonder people spend $500 on an iphone! This phone is a joke.
3%

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One Star Reviews:

11%
Horrible phone that glitches and freezes all the time!
June 8, 2016
I bought three of these phone and I have to say these were some of the worst phones I ever had. My husbands phone broke within a month. Then my son's and my phone kept freezing all the time. Sometimes it wouldn't dial out or receive calls. Apps would open on there own then wouldn't close until I took the battery out. It always needed to update. There is very little memory on these phones so when you start to download apps or add photos your phone is going to start acting up. Because this is a Windows phone I had to download a virus protection app which took up memory and seem to made the issues worst. I uninstalled the app but that made the issue worst. The phone always over heated even when it wasn't being used. Just a bad phone all together. I would not ever recommend this phone. I ended up buying my son and I new galaxy phones and I will never get these phones again.
Not an Android, will not allow Google, will not allow Starbucks, this phone is horrible!!!!!
May 25, 2015
When I bought this phone I thought what a great idea. I don't like this phone at all. If you used a smartphone or IPhone you will HATE this phone. The apps installed on this phone are geared towards kids, I am not. You can't install apps that are Android, so that eliminates a great portion of my use for the phone. You can choose the plan, it's great for texting and phone calls but that's it. I wish it allowed you to use the apps your familiar with. I can see I'll be changing this phone soon. One drawback is Amazon put this on deals of the day right before the holidays. You think your getting a great deal when they seem to be flying off the shelf. Worst investment ever, not happy.
Phone = Awesome, Windows not so much.
January 27, 2015
I don't normally write low ratings on a product but here it is.First off the Nokia Phone is amazing! I love the layout of the buttons, simplicity of the frame to manage SD storage and sim card. Where they went wrong was with putting Windows on it. At first working with Windows 8.1 was nice, I liked the layout, connecting with the cloud and managing my office documents on the mobile along side with the computer. Worked great until a month later, 5gb of data into the phone my wifi became spotty and continually switch to my cell data. The solution was to delete my saved wifi on the phone and reconnect. After a few days of that the phone would no longer connect to the internet through WiFi, it connects with limited access. . . another way of saying no internet connection. No solution can be found because the desktop version of windows 8.1 has the same issue. So, until this is resolved I'm forced to go back to my flip phone *sad face.
Just needs a EQ download to sound good through car stereo
December 24, 2014
As of March 18, 2015 this phone has stopped working. To be more precise, The screen blinked a few times and no longer shows any activity. The sound of turning on/off or receiving a text can still be heard. However, without a working screen it is Useless !This happened with less that 3 months ownership and only 1 month of actually using the phone. Loaded music (only) during the first 2 months and decided to try using it as my Main phone for Texting which on average is only around 25 messages a month(5 Star Original Review-December 2014) Purchased to use as a MP3 player ! Just needs a EQ download to sound good through a car stereo !
UPDATED: DO NOT buy, this phone
December 18, 2014
great windows phone. Battery last for over 30 hours in idle mode(you are not actively using it). BUt it will last the whole day if you are talking and checking emails, messages, and light browsing.UPDATE:CONS:First: After 1.5 year of usage, I am getting disappointing with this phone. First, due to the construction of the back cover lid(it can EASILY be removed), the battery doesn't connect firmly and can shift place! Thus, even at slightest bump, my phone would restart immediate due to a power loss! :( Sometimes, I just need to grab my phone for it to reboot... :(Second: Its reception id awful, if I am inside a building, I am the only one who barely has any 4g signal bars for the same network. Due to this, calls are very often DROPPED, could not hear the other side or only every other word.Third: Due to the above problem, I cannot trust on being able to use internet on my phone, as at one time I have it and then I do not!Fourth: There is NO AUDIO settings!!!! You can not change anything but the volume. No audio equalizer, no nothing! If you like to listen to music from your phone - forget about any bass if you do it from this phone!!!Pros:Well, I really like the windows phone 8.1 OS. It is very intuitive. I have all apps that I need. It has a real GPS.
Customer service sucks
August 23, 2014
I'm sitting here and after twenty minutes I'm still waiting for this thing to download an update. I had to reset the phone and loose all my data and pics because it decided to quit getting on the internet. Customer service was a joke. After arguing with the idiot that answered the call he had me set up a outlook account so I could move my data to the cloud which I tried to explain that if I couldn't access the internet how would I upload my data to the cloud, duh! I ended up manually re-entering all my contacts, lost my pictures and videos and patience. I do not advocate buying this phone.
8%

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Pricing info
Old Price
Old Price
Price
Price
$59.99updated: Mar 18, 2020
from 10 sellers
$73.00updated: Mar 17, 2020
from 7 sellers
Features
Answered Questions
Answered Questions
Article Number
Article Number
6438158572584
0652810815451
Binding
Binding
Wireless Phone Accessory
Wireless Phone Accessory
Brand
Brand
Nokia
LG
Color
Color
Black
Black
Currency
Currency
USD
USD
Formatted Price
Formatted Price
$99.99
$129.99
Height
Height
185.8 in
196.8 in
Length
Length
98.8 in
15.0 in
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Nokia
LGIC
Model
Model
Lumia 520
Exceed 2
MPN
MPN
Lumia 520
Exceed 2
Number of Parts
Number of Parts
Lumia 520
Exceed 2
Operating System
Operating System
Windows Phone
Android
Product Group
Product Group
Wireless
Wireless
Product Type
Product Type
WIRELESS_ACCESSORY
WIRELESS_ACCESSORY
Publisher
Publisher
Nokia
LGIC
Quantity
Quantity
1
1
Reviews
Reviews
Score
Score
8
8.4
Studio
Studio
Nokia
LGIC
Weight
Weight
3.0 oz
3.2 oz
Width
Width
15.4 in
103.5 in
Feature
Feature

No annual contract - 4G coverage with data plans starting at $40/month.

Meet Cortana, your personal assistant, with the improved Windows Phone 8.1 experience. (This device ships with Windows Phone 8.0, and is eligible for a free "Over the Air" update to 8.1.

Snap creative photos with built-in digital lenses and 5MP camera.

View video and share images on the 4inch WVGA LCD display.

Get all the best apps: Netflix, Instagram, Twitter, OneDrive, Facebook and Uber.

4.5 inch WVGA Display with Gorilla Glass touch screen. Andriod 4.4.2 KitKat

5 Megapixel autofocus camera

Video player with touch lock, Play on Screen Function

Prepaid phones cannot be migrated to postpay accounts until after six months of prepaid service

This product will not support a SIM card.

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