Nokia Lumia 2520 review

Nokia's first entry into the tablet market -- the Nokia Lumia 2520 -- is a Windows device, natch, and arrives just after Microsoft's own Surface 2. It looks very different though, and includes a high-quality camera and a clutch of extra goodies for a very reasonable price.

It's on sale now for around £399.

Design
You can get the 2520 in glossy black, but ours came in an arresting fire engine red (white and blue are also available), which certainly helps it stand out against the army of black slab tablets out there. The bevelled edges of the polycarbonate casing are busy with details, including a covered port within which resides microSIM (4G if you like) and microSD memory card (up to 64GB to augment the 32GB already on board).

There are also power/lock and volume keys, as well as microUSB 3.0 and microHDMI ports, plus a dedicated keyboard dock (for Nokia's Power Keyboard and stand) and charging port. The dedicated charging port may be a nuisance from the point of view of carrying an extra cable around, but it does allow the 2520 to charge faster than most -- 80 per cent in an hour, and that's exactly what we found when we tested it.
The 10.1-inch screen offers an HD resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels, which comes down to 218 pixels per inch. That's a bit below the iPad Air for instance, and the same as the Surface 2's 10.6-inch screen but at this level it's really hard to tell much of a difference with your naked peepers.

It looks ravishingly bright and detailed for both web and movies -- the loud and busy HD trailer for Pacific Rim played smoothly and all but leapt out of the screen with its impressive sharpness and clarity.

Processor and Windows RT
The quad-core processor is clocked at 2.2GHz and feels very fast indeed -- it zips through apps, which open pretty much instantaneously.

HD gaming holds no terrors for the 2520 and Riptide GP played smoothly throughout. It sounded pretty good without headphones too thanks to the decent quality stereo speakers which face you from the bottom of the screen.

This is the RT version of Windows 8.1, which looks much the same as the full version, but limits you to installing software from the apps in Microsoft's Marketplace. Most of the big names are there, but there are still some gaps, and of course you don't get anything like the same amount of choice as Apple or Android. There's also a bit of a question mark over Windows RT at the moment. Devices didn't fly off the shelves as Microsoft hoped, and there's been speculation that it could be phased out in favour of the full-fat version that allows you to install software as you would a regular PC.
Even with the RT version however you get the latest Office software, plus the extras we've become familiar with on Nokia's Windows phones -- Nokia Music (free music playlists), Here Maps and the new Nokia Storyteller, which tracks where and when you took your pics.
Camera and battery life
The 6.7-megapixel camera comes with Carl Zeiss optics but not much in the way of playful extras. There's no manual zoom, face or smile detection, for instance, or a flash. But you can take some pretty good snaps in decent light. There's also a 1.2-megapixel camera on the front for video calls.
Battery life held up very well, comfortably delivering about a day-and-a-half of fairly heavy use.

Conclusion
The Nokia 2520 is a very slick and capable Windows 8.1 tablet with an excellent screen and fast processor that comes in a full £80 cheaper than a similarly specced iPad Air

. The app store needs some attention but most of the big names are there, plus extras like the full Windows Office suite and Nokia Music, expandable memory and an HDMI port make it well worth considering.