Last week you may have noticed that the Home Shopping Network had a little sale on the T-Mobile Nokia Lumia 521. For only $99, we decided to hit the buy button especially since we didn’t give it too much coverage when it was first released and since then the phone has become quite popular. It was just delivered so naturally we’re going to give you an unboxing video. You might be surprised by just how much is actually included in the box if you buy the Lumia 521 from HSN. Most phones these days have a simple little box with a charging plug and a USB cable. Not very interesting. This one, however, gives you lots more! I chose the blue case color when ordering and HSN included matching headphones along with that blue rubbery case and a car charger to boot. The T-Mobile retail packaging for the Lumia 521 is pretty impressive as well. There’s actually a door velcro’d to the front that opens to reveal a plastic window displaying the phone. Inside the box you get even more than most phones still. Instead of just a little AC adapter with USB port for charging, you get a full hard-wired charger with a long, tangle-resistant cord, plus an additional (albeit very short) micro-USB cable for plugging the phone into your computer. A SIM card is included as well along with instructions for activating a pre-paid account for the device, but you don’t have to do that. You can put your existing T-Mobile SIM card in there or just use it on WiFi.
First impressions are very good. The phone feels Nokia solid. Sure it’s plastic, but I think it could stand to take a few drops and falls. Hardware-wise of course it’s on the low end, but what do you expect for $99? It’s got a dual-core 1Ghz Snapdragon S4 processor, with 512 MB RAM, 8GB storage, MicroSD card slot (supports up to 64Gb), Bluetooth 3, WiFi b/g/n, 4″ screen, 5MP camera, and even Nokia’s high-sensitivity screen that you can use with gloves on. It does not have a flash for the camera, or a front facing camera for video chatting, or NFC, or wireless charging, or any of the other fancier features you’ll find in higher-end Nokia Lumias.
Check out our unboxing video below and let us know if you think this was a good deal for $99.
Originally published on Pocketnow on July 26, 2013. More from the Pocketnow archive.