Nokia recently announced their latest budget Windows Phone, the Lumia 530.
How does it compare to it’s predecessors, the Nokia Lumia 520 and the 525? Let’s find out.
All three phones will run on Windows Phone 8.1, which is the latest offering from Microsoft.
The Nokia Lumia 530 sees a slight upgrade in the processor, but unfortunately, that is the only good thing we can see in the phone, over the other two.
Here is a table, comparing the Technical Specifications of the three phones:
| Specifications | Nokia Lumia 520 | Nokia Lumia 525 | Nokia Lumia 530 |
| Operating System | Microsoft Windows Phone 8
(upgradable to 8.1) | Microsoft Windows Phone 8
(upgradable to 8.1) | Microsoft Windows Phone 8.1 |
| Display | 4-inch IPS LCD (480 x 800 Pixels), Multitouch, 233 PPI | 4-inch IPS LCD (480 x 800 Pixels), Multitouch | 4-inch IPS LCD (480 x 854 Pixels), Multitouch, 245 PPI |
| Processor | Dual Core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 | Dual Core 1 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 | Quad Core 1.2 GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 200 |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | Adreno 305 | Adreno 302 |
| RAM | 512 MB | 1 GB | 512 MB |
| Internal Storage | 8 GB | 8 GB | 4 GB |
| Expandable Storage | Up to 64 GB | Up to 64 GB | Up to 128 GB |
| Rear Camera | 5 Megapixel Camera, Autofocus, 720p Video Recording | 5 Megapixel Camera, Autofocus, 720p Video Recording | 5 Megapixel Camera, 480p Video Recording |
| Camera Flash | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Front Camera | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Connectivity | 3G, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 3.0, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, GLONASS, microUSB 2.0 | 3G, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, GLONASS, microUSB 2.0 | 3G, GPRS, EDGE, Bluetooth 4.0 LE, Wi-Fi, A-GPS, GLONASS, microUSB 2.0 |
| Battery | 1430 mAh | 1430 mAh | 1430 mAh |
| SIM card | Single Micro-SIM | Single Micro-SIM | Single and Dual Micro-SIM |
| Sensors | Accelerometer, Proximity | Accelerometer, Proximity | Accelerometer, Proximity |
| Dimensions | 119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm | 119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm | 119.7 x 62.3 x 11.7 mm |
| Weight | 124 g | 124 g | 129 g |
| Colours | Black, Cyan, Red, White, Yellow | Black, Red, White, Yellow | Bright Orange, Bright Green, Dark Grey, White |
| Price* | Rs. 7500 | Rs. 8900 | Rs.7500** |
Legend:
N/A – Not Available
* - Prices vary according to the color of the phone.
** – Unconfirmed (according to reports)
So, on paper, the Nokia Lumia 525 still stands out, as the best of the three, thanks to the 1 GB RAM. Unless you are looking for a Dual SIM phone, there is no reason to pick up the Lumia 530, and I would not recommend the Lumia 520, because of the 512 MB RAM, which may result in a number of apps and features being incompatible with it.