Nokia World has arrived, and with it three new Lumia devices. We’ll be taking a closer look at each one today after our earlier overview – starting with the Lumia 2520, the very first Nokia tablet.
Design
To understand the design of the Lumia 2520, just visualise the rounded shape of the Lumia 720, then scale it up to include a 10-inch display. The polycarbonate unibody design is precisely as you’d imagine, and even comes in the same eye-catching colours – cyan, red, white and black.
Specifications
The Lumia 2520 has a 10.1-inch 1080p display, a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor, 2 GB of RAM, 32 GB of storage and up to 32 extra GB of microSD card storage. These are strong specifications, and initial reports from The Verge and others have suggested that this is one of the slickest Windows RT tablets yet. The 2520 also has a much better pair of cameras than other Windows tablets – a 6.7 megapixel sensor with a f/1.9 lens on the rear, and a 2 megapixel front-facer. Battery life is also strong, at 11 hours.
Software
The Lumia 2520 runs Windows RT 8.1, and therefore gets all of the new features that 8.1 brings: improved search, smaller tile sizes, improved built-in apps and a start button. However, as this is an RT version of Windows, you won’t be able to run old Windows apps as you would on a desktop or laptop computer. As long as you stick to apps from the Windows Store you’ll be fine, and you do get Office pre-installed for free.
Accessories
The most unique Lumia 2520 accessory is its Power Keyboard. As the name suggests, this cover adds a keyboard and trackpad for a traditional laptop form factor. There’s also an integrated battery that adds an extra five hours of use. The Power Keyboard wraps both front and back of the machine, protecting the screen and the chassis from knocks and scratches. The 2520 cover also includes two USB ports at the rear, allowing other devices to charge while the cover is closed.
Compared
The Lumia 2520 is very similar to the Microsoft Surface 2 tablet, which was announced recently and went on sale in the UK this week. By comparison, the Surface 2 has a slightly larger 10.6-inch display at the same resolution, a similarly leading-edge Tegra 4 processor, and the same RAM and internal memory.
Conclusion
The Lumia 2520 looks like a strong contender against the Surface 2 as the best Windows RT tablet available, and the price – $499 for the standard model and an extra $150 for the Power Keyboard – seems reasonable. The tablet will be available in the UK in time for the holiday season.