Nokia Lumia 510 review: Down a gear

Unboxing the Nokia Lumia 510

The Lumia 510 retail package covers the basics - it comes with a wired charger, a USB cable and a rather cheap looking single-piece headset.

Nokia Lumia 510 unboxed

Nokia Lumia 510 360-degree spin

The Lumia 510 is about the same size as both of its midrange siblings, the Lumia 710 and 610, yet flaunts a bigger, 4" screen. We're glad to notice that there's clearly less bezel and the handset is a tad slimmer too. At 120.7 x 64.9 x 11.5 mm the Lumia 510 is by no means extraordinary compact but quite reasonable for a four-incher. It feels good in the hand and the weight of 129 grams is reassuring without being a burden.

Design, build quality and handling

The entry-level Lumia 510 is clearly based on the Lumia 610 though it has nicely evolved (may as well be a reversal to some) into a more traditional rounded shape. Gone is the predecessor's subtle chin in favor of a clearly less "designed" exterior, which makes sense in a handset targeting smartphone newbies.

The Nokia Lumia 510: simple looks and nice feel in hand

Anyway, the Nokia Lumia 510 is nothing unseen - resemblances to older Symbian-smartphone designs are easily spotted. The phone is made entirely of plastic and clearly sets out to appeal to a wider demographic with its simple styling, in contrast to the WP8-powered counterpart, Lumia 620.

Nokia Lumia 510 next to the Lumia 620

Offering a 4" screen, the phone will fit comfortably in most hands thanks to the nicely-rounded back. The soft rubbery finish at the rear provides good grip too. It tends to easily get smudged though, and the glossy front is quite fingerprint-prone too.

Handling the Nokia Lumia 510

Controls

Most of the Lumia 510's front is occupied by the 4" WVGA screen. Above we find the centrally-placed earpiece and hidden sensors for proximity and auto brightness. There is no secondary camera on the Lumia 510.

What's above and below the Lumia 510 display

Below the screen is the familiar set of capacitive controls - Back, Home and Search.

The left side of the Lumia 510 has nothing but a small gap to help lift the battery cover. The right one though is pretty crowded, accommodating the volume rocker, power/lock button and the two-step shutter key.

Nokia Lumia 510 left and right sides

The 3.5mm audio jack is alone at the top of the Lumia 510. At the bottom we find the microUSB port for data connections and charging.

Lumia 510's top and bottom sides

The soft rubbery back of the Lumia 510 features the 5MP camera lens placed centrally near the top and the loudspeaker grille across at bottom.

The back of Lumia 510 • a peek under the battery cover

The SIM compartment is above the battery bed. A 1300 mAh unit is powering the Lumia 510 - the same as in the Lumia 610 and 710. The phone scored 44 hours in our battery test, which is one of the best scores in the WP camp. It seems that WP7.8 might have brought some optimizations that helped the Lumia 510 do much better than many of its peers.