Nokia Lumia 520 vs. 521 Sales: Windows Phone 8 Smartphones 'Substantial Hits' in Contract-Free Market, Says Report

By Michael Oleaga / m.oleaga@latinospost.com (staff@latinospost.com) | First Posted: Aug 14, 2013 03:59 PM EDT

Tags Nokia, Nokia Lumia, Nokia Lumia 520, Windows Phone, Windows Phone 8, T-Mobile, at&t, Nokia Lumia 521, Apple

Popularity for the Nokia Lumia 520 has reportedly picked up momentum across China and the United States, according to a new report.

Forbes published a story on how Nokia's low-end Windows Phone smartphone is gaining "far better traction" than the Lumia 600 or Lumia 700 series models.

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According to Tero Kuittinen's report, the Lumia 520 on AT&T's network and the equivalent Lumia 521 for T-Mobile "are now substantial hits" when it comes to contract-free devices.

A selling point for the low-end Nokia devices may be the camera specifications and display quality.

AT&T introduced the Lumia 520 as part of its GoPhone prepaid service plan in late July. The GoPhone offer gives the Lumia 520 to the consumer for $99.99.

As Latinos Post reported, the Lumia 520 has since become the most utilized Windows Phone device worldwide, topping the Lumia 920, according to July statistics from AdDuplex.

The low-end smartphone market could encounter competition from the long-rumored low-cost iPhone by Apple. Reports have stated the low-cost iPhone might resemble the iPhone 5 in terms of design. According to Apple Insider, the low-budget device is expected to have a 4-inch screen, front-facing FaceTime camera, and home button. The back of the rumored device will have a rear-facing iSight camera, microphone, and singular LED flash. A selling price, however, is unknown. As Latinos Post reported, Apple is allegedly working on a special event for the iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C on Sept. 10.

The Lumia 520 made its debut at the 2013 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona with the Lumia 720.

The Lumia 520's features include a dual-core 1.0GHz processor while having a 4-inch screen display with IPS display technology. The pixel resolution for the Lumia 520 is 800x480. The rear-facing camera has 5 megapixels while no secondary camera is present and the Windows Phone 8 smartphone has 8GB for internal storage with 512MB of RAM. The smartphone uses a 1,430mAh battery.