Review: Nokia Lumia 530

Is the Lumia 530 the best Windows Phone you tin purchase on a budget? Allow's detect out.

The Lumia 520 is the best-selling Windows Phone of all fourth dimension. Announced during Mobile Earth Congress 2022 past Nokia, as of a few months agone the Lumia 520 has over 12 million activations. The Lumia 520 represented tremendous value when it launched, and it is still the about popular Windows Phone in the majority of markets. This reason is why its successor, the Lumia 530, has a high bar to reach.

At launch, you'll observe the Lumia 530 for well nether $100 in the U.s.a. and in Europe for about €85. This price-point makes it the cheapest Lumia to date and ane of the nigh affordable Windows Phones in general. However, in 2022, does the Lumia 530 live up to the Lumia 520?

Low-cost phone with quality hardware from Nokia. Dedicated back up from Microsoft in the future for updates. Access to Lumia software. Widespread availability.	Although it is the cheapest Lumia, it is not the best-value for a Windows Phone anymore. Weak brandish, low storage space, no front end-facing photographic camera.
The Lumia 530 is the cheapest Lumia you tin can purchase today and you become some excellent support from Microsoft. Notwithstanding, new 'white characterization' Windows Phone like the BLU Win JR. give the Lumia 530 some competition for value. Although more expensive, the Lumia 635 is a much better choice if yous can spend the actress greenbacks.

Hands-on

Property the Lumia 530 will remind yous more of the Lumia 620 than the Lumia 520. The corners are rounded equally is the back as opposed to the Lumia 520'due south sharper corners. We have a bright green trounce, merely you lot tin swap the back comprehend with other colors to match your outfit or mood. In addition to bright green, we have white, blackness, and vivid orange. In the United states, Cricket offers the Lumia 530 in an sectional blue color. The polycarbonate plastic is smooth to the touch and it should prove to be highly durable, withstanding drops and bangs with ease.

Since the dorsum is removable, there's an option to get a shell with a flip embrace attached direct from Microsoft for simply $15. This accessory, run into above, allows you to protect the display of your device without having to add a case. The flip trounce is an accompaniment you're going to want to get if you pick upwards the Lumia 530. Y'all can also replace the battery if you need actress ability during the day.

The Lumia 530 itself is small-scale, especially when you've been using devices like the vi-inch Lumia 1520 or 5-inch Lumia 930. The Lumia 530 volition accept no problem fitting in your pockets since its wrapped in a packet four.seven-inches tall, 2.45 inches wide and 0.46 inches thin (62.3 mm 10 119.vii mm x 11.7 mm). It's a comfortable device in your mitt. Weighing in at just 129 grams, the Lumia 530 is certainly very light.

Hardware

Lumia 530 Specifications

• Windows Phone viii.1 (build12400) with Lumia Cyan
• Quad-core 1.2GHz Snapdragon 200
• Single or Dual-SIM
• 512 MB of RAM
• 4 GB of internal retentiveness; expandable upward to 128 GB with micro SD
• iv-inch LCD FWVGA (854 x 480)
• 5 MP master photographic camera
• 1430 mAh replaceable battery
• 10-hour talk-time
• Bluetooth 4.0
• Wi-Fi: WLAN IEEE 802.11 b/1000/n
• 119.vii mm x 62.3 mm 10 11.seven mm
• Weight: 129 chiliad

Up front on the Lumia 530, you lot'll observe a four-inch LCD display and a resolution of 480 x 854, which results in a 245 PPI. You lot're probably looking at the resolution and wondering why in that location're an actress 54 pixels in the vertical direction (480 ten 800 is more than common). That's because the Lumia 530 eschews hardware keys and instead gives y'all on-screen keys thanks to Windows Phone viii.1. Y'all won't observe the ClearBlack polarizer plant in other Lumia phones. The Lumia 530 is a budget phone, so the omission of ClearBlack shouldn't be a surprise, merely you'll notice its absenteeism. As a outcome, the colors on the screen are a flake washed out with the blacks not equally deep as more high-terminate Lumias.

ClearBlack helps make the display readable outdoors and improves the dissimilarity. And while you're expecting some compromises with a phone that costs less than $100, the display isn't the place to make information technology. It is ameliorate than its predecessor the Lumia 520 merely not quite as proficient as the Lumia 630 where you lot go a slightly larger screen and ClearBlack. There's no proximity sensor on this device either, so you lot'll need to conform your display brightness manually. Thankfully, that'due south not too hard if you add a quick-activeness primal to the Activeness Center, where you can quickly toggle through depression, medium and loftier effulgence settings.

Powering the brandish and the Lumia 530 itself is a one.ii GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 processor with 512 MB of RAM. Information technology might non seem like much, but it'south easily able to power through Windows Phone and some fairly demanding games. Loading times might be a few seconds longer than on more expensive smartphones, but you're at least able to play some graphically demanding games like Subway Surfers and Age of Empires: Castle Siege without any bug. With only 512 MB of RAM, there are some games you will not be able to install as they crave i GB of RAM for elevation functioning. Yet, this listing of exceptions is increasingly pocket-size these days.

