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Samsung Galaxy S4 quality vs Nokia Lumia 521 cheapness

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Some people might say that the Samsung Galaxy S4 and Nokia Lumia 521 are about as far apart in specs and features as Earth and the Moon. We were a little surprised then to see the latest Microsoft promo ad pushing the Windows Phone Lumia 521 against Samsung’s mighty flagship Galaxy S4 Android smartphone. However, this comparison focuses on Samsung Galaxy S4 quality vs. Nokia Lumia 521 cheapness.

Straight away we want to say that both of these phones have a lot to offer considering their respective prices but comparing the S4 to the Lumia 521… really? Specs-wise these phones are not in the same league but then we stress that they are not intended to be. There is a place on the market for premium devices as well as the more affordable phone, and that has to be a plus for consumers.

As a very brief recap we’ll remind you that the Samsung Galaxy S4 specs include either a 1.9GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 quad-core processor or 1.6GHz Exynos Octa-core processor (dependent on region), a 5-inch Super AMOLED display with resolution of 1920 x 1080, 2GB of RAM and 16GB, 32GB or 64GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD. It also has a 13-megapixel rear camera, a 2600 mAh battery and LTE support plus it runs the latest available Android OS, 4.2 Jelly Bean with Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface.

The Nokia Lumia 521 is a variant of the Lumia 520 for T-Mobile USA and includes a 1GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon dual-core processor, 4-inch WVGA IPS LCD display, 512MB and 8GB of internal storage, expandable via microSD. There’s also a 5-megapixel rear camera featuring Carl Zeiss lens technology and 1430 mAh battery. We haven’t room to list the many features of both devices but to find out much more about both head here for our previous posts on the Galaxy S4 or here for posts on the Lumia 521.

As you can see, you could sail a boat across the gulf between these two devices specs-wise, but then again the prices of both devices are also very wide apart. That is very much the focus of the promo ad for the Lumia 521 that you can see below this story. The video begins pointing out the price difference with the guy saying that he just purchased the Lumia 521 on T-Mobile for $149 off-contract and the Samsung Galaxy S4 for $750 off-contract, hence a $600 price difference.

We have to point out here that prices vary depending on where you purchase these phones, and we’ve seen the Galaxy S4 unlocked on sale at a far cheaper price than the $750 quoted in the promo. For the purpose of the ad though, of course Microsoft will use the most expensive price found for the Galaxy S4. If we go with the $600 variation between the two devices for now, then obviously that is a great deal of money that could be spent on other things, and the promo goes on to drum that fact in.

The promo then tells us many other things that we could spend that price difference on (strangely enough at the Microsoft Store!). While this may be true we do think it’s a little silly of Microsoft to pit the virtues of the 521 against the Galaxy S4. The Galaxy S4 is already set to be the Android hit of the year and the Nokia Lumia 521 has also proven its popularity by selling out quickly. They are completely different devices, aimed at different customers and at different ends of the market.

Picking out one single factor, such as the price, is rather pointless as it’s like comparing a night spent at the Ritz to a night in a Travelodge. Those who want a top-notch handset with specs to match will know they have to pay more for it and will enjoy the experience it gives them. Similarly there are others who’d rather save the money and have a less swanky experience that is nonetheless perfectly adequate. We say there’s room for both but we’d like to hear your thoughts on this.

Would you choose the Galaxy S4 or save some dosh by opting for the Lumia 521? Maybe the Lumia 521 has everything you need in a phone, and so you don’t see the need to spend any more? Perhaps you will always want a high-end phone and are willing to pay the price for that? Let us know with your comments.

Comments

22 thoughts on “Samsung Galaxy S4 quality vs Nokia Lumia 521 cheapness”

  1. Max411 says:

    Why is the world NOKIA going with low end market in US? High end is the most profitable. The only option for NOKIA to get back to be #1 in the future is to switch OS to Android and Sailfish. NOKIA HW is so great but window OS is so boring and limited .

    1. Lumia800owner says:

      Your first point of changing OS to Android is your opinion, but your last point of the windows OS being boring is totally wrong, for most creative OS windows wins it hands down, but i strongly agree with it being limited

    2. Because Microsoft and Lumia need to increase its user base to create incentive for app developers to write apps for the Windows Store which is at the moment the main weakness of Windows Phone.

    3. david95 says:

      They went with both. You have the choice between a nigh end and low end. The 521 is the low end. The most profitable is what the consumer wants. When you offer the consumer both ends of the spectrum you profit.

  2. David says:

    I can buy a piece of gum vs Lumina phone. Use the leftover money to buy ton of groceries… This analogy between samsung/lumnia doesn’t make sense at all… If the world turns like they compare on commercial there would be no high-end goods market.

  3. OLAPMONKEY says:

    You fan boy and anti-Microsoft bigots are hilarious. They could give you the Nokia for free and the Samsung for $1000 and you would write the same tainted article. This is a great deal that Nokia put out…call it what it is you trolls.

