Just before the Lumia brand was finally folded into Microsoft, Nokia managed to reel out one final model. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the last Nokia Lumia; The Lumia 530.
Even though it has been in decline, the Finnish company’s legacy has always evoked a certain set of expectations from their products. Spec-wise, the Lumia 530 will not blow you away. But will it live up to expectation?
Technical Specifications
The first and, of course, obvious thing about the device is the fact that it operates on the Microsoft Windows 8.1 system. In terms of connectivity, the device makes use of a dual Micro SIM with an option of a 2G or 3G network. An inbuilt Wi-Fi hotspot allows the device share internet. Don’t forget good old bluetooth. The Lumia 530 comes with 4GB internal memory, a 1.2 Ghz quad core Qualcomm Snapdragon processor, and 512 megabytes of RAM.
What’s in the box?
The contents are pretty basic, so without fanfare, here they are.
- The phone itself (mine is green)
- A battery
- A charger
- An earpiece
That’s it.
First Impressions
The Lumia 530 looks like your typical Lumia — they all look pretty much the same, except for size differences and structural design nuance. The 4 inch 530 could almost pass for a 520, except that it has no side shutter button and the curvature of the back is a bit more pronounced. Like all Lumias, the 530 comes in an array of bright colours.
Camera
The Lumia 530’s camera will take decent shots in bright daylight. At least as well as you would expect from a 5 megapixel shooter. However, it’s not suitable for use in low light, for want of a flash. There’s no front-facing camera, so you’ll have to curve your arm and hope you hit the right button. Hopefully after no more than a few tries, you will get the perfect selfie.
Here’s an average Lumia 530 shot.
Battery Life
Like typical Nokia, the 530 has a pretty decent battery lifespan, although, it’s obviously dependent on usage.
I kept the FM radio on for close to two hours with average phone use and still had decent battery level by the end of the day.
Pricing
The Nokia Lumia 530 costs anything between N17,000 – N20,000, and is a bargain for the price. Although, at that range, it has sore competition from cheap Android devices like the Infinix and Innjoo.
Pros
- Affordable
- It runs the latest Windows Phone OS, 8.1
- Popular Microsoft applications have been pre-installed.
- Internet Explorer is new and improved
Cons
- Users are primarily tied to the Internet Explorer browser. Third-party alternatives are scarce
- Notifications and background tiles are an incessant data drain
- A dedicated camera shutter button would have been nice
- While probably just a notch above BlackBerry, the Windows Phone app ecosystem is still not nearly as robust as Android or iOS.
For thorough insight on Nokia Lumia peculiarities, you might want to read up on Techcabal reviews on Lumia 520 and Lumia 630.
