T-Mobile has announced that the Nokia Lumia 521 will be featured on the Home Shopping Network television channel beginning this Saturday, April 27. The device can then be purchased from HSN, HSN.com, or HSN Mobile directly for $149.95, which includes a car charger and screen protector as a timed exclusive.
The Lumia 521 will also be made available at Microsoft Retail Stores and Walmart stores beginning May 11, also for $149. Walmart will also sell the 521 with its prepaid $30 per month unlimited Web and text plan. T-Mobile has confirmed the Lumia 521 will be sold through T-Mobile sales channels in the near future and has not confirmed a launch date for such a release yet.
The Lumia 521 also represents how far Nokia and Microsoft are willing to go to sell Windows Phone 8, as the $149.99 price tag for the phone as a prepaid offering represents a much deeper than average subsidy for Windows Phone 8, but the underlying hardware also shows that such deep subsidies don’t come without significant compromises in build quality and performance.
The Lumia 521 features Windows Phone 8, a 4 inch touch display, 5.0 megapixel camera with autofocus and 720p HD video recording. It will also include exclusive Nokia applications such as Nokia Music, Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, Panorama, Smart Shoot and HERE Drive, Maps and Transit.
Key Features of the Nokia Lumia 521 Include:
- T-Mobile TV allows access to live and on-demand TV
- Nokia Music lets you listen to mix radio, unlimited free music mixes to play now or download for later
- GPS with access to Nokia’s HERE Drive for voice-guided, turn-by-turn navigation
- Enhance the camera experience with exclusive Nokia apps Creative Studio, Cinemagraph and Smart Shoot, Panorama and Photobeamer
- Xbox LIVE for gaming on the go and monitoring of your Xbox LIVE account
- Productivity apps including Microsoft Office
Premium Design:
- Dimensions: 4.8” x 2.5” x .4”; weight 4.39 ounces
- 4-inch, TFT screen; 800×480 pixels, 16M colors
- Available in a flat white finish
Additional Features
- Windows Phone 8 operating system
- 5-megapixel camera with auto focus
- HD video recording at 720p, 30fps
- 512 RAM / 8GB internal memory with option to expand memory by an additional 64GB with micro SD card
- 1430 mAh battery
- Built-in 3.5mm headphone jack
- Quad-band 4G UMTS/HSPA+ 21 (Bands II, IV & V)
- Quad-band GSM world phone: (850/900/1800/1900MHz)
- 1 GHz, dual-core Qualcomm® 82270 Processor
- Wi-Fi® for data (dual band 802.11 b/g/n/e)
If only they would have included a flash for the camera. Ill stick with my L9. A flash has become a requirement for me when I get a phone. Good low light or not it’s needed in dark shots.