Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet arrives to rival Surface 2 with record bright 1080p display and LTE
Microsoft's Surface tablets aren't getting 4G connectivity at least until early next year, but Nokia is already out with an LTE-wielding Windows RT slate. The Lumia 2520 is Nokia's first modern tablet, and just so happens it runs Microsoft's new touch-centric OS for mobile devices with ARM-based processors.
Yep, the Lumia 2520 is powered by a 2.2 GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800, which is as powerful as a mobile chipsets go these days, flaunting an Adreno 330 graphics processor that feeds into the 10.1" 1080x1920 pixels AH-IPS record for a tablet 650 nits brightness and sub-6% reflectivity display, meaning excellent sunlight visibility. The slate also offers 2 GB of RAM, and 32 GB of internal memory, which can be expanded via the microSD slot.
We get the same top 6.7 MP rear camera with Zeiss lens and wide f/1.9 aperture we know from the Lumia 720, as well as a 2 MP front-facing shooter, plus a hearty 8000 mAh battery that is good for up to 10 hours, the main advantage of RT-laden tablets. The nice camera on the back gets some exclusive software, too, like the Video Director editing application, which also takes advantage of the large tablet display.
The design is typical Nokia Lumia line, with thin polycarbonate housing that will be available in red, cyan, glossy white and mate black colors, and the housing is very compact at 267 x 168 x 8.9 mm with 615g of weight. The LTE connectivity allows for up to 150Mbps download speeds, if your carrier can supply those, but we also have the boatload of radios - Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.0, A-GPS and even NFC thrown in, so compatibility with Nokia's Near Field communication accessories is guaranteed.
Nokia has also developed an ingenious keyboard cover accessory with two full-size USB ports, too, called Power Keyboard - "a unique wraparound cover that includes a fully functional keypad and gesture trackpad, which also provides five hours of extra battery life". The keyboard folio hints that Nokia might be competing with Microsoft's Surface 2 tablet directly, but since they will soon be one company, nothing wrong with that.
Pricing, release date and availability? It is expected to cost about $500 and arrive on the market next month, in time for the holiday shopping rush. Since we get LTE connectivity, you can bet this will appear on US carriers' shelves, so you'd soon have a chance to play with Nokia's first contemporary tablet yourself and gauge where Microsoft's Surface line might be heading in the future.
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