Nokia Lumia 2520 Specs

Hi guys, welcome back!

In the tablet-making business, we all know that Nokia is not really productive in this market.

That’s probably because this Finish-based manufacturer is still struggling really bad to compete in the fierce battle against other smartphone manufacturers from iOS and Android camps.

(Nokia Lumia 2520 Specs)

Even until now, this company hasn’t created such a massive impact in smartphone industry.

And this is not so surprising given that Nokia has been consistently using Windows Phone OS on all of its smartphones (with the exception of Nokia X), which is still not as popular as iOS or Android, in terms of market share and popularity.


However, despite not being a really popular smartphone brand on today’s market, Nokia interestingly still has a great amount of interest to deliver its own homemade devices to the tablet market.

Actually, Microsoft – the current-owner of Nokia -, already has released a few tablets under the Surface series.

However, Surface tablets are made by Microsoft – not Nokia.

So we definitely should put these 2 companies separately – as 2 rivals in tablet category -, Microsoft with its own Surface tablet, Nokia with its own tablet (which i’m about to show right now).

Nokia’s homemade tablet is actually still ‘on the same page’ as one of Surface RT tablet from Microsoft.

And when i say ‘on the same page’, i mean Nokia’s tablet also comes pre-installed with Windows RT operating system – just like Microsoft Surface RT.

However, it doesn’t mean that Nokia’s tablet will be similar just like Microsoft’s Surface RT – in terms of performance and spec sheet.

Anyway, the Nokia’s tablet that i want to show you guys today is Nokia Lumia 2520, a 10-inch tablet running on Windows RT platform.

Besides Nokia Lumia 2520, this company actually also has 2 other slates under the same Lumia series.

And they are Nokia Lumia 1520 and Nokia Lumia 1320 – which both are packing 6-inch display, with Nokia Lumia 1520 being the mid-end model.

But today, i want to start this Nokia Lumia tablet reviews with the flagship one first - Nokia Lumia 2520.

From the hardware standpoint, Nokia Lumia 2520 runs in the same race as other 10-inch flagship tablets on the market to date.

It has Snapdragon 800 chipset inside, Adreno 330 GPU, 2GB of RAM, 2.5k display (2560x1600 pixels), a huge 8120mAh battery, 6.7MP sharp quality camera on the back and many other things that today are considered as ‘high-end specs’.

Well, if you’re interested to know more about this Windows RT tablet from Nokia, as well as its gaming performance and what games that would work perfectly in full graphics, then here you go, my personal review of Nokia Lumia 2520.


Compared to Android OS and Apple’s iOS, we all know that Windows RT is still not the real challenger of these 2 popular operating systems.

Not only is this OS still lacking in popularity and market share, Windows RT sadly is still left behind by its 2 rivals in terms of apps.

The reason behind this is actually because Microsoft – as the maker of Windows RT – is more focused in delivering the best and popular apps on the market, rather than letting all the apps on Android and iOS be ported to Windows RT.

So Microsoft will only grant high quality apps on its Windows RT app market, which is not a bad thing.



So that’s why, if you own any Windows RT device, you must be willing to wait for such a long time before the latest apps and games of Android and iOS finally get ported to your Windows RT device.

And this issue probably will keep plaguing this OS even in the next few months or even years because Windows RT is still not the real contender for Android and iOS.

But despite all that, i think what Nokia has to offer on its Nokia Lumia 2520 is still amazing and definitely stacks up against other 10-inch rivals on today’s tablet market.

First of all – on screen department -, Nokia Lumia 2520 features a 10.1-inch display sporting the 1080p resolution (1920x1200 pixels).

So when it comes to sharpness, the screen of this tablet is still on par with other 10-inch flagship rivals on the market to date - like Sony Xperia Z/Z2 or iPad Air.

And then, if we go to its hardware performance department, we’ll find a Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 800 chipset inside along with Adreno 330 GPU and 2GB of RAM – which are ‘on the same page’ with other high-end tablets on the market right now.

It goes the same on the camera sector, with 6.7MP and 2MP cameras equipped on the rear and front sides respectively.

Not to mention, if you love being connected to internet wherever you are, there is 4G LTE connectivity found on Nokia Lumia 2520.

However, with all of these high-grade specs and goodies, the questions remain.

Does Nokia Lumia 2520 have what it takes to be a great gaming tablet?

Does this tablet stacks up against other 10-inch flagship rivals on today’s tablet market?

Is it worth it to buy this device, especially when its OS is not as popular as Android or iOS in terms of app catalog?

