Despite the fact that Nokia representatives themselves told us that its hot new Lumia 521 is actually "not that different" from its Lumia 520, that hasn't stopped the impressive rush on the phones that caused them to be already be sold out at Walmart.
Part of the excitement over the Nokia Lumia 521 has to do with its costing only $150 via T-Mobile. Whether or not the Lumia 521 is basically just another Lumia 520 is less important than the fact that it's a pretty sweet Windows 8-powered phone for a pretty sweet price.
The Nokia Lumia 521 rocks these specs and features:
- Super-sensitive 4-inch touchscreen
- 5 MP camera with auto focus
- 720p HD video recording
- Exclusive Nokia apps (Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, Panorama, Smart Shoot, and HERE Drive, Maps and Transit)
But the fact remains that, for now, it's sold out and you likely can't get one for a while. But never fear, Windows Phones Videos has done some digging to let us in on a few hints about what else we can get for $150 when it comes to a super-sweet smartphone like the Nokia Lumia 521 (being Windows Phones Videos, you can pretty much be sure there may be a little bias here).
In the video posted by WPV on Thursday, May 9, we see three gentlemen from the "Windows Phone Team" named Ben, Lucas and David who go out on a quest to find what else they can get phone-wise for $150. They return an hour later and Ben explains that the trio uncovered "two things" when it came to alternatives for the Lumia 521:
1) They couldn't find anything else that runs on a 4G network like the Nokia Lumia 521 does.
2) All of the phones run — "at best" — Android 2.3, which is a two-year-old Android OS. The Nokia Lumia 521, meanwhile, runs on Windows 8, which Ben refers to as "our latest and greatest."
Phones that the boys did find in lieu of the Nokia Lumia 521 for $150 or less included:
Samsung Illusion
This mid-range phone has a 3MP camera (as opposed to the Nokia Lumia 521's 5MP camera), with a lower screen resolution and much smaller storage capacity than a Nokia Lumia 521. The Samsung Illusion screen is also much smaller, as Ben points out it's "not even close" to the Lumia 521.
Samsung Galaxy Appeal
This slider phone, again from Samsung (this does beg the question whether the whole video isn't after Samsung in some way, but that's beside the point), again has a much smaller screen (3.2 inches) and lower-res display than the Nokia Lumia 521. The Appeal also has less internal storage than the Lumia 521 and also has a 3MP camera vs. the Lumia 521's 5MP camera.
Huawei Prism Smartphone
The third phone the boys hunted down for $150 or less is the Huawei Prism Smartphone, which may not be a Samsung phone, but does run on Android. Nevertheless, the Prism only has 512MB of storage (as opposed to the 8GB of storage you get on a Nokia Lumia 521). You also only get a 3.2MP camera (a bit better than the other two phones, but still not 5MP) and a build that doesn't seem to stack up against the Nokia Lumia 521's polycarbonate.
LG Optimus Elite
Lucas ends the video by revealing that he's found the LG Optimus Elite, a phone that — compared to the Nokia Lumia 521 — is "not that terrible." The Elite still runs a two-year-old OS but does have a 5MP camera. But, of course, the Elite only has half the storage of the Nokia Lumia 521 and a smaller screen.
"It's about 'half as good,' " David says, somewhat smarmily.
The video concludes with Ben announcing that in their "unofficial test," the Nokia Lumia 521 reigns supreme as far as smartphones you can get for around $150.
That said, whether a blaringly obvious promo for Microsoft, Windows Phones and the Nokia Lumia 521 itself, the advertorial does at least give us a few other options to look out for if you can't get a Lumia 521 for the time being.
Which phone sounds like the best alternative to the Nokia Lumia 521 to you? Let us know in the comments below.
Like what you're reading? Follow @ProfKlickberg.
