Before we even consider answering the question, we must first take a look at what the Lumia 525 really is. Nokia’s replacement for the exceedingly popular Lumia 520 has high standards to reach, and even higher expectations to surpass. The Lumia 520 helped immensely with promoting the mobile version of Windows 8, and the Lumia 525 takes advantage of the same OS, but with better specs under the hood. In a year that seems to be focused around the HTC One M8 or the Samsung Galaxy S5, Nokia’s Lumia 525 has stiff competition. What does it have going for it? Well, a very attractive price, some really good specs and an alternative to the Android OS. Is it enough? Let’s take a look!
The Lumia 525 sports a 4 inch wide LCD touchscreen, a Qualcomm MSM8227 Dual-Core CPU clocked at 1GHz, 1GB of RAM with 8GB of internal storage and a primary camera with 5 megapixels, capable of taking photos at 2592х1936 pixels with auto-focus. The camera can also record video, at 720p and 30 frames per second. Compared to its predecessor, the 520, the Lumia 525 remains mostly unchanged. The screen is the same, the CPU is the same, hell, even the design remains almost identical. It’s very difficult to differentiate between the Nokia Lumia 520 and the Nokia Lumia 525, if you’re holding them side by side. The only notable difference seems to be in the RAM department, where the Lumia 525 received 1GB instead of the Lumia 512 MB’s.
So, what does the new model have going for it then? Well, on one hand, it’s running Windows 8 Black, which might be a turn-off to some, but it can be a huge plus for others. Mobile Windows 8 might be strange to those accustomed to the iOS or Android, but different doesn’t make it worse. In fact, the phone’s unimpressive hardware manages to run the OS just fine. There’s no lag, no delay, nothing to stop you from enjoying every feature. The Lumia 525 also has an incredibly good audio set-up, which is especially evident during calls. It’s loud, clear, and makes talking a pure pleasure. The battery is inter-changeable, and while it doesn’t sport a huge battery life, it’s still on the good side of things. In fact, with normal use, the Lumia 525 will last you over 50 hours (more than two days), so you’ll have no reason to charge it daily.
On the minus side of things, the display isn’t that great, especially outdoors, reflecting light strongly. There’s no LED flash, and there’s no front camera either. Another drawback of the display is the pixel density, which falls short compared to other more expensive phones. But, considering that the Lumia 525 is priced at $180, these are minor nuisances. The fact is, the phone has everything you’d need for normal day-to-day use, and is extremely affordable. The drawbacks don’t manage to make the Lumia 525 any less desirable, so if you’re looking for a reliable and cheap smartphone, Nokia’s new offering is a bargain. One that we’d warmly recommend. So, to answer our initial question, yes, the $180 price tag makes the Lumia 525 a solid buy.