Microsoft Critical of Samsung Galaxy S4's Price Compared to Nokia's Lumia 521

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Is the Galaxy S4 worth the pricing premium?

Thinking about picking up Samsung's Galaxy S4 smartphone? Before you do, Microsoft wants you to consider the price. Off contract, a Galaxy S4 will set you back "a cool $750," compared to Nokia's Lumia 521, a Windows Phone 8 device that costs $150 off-contract. Oh yes, Microsoft went there, and then shot a YouTube video showing all the things you could purchase at a Microsoft Store with the money you saved.
To be fair, Microsoft wasn't disparaging of the Galaxy S4's hardware. Ben Rudolph, the Microsoft Evangelist who penned the post, pointed out that the Galaxy S4 has a decent camera and display, and thousands of apps to choose from. It's just that the off-contract price is high.
"The new Nokia Lumia 521 also has a good camera, a good display, thousands of apps, and the ability to keep you connected to the weather, sports, news, and all of the people you care about (and because it’s a Windows Phone, it does so arguably better than Android). And you can get it for $150 off-contract," Rudolph stated.
It's an interesting comparison on a number of levels, the first of which is that the two handsets he compares aren't really in the same league. The Galaxy S4 is Samsung's flagship Android device, whereas Nokia's Lumia 521 is more of an entry-level smartphone, as Rudolph himself attests in a separate blog post. And then there's the idea of buying a phone off-contract rather than inking a 2-year service agreement and getting a discount on the hardware.

Regardless of all that, Rudolph figured out that the price difference between the two devices is enough to purchase a 16GB Kingston microSD card, 3-month Xbox Music pass, Nokia Purity earbuds by Monster, and Asus VivoBook X202E touchscreen laptop, and you'd still have $4 to spare.
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