Nokia Lumia 530 vs Nokia Lumia 525 vs Moto E: entry-level specs showdown

Microsoft just expanded its entry-level portfolio of Windows Phone devices with the Nokia Lumia 530, a successor to the Nokia Lumia 525. The latter, as you probably know, is a slightly refined version of the Nokia Lumia 520, Redmond's best-selling smartphone of all time. Thus, don't expect the new Lumia 530 to woo you with anything in the hardware department – after all, it's a low-end device that is targeted at emerging markets.

Microsoft's latest affordable device is equipped with a quad-core Snapdragon 200 SoC, 512MB of RAM, 4GB of native storage, and a 1430mAh juicer at the rear, which is touted as being able to keep the Lumia 530 kicking and ticking up to 22 days in standby mode. Oh, and it comes with the latest version of Redmond's OS, Windows Phone 8.1. The affordable device will retail at $114 before taxes and subsidies.

Well, okay, but how does the device fare against its predecessor? Does it deliver or is it just a minor improvement, similar to the Android-powered Nokia X2? Frankly said, we suppose that some may solely view Windows Phone 8.1 as a sound enough reason to upgrade to the Lumia 530, but that might not be the case for everybody. Let's check out the spec sheets and see if the Lumia 530 is a trooper, at least on paper. Note that we've also thrown in another affordable champ, the Motorola Moto E, for a good measure.

So, can you distinguish a clear winner or you're on the fence?