The Nokia Lumia 520 isn’t a powerhouse Windows Phone 8 device like the Lumia 1020 or Lumia 1520, but it does have one attribute that no other Windows Phone device has – worldwide popularity. Meet the Nokia Lumia 520, the world’s most popular Windows Phone device.

Touted as the “most affordable Windows Phone with a dual core processor,” the Nokia Lumia 520 comes with exclusive digital lenses, a 1GHz dual core processor, and an ultra-sensitive touch screen, and an entry level price point. The handset was announced during the 2013 Mobile World Congress back in February of last year.

So what makes this device so significant nearly a year later? Well, this device has become the world’s most popular Windows Phone device. As of December 30th of 2013, the Nokia Lumia 520 owns over 30% of the Windows Phone market and 39.3% of the Windows Phone 8 market, according to AdDuplex. Of course there are variants of the Lumia 520, such as the Lumia 521 and Lumia 525. If you combine the market share of these three phones, you get a value of over 40%.

Affordability is indeed the biggest selling point for the Lumia 520.

In Spain, the Lumia 520 accounts for 41.6% of Windows Phone device sales. Poland and Russia account for 23.5% and 18.6% of device sales, respectively. In China, the Lumia 520 is the second most popular Windows Phone device, right behind the Lumia 920, with a share of 10.6%. Indonesia, on the other hand, accounts for 39.7%. Finally, Brazil loves the Lumia 520 with a 32.4% share.

As of November of 2013, the Lumia 520 accounts for 28.2% of all Windows Phone device sales in the UK and 29.6% of Windows Phone device sales in Mexico. The Lumia 520 is by far the most popular in India and Vietnam, with a share of 43.4% and 57.2%, respectively.

To put this in perspective, the Lumia 1020, which features a 41MP camera, is in eleventh place in terms of worldwide device sales – with the Lumia 520 being in first place. The recently released Lumia 1520 rests at sixteenth place. These two devices are the flagships of the platform and aren’t even in the top ten.

Sales of the Lumia 520 have since outsold the popular Lumia 920 handset, which proves that a smartphone with decent specs and an attractive price point will definitely be popular. In fact, you can snag a Lumia 520 right now for $59, with no contract, via the Microsoft Store. The device is available in black, white, red, blue, or yellow colors to match your style.

The Nokia Lumia 520 is a 4-inch handset (WVGA 800 x 480) with a 5MP camera, 512MB of RAM, 8GB of storage and a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4​ 1GHz dual-core processor. This device features 3G connectivity. If you want the same specs, but with 4G connectivity, the Lumia 521 is your phone – with a price of $69.

It comes as no surprise that the Lumia 520 is flying off the retail shelves due to the attractive price point and decent specs. Affordability is indeed the biggest selling point for the Lumia 520. Nokia’s goal was to capture the low-end smartphone share in emerging markets, and it looks like it worked. And, if nothing else, this lovely smartphone makes for a great backup Windows Phone device. We’ve embedded a promo video of the device below for your viewing pleasure. Take a look at it and let us know in the comments section if you own a Lumia 520.

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