Nokia Lumia 520 vs Sony Xperia E1
A spec-by-spec comparison of the Nokia Lumia 520 and the Sony Xperia E1, taken from their full specification sheets. Green marks the better value in each measured row.
Head to head
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Price | $2,999 | $2,922 |
| Our rating | 7/10 | 5/10 |
| Battery | 1,430 mAh | 1,750 mAh |
| Storage (max) | 64 GB | 32 GB |
| Screen size | 4 in | 4 in |
| Main camera | 5 MP | 15 MP |
| Weight (lower is lighter) | 124 g | 120 g |
| Released | Apr 2013 | Mar 2014 |
Summary: Nokia Lumia 520 is ahead on our rating, storage (max). Sony Xperia E1 is ahead on battery, main camera, weight (lower is lighter).
★ Which should you buy? Sony Xperia E1 is the stronger overall pick on the measured specs.
Reviewed by the infozme.com Editorial Team — see how we research & rate phones.
Display
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Type | IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors | TFT capacitive touchscreen |
| Size | 4.0 inches | 4.0 inches |
| Resolution | 480 x 800 pixels | 480 x 800 pixels |
| Protection | Scratch-resistant glass (not Gorilla Glass) | Not specified |
| Features | SuperSensitive touchscreen (works with gloves/nails) | — |
| Pixel Density | — | 233 ppi |
Platform
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| OS | Microsoft Windows Phone 8, upgradeable to 8.1 | Android 4.3 (Jelly Bean), upgradable to 4.4.2 (KitKat) |
| Chipset | Qualcomm MSM8227 Snapdragon S4 Plus | Qualcomm MSM8210 Snapdragon 200 |
| CPU | Dual-core 1.0 GHz Krait | Dual-core 1.2 GHz Cortex-A7 |
| GPU | Adreno 305 | Adreno 302 |
Memory
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Card slot | microSDXC (dedicated slot), up to 64 GB | microSDHC, up to 32 GB (dedicated slot) |
| Internal | 8GB 512MB RAM | 4GB, 512MB RAM |
| User available storage | — | Approximately 2 GB |
Main Camera
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Single | 5 MP, f/2.4, 28mm (wide), autofocus | 3.15 MP |
| Features | No LED flash | HDR, smile detection, 4x smooth zoom, geo-tagging, image stabilization, panorama (fixed focus, no flash) |
| Video | 720p@30fps | Not specified (does not shoot 720p videos) |
Selfie Camera
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Single | None | No |
Battery
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Type | Removable Li-Ion 1430 mAh | Li-Ion |
| Stand-by | Up to 360 h (3G) | Up to 498 h (2G) / 454 h (3G) |
| Talk time | Up to 14 h 48 min (2G) / 9 h 42 min (3G) | Up to 9 h (2G) / 8 h 13 min (3G) |
| Capacity | — | 1750 mAh |
| Removable | — | Yes |
Body
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Dimensions | 119.9 x 64 x 9.9 mm (4.72 x 2.52 x 0.39 in) | 118 x 62.4 x 12 mm (4.65 x 2.46 x 0.47 in) |
| Weight | 124 g (4.37 oz) | 120 g (4.23 oz) |
| SIM | Micro-SIM | Mini-SIM |
| Build | Plastic body, removable back shells | Plastic body |
Comms
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| WLAN | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, hotspot | Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n, Wi-Fi Direct, hotspot |
| Bluetooth | 4.0, A2DP, LE (after Lumia Amber update) | 4.0, A2DP |
| Positioning | GPS, GLONASS | — |
| USB | microUSB 2.0 | microUSB 2.0 |
| GPS | — | Yes, with A-GPS, GLONASS |
| NFC | — | No |
Launch
| Nokia Lumia 520 | Sony Xperia E1 |
| Announced | February 2013 | January 2014 |
| Status | Discontinued (2015) | Released March 2014 |
Frequently asked questions
Which has the better battery, Nokia Lumia 520 or Sony Xperia E1?
Sony Xperia E1 — 1,430 mAh for the Nokia Lumia 520 versus 1,750 mAh for the Sony Xperia E1.
Which is lighter, Nokia Lumia 520 or Sony Xperia E1?
Sony Xperia E1 — 124 g for the Nokia Lumia 520 versus 120 g for the Sony Xperia E1.
Which is newer, Nokia Lumia 520 or Sony Xperia E1?
Sony Xperia E1 — Apr 2013 for the Nokia Lumia 520 versus Mar 2014 for the Sony Xperia E1.
Is the Nokia Lumia 520 or the Sony Xperia E1 rated higher?
We rate the Nokia Lumia 520 7/10 and the Sony Xperia E1 5/10.
Best phone lists →