Those are adequately large games though, and you lot'll quickly see storage space woes with the included 4 GB of storage. Nevertheless, y'all tin can catch a microSD card (up to 128 GB) and have more than infinite for apps, games, music, videos and more than.

Another features establish in Windows Telephone you won't be getting with the Lumia 530 include NFC, Qi wireless charging, SensorCore for motion tracking, and a front-facing camera. The telephone is as well limited to just 3G, with no support for LTE.

However, the Lumia 530 tin optionally come with a dual-SIM design, which is ideal for those in emerging markets where carrying multiple SIMs is the norm.

Camera

The Lumia 530 does not have a not bad camera, though it is acceptable for the price. You go a 5 MP rear camera with the Lumia 530, but a few pieces of technology are missing. In that location's no automobile-focus (it is fixed), no defended camera button, and in that location is no flash. These are the imaging trade-offs for the most affordable Lumia.

Below you tin can check out some Lumia 530 photographic camera samples.

Phone

Primarily, the Lumia 530 is a phone for making calls. Here, the Lumia 530 does live up to the expected quality of previous Nokia devices, although you are dealing with less bass and a more can-similar audio. Since the Lumia 530 does non take a proximity sensor, it relies on the brandish touching your face to plough off the screen during calls. It may be a fleck it odd, simply it works and about users volition not find the difference.

Reception was also better than expected, letting us catch a T-Mobile point where normally we could not.

The rear speaker is small but much louder than anticipated. Certain, it is not a fantastic speaker for quality when compared to high-end phones, only it is loud, crisp, and adequate for use as a speakerphone or playing music. This feature is 1 of the more pleasant surprises packed into this nimble Windows Phone making the Lumia 530 a solid - but low cost - MP3 music player.

Battery life

Battery life is average with the Lumia 530. Inside you'll find a 1430 mAh bombardment, which is somewhat expected at this price betoken. We used the Lumia 530 for a week and had the phone concluding the majority of the 24-hour interval. Take information technology off the charger in the morning as y'all leave for piece of work and you should be able to get in home with moderate to heavy use. Though you're going to want to juice up mid-twenty-four hour period if y'all take plans that nighttime. Await almost 10-12 hours with regular use, which is virtually what Microsoft gives equally the battery guess.

The lesser line

When the Lumia 520 came out, it was the offset of its kind. A low-end device that was easy on the upkeep, only paired with an operating system that didn't slow down performance. It was a unique phone at the time and had a recipe for success others take since copied.

It's harder today for the Lumia 530 to stand out on its ain. For just a lilliputian bit more coin, you can get the superior Lumia 635. While the two are similar the display on the Lumia 635 easily outclasses the one on the Lumia 530. Additionally, the Lumia 635 has an improved GPU for graphics with the Snapdragon 400 chipset.

• Related: Lumia 530 vs. Lumia 635

And then there's the BLU Win JR - a new, $89 Windows Phone that is selling on http://Amazon.com?tag=militarist-future-xx&ascsubtag=UUwpUdUnU26341 and the Microsoft Stores in North America. We haven't reviewed the Blu WIN JR nevertheless, but our hands-on of the device left the states impressed. It's a little more expensive than the Lumia 530, but it has a few extra hardware specs, similar proximity sensor, that you lot can't go on the Lumia 530. Plus we might prefer the build quality of the BLU Win JR over the Lumia 530.

The Lumia 530 does remain the most affordable way to become a Lumia, but there are besides more options out there today. The BLU Win JR costs slightly more and does more. The display on the Lumia 630 (dual-SIM) or Lumia 635 (LTE) is worth the small premium. That leaves the Lumia 530 in an awkward position. It'south not a bad Windows Telephone at all; it's just a difficult sell when there'southward better value for your coin. Something that didn't exist when the original Lumia 520 launched concluding year.

Still, with the Lumia 530 you lot do become access to exclusive apps similar Lumia StoryTeller, Cinemagraph, Creative Studio, Lumia Photographic camera and likely better support directly from Microsoft, including updates. For some people, this matters.

Is the Lumia 530 for y'all? If you demand a low-toll Windows Phone as your only device and want a Lumia, we'd recommend the Lumia 635. Once more, similar performance and specs, simply a much improve display cheers to ClearBlack engineering science. With the Lumia 635, y'all tin can also go LTE in select markets for better internet speeds.

If you lot just need a cheap Windows Phone, you're going to have to decide between the Lumia 530 and BLU Win JR (depending on availability). Two phones that are significant when because their price points, and information technology'll come down to personal preference. That said, it's hard to become wrong with a Windows Phone that you can pick up for $69 at the Microsoft Shop.

In the US, you can find the Lumia 530 on T-Mobile, Cricket and the Microsoft Store. More data, including experience from owners of the Lumia 530, tin be plant in our dedicated support forums.

• Windows Central Forums: Lumia 530
• All our coverage on the Lumia 530 can be constitute here: Lumia 530: All you demand to know

Look for our reviews later this week for the Lumia 635, Lumia 735, and Lumia 830!

Nosotros may earn a commission for purchases using our links. Acquire more.

Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/lumia-530-review

Posted by: griggsnour1949.blogspot.com

Share this post