T-Mobile has steadily been trickling out its launch plans for the Nokia Lumia 521 in recent months, first confirming the phone's existence, then saying that it'd be released sometime in May. Today T-Mo finally spilled the beans, though, announcing that the Lumia 521 will be available in its stores and on its website starting May 22. Pricing for the Lumia 521 will be set at a $29.99 for the down payment, followed by 24 monthly payments of $5 each.
T-Mobile customers that are interested in the Lumia 521 but don't feel like waiting for May 22 to roll around also have a couple of options. The Lumia 521 will be available at Microsoft Retail Stores starting May 11 for $149, while Walmart will begin selling the phone on that same date for $129.88.
One other juicy Lumia 521 tidbit that's been revealed today is that the phone will support Wi-Fi Calling. T-Mobile explains that units purchased from it will come with the feature out of the box, while any Lumia 521s that are bought from HSN, Microsoft Retail Stores or Walmart will begin receiving an over the air update on May 20 that will enable Wi-Fi Calling.
The combination of the Lumia 521's design and its low commitment-free pricing had already made the device attractive as an entry-level smartphone as well as a cheap way for the Windows Phone-curious to check out Microsoft's platform. The addition of Wi-Fi Calling makes the Lumia 521 even more appealing, and it'll be interesting to see how the device sells once its availability widens later this month. Have you ever used a phone's Wi-Fi calling functionality? Is that a feature that's important to you?
Via T-Mobile