    PS…I own a Samsung S3…I consider it to be far from a stellar piece of hardware.

    ttainted article. I own a Samsu mnemonic g S3…

  4. zviki says:

    Now,let’s see… I can throw free Android(or Linux) on notebook or buy expensive Windows 8.Hmm? How many apps and games can I buy for this money or accessories for notebook…

  5. Sri says:

    Specs, that is what andriod fans lived and die by. The point, Lumia 521 is a legit smartphone and paying 600 extra dollars is something every consumer should consider. The better question is – are the “extras” offered by S4 worth 600$ over Lumia 521, in most cases the answer is NO, most of the people want a HERO phone for ego-stroking.

  6. leena says:

    My friends and I just bought Lumia 521s, 4 of them on USA T-Mobile. We wanted to save money for summer vacations, and seriously we saved $2000. Gosh, we realized 521 has everything we need in a smartphone. Forget S4, S5, I5, I6……..

  7. jonsonville says:

    I just got the 521, and aside from a slight lack in camera options that I had on my old LG Optimus T, it has everything I need in a phone for the low price. It does have a couple cool camera apps that the Optimus didn’t have, like panoramic shot and the cinemagraphic thing thing, and once Windows 8 catches up to android and apple in the apps department it will be pretty sweet. All in all, I will take the 521 over the 820 and 920 any day, and especially over spending $600 more on an S4… But one thing is for sure: comparing the Lumia 521 to an S4 is like comparing an Accord to a Lexus. And I’ll take the Accord any day too, cuz like the S4, its just not worth the price difference.

  8. Franc012 says:

    I bought the Lumia 521 for my kid. It’s a great phone, and at $150, it’s going to be tough to beat. The two biggest benefits, that aren’t mentioned in any article I’ve read, are that you really don’t need to buy insurance on the phone and you don’t need to worry about paying a premium penalty for cancelling phone service.

    4 out of 5 lines that I currently have are on Verizon. As the contracts for each phone expire, I’ll be switching all my phones over to T-Mobile. I’ll definitely be looking at Nokia/Windows Phone for my next upgrade.

  9. SeattleSnark says:

    I’ll take neither-the Lumias that cost more(not all but most-and keep in mind it is NOT their best phone by a long shot-my replacement will be that and it runs $235 at the moment for 16GB/290 for 32GB–it’s called the N9-00. The straight up N9 which it’s often called is larger-between phone and tablet-both are developer grade quad core beauties with dual cameras and amazing quality across the board for the FINLAND MADE ones…). I have a first gen Nokia N95-the plum european model-Nokia makes their high end phones in Finland NOT Asia-the N series I’ve seen produced. I got one here after the fixed memory 8Gb version was abundant. That one was 699 and mine was 235including a three year warranty extension-all you have to do is wait til some other something is the new wtf because guess what-the ultra fast speeds of so called “4G” have ALWAYS been in this phone-the 5.8Mb/s speed is 1990s tech. The US is SO far behind on so many fronts. This phone’s been beat around day in and out for FIVE YEARS and its CARL ZEISS image stabilized 5MP lens-the upper end Lumia that are Finland made kept them since they alone are a $30part before assembly–it still outperforms the iPhone 5 which-to sync with all his other Mac stuff-my housemate has. I’m not about to buy iCrap and I’ve been turned off by the extreme privacy invasion of Android(Google’s not exactly profiting from your use of freeware). The N9 is a brilliant gorgeous true upgrade and maybe some provider here(tmo at least recognizes tethering but with the N’s I’ve never needed permission, just a tiny couple lines of text in a quick app that turns off when you tell it to… I don’t want anything constantly updating to potentially junky bug versions or like iEverything and most Android validating I’m the same person they were mining data from every other 15mins. Not even sure these support simultaneous packet data and talking-ppl act like these are GSM problems but only on this half of the earth. I used this phone all over Europe&my phone behaved as a faster modem than most high speed wired ISPs (cable/dsl-we know Clear stuff is atrocious). Some day maybe people will runs being such shiny-toy-distracted apes. That said if someone can’t afford the 250 or so max for the open source custom everything N9 computerphones, the $5/month with 29down ip a REALLY decent deal. People going Android want a toy-apps of USE are in all options. Don’t pretend you’re getting great anything with Samsung-it’s STILL a glorified plastic toy you’d get for $25 in much of Asia. Tempting but I like supporting a company who lets people take time to care for families and has amazing benefits and a super work environment. Last I checked sleeping on a roll out mat on a concrete floor between 12-14hr shifts that only pay 40c after your room and board are deducted truly excluded a workplace from any praise unless “the cages that almost close above them DO result in less suicide-yes prison ip better than being allowed to leave a life that causes disability by age 19 or younger…

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