Nokia Lumia 2520 review: Specs of Nokia’s very first Windows tablet, the Nokia Lumia 2520 include a 2.2GHz quad-core processor and 2GB of RAM. The device is deemed good, but the fact that it runs on Windows RT make it far from great.

 The Hardware
The Nokia Lumia 2520 is made from brightly colored polycarbonate plastic the likes of which we have seen on a majority of the Nokia Lumia phones. It is 0.35 inches thick and has smooth contours interrupted by stylish pointy corners that let the device dig into your palms when using it in tablet mode. Nokia chose a smooth finish on the backside, which may make it a bit difficult for some to grip, but still gives a pleasant visual effect.
Still on the visuals aspect, there are two finishes that one can choose from depending on the color that they decide to go with. For those who prefer to go for the red or white colored tablet, you will get it with a glossy finish. If you decide to go for the white or cyan color, you will have a matte finish.

There is quite a bunch of branding on the Nokia Lumia 2520. On the back next to the rear camera, there is a “Zeis” painted on for Carl Zeiss who are the makers of the lens. There is also a Nokia logo in the mid-section of the NFC zone. In addition to these 2 brandings, you will also see the Verizon and 4G LTE stampings. It goes without saying that the carrier logo is variable depending with which operator you decide to buy from.

The tablet comes with quite a number of ports and buttons, most of which are located on the top of the landscape edge. There is a volume rocker, the power button that doubles as the lock screen button and a SIM port. Below the SIM port, there is a port for your microSD to be slotted in. It accepts cards of up to 32GB. While still in landscape mode, on the opposite side of the top, you have where to plug in your 3.5mm headphone jack as well as a power port below it of 2.5mm. This may be inconveniencing for first time users as the ports look practically the same and may cause you to plug the power into the headphone hole.

When you look at the right side of the tablet, you will see one slot for your micro-USB 3.0 and another one for your micro-HDMI. The bottom of the tablet is less busy with docking connector that you can use if you buy the optional power keyboard.

The Optional Power Keyboard
The Nokia Lumia optional power keyboard that also doubles as a cover retails for $149. It is made from a black material that feels soft and smooth to the touch giving a more premium feel than the smooth plastic backing. When you insert your tablet, it will be magnetically held on to the base making it harder for the tablet to fall off by mistake. When you shut the case, then it is really shut as the touchpad folds over a 1/3 of the back panel magnetically being held in place. It is a great design that also allows you to easily plug in your headphones or power cord without taking off the keyboard case.

The keyboard is a bit awkward to type on as most of the buttons are pretty small. It is even more difficult if you try to do it on your laps. The backend of the case is heavier than the front meaning you always have to apply pressure to keep it from toppling backwards.

The power keyboard also comes with the advantage of a built-in battery that can give your tablet 5 more hours of life. It also has two extra USB 2.0 ports.

The Display
The 2520 has an impressive 10.1 inches of display real estate on 1,920 by 1080 IPS with 218 ppi. It has an outstanding brightness of 665 nits and color accuracy that is to die for. Nokia is also really bragging about its 5% reflectance that should allow you to read text both indoors and in the bright sunlight outside. It also has the Clear Black technology from Nokia that makes the blacks blacker and the whites whiter.

The Camera
Nokia decided to use a 6.7 MP BSI sensor and as mentioned before, a lens from Carl Zeiss with f/1.9 aperture. This is apparently the very same one you may have spotted on the Lumia 720. It is great for taking macro shots with nice vibrant colors both in natural and artificial light. There is no supporting flash on the tablet so you would have to use the touch-to-focus feature if you want to take shots in a dimly lit setting.

Performance
The Nokia Lumia 2520 has the most powerful processor from Qualcomm. It has a set-up of the quad-core 2.2 GHz Snapdragon 800 chip which has been combined with the quad-core Adreno 330 GPU. It comes with 2GB of RAM. It quickly opens up programs and has no issues when shifting between multiple open apps.