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• 4G LTE
• Micro-SIM
• Released 2013, December
• 615 g (Weight)
• 10.1 inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen, 16M colors
• 1080 x 1920 pixels (~218 ppi pixel density)
• Corning Gorilla Glass 2
• ClearBlack display
• Microsoft Windows RT
• Quad-core 2.2 GHz Krait 400 Qualcomm MSM8974 Snapdragon 800 Chipset
• Adreno 330 GPU
• 2 GB RAM
• microSD Memory Card slot for up to 64 GB
• 32 GB Internal storage
• 6.7 MP rear-facing camera (3088 x 1744 pixels) with Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus
• 1080p @30fps Video recording
• 2 MP front-facing camera with 720p@30fps video recording ability
• Bluetooth v4.0
• NFC
• USB v3.0
• GPRS
• EDGE
• HSDPA 42.2 Mbps,
• Wi-Fi 802.11 dual-band Wi-Fi hotspot
• Messaging SMS(threaded view), MMS, Email, Push Email, IM
• HTML5-enabled Browser
• No Radio
• HDMI port
• GPS
• No Java
• Accelerometer, gyro, proximity and compass Sensors
• Cyan, Red, Black, White Colors Options
• Non-removable 8120 mAh battery
• Up to 600 hours for Stand-by
• Up to 10 hours for Talk time 

In terms of specs, it’s really obvious that Nokia will provide this 10-inch tablet with the best possible hardware specs on the market to date.

And that is correct because Nokia Lumia 2520 is equipped with some of the best hardware specs that you see today on the market.

As a matter of fact, it has a sharp 1080p resolution on its 10.1-inch display, a fast quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor (one of the best on the market today) along with its powerful Adreno 330 GPU, big 2GB of RAM, decent 6.7MP and 2MP cameras back and front with Carl Zeiss optics (the rear one) plus LED flash and autofocus and a huge 8120mAh battery inside.

Not to mention, microSD card for up to 64GB to accompany its 32GB internal storage, 4G LTE connectivity, Microsoft Windows RT out of the box and a couple of other standard features of tablet like Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, HDMI port, Java, NFC and many other more, with the exception of FM Radio – which is not a huge disappointment given that most users don’t listen to radio by using tablet.


It’s too bad that Nokia doesn’t use 2.5K display on this tablet, just like many of its rivals that already adopt this super highest-resolution screen.

But even so, the 1080p resolution on the 10.1-inch display of Nokia Lumia 2520 still looks more than sharp and crisp.

As a matter of fact, it’s perfect for doing any media-consumption tasks like watching HD movies, browsing the web, reading contents like books or magazines, editing documents, checking out photo album or even playing games.

The screen still looks really sharp on this tablet and this type of display also won’t squeeze a lot of power from its processor - compared to 2.5k display -, making its battery life last longer even in heavy use.


Similar just like Microsoft Windows RT tablet – with its Windows RT platform -, the UI of Nokia Lumia 2520 will also look similar with that Microsoft’s tablet.

As a matter of fact, given their same OS – not to mention Microsoft’s huge involvement on this tablet -, all the features on Surface RT basically can be found on this Nokia’s tablet, especially since Microsoft is the current owner of Nokia.

I think the experience of using this tablet is far better than the experience of using either Nokia Lumia 1520 or Nokia Lumia 1320 because these two 6-inch Nokia Lumia tablets both come with the same Windows Phone 8 OS, not Windows RT.

So there will be much richer customizations found on Nokia Lumia 2520, which cannot be found on its 6-inch siblings – not to mention its features.

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As far as the performance goes, Nokia Lumia 2520 is powered by a quad-core processor supplied by Qualcomm with the clock speed of 2.2GHz and it is the flagship model of Qualcomm’s last year portfolio.

Yup, that’s right – the Snapdragon 800 processor. It’s accompanied by 2GB of RAM and of course, Adreno 330 GPU, which already comes packed on Snapdragon 800.

So as the results, this tablet definitely is capable to perform fast and smooth with no lag whatsoever.

Moreover, this tablet only comes with Windows RT OS – which is really light-weight compared to the full-fledged Windows 8.1 OS -, so this tablet can execute any basic and even heavy tasks in buttery smooth performance without any meaningful problem at all.

And that’s the thing that can be expected from a device with a powerful chipset on the market to date.

Not to mention, it’s also great to see that Nokia Lumia 2520 is only sporting 1080p resolution (1920x1200 pixels) on its 10.1-inch display, meaning that this tablet won’t squeeze a lot of power from its processor to execute all the pixels on its display, making its battery last longer even for heavy usage.

Meanwhile, as for playing games, something that i didn’t expect from this tablet is actually its gaming performance.

I know that Snapdragon 800 processor is a really powerful processor and it’s still the flagship model of Qualcomm’s latest mobile chipset series this year (of course with Snapdragon 801/805 being the newer flagship models from this company).

So basically, with this type of processor, along with its Adreno 330 GPU and especially 2GB of RAM, this tablet will scream in gaming performance.

However, the thing that keeps bugging me with the gaming capability of this tablet is actually the app ecosystem or app catalog of Windows RT – the operating system of Nokia Lumia 2520.

As you might know (or not), Windows RT is definitely not as popular as Android or iOS, especially in terms of market share and app catalog.

Even though Microsoft has granted many popular apps and games to this OS – which they consider as high-quality apps -, there is still a lot of popular apps and games on Android and iOS that haven’t been ported to Windows RT, making it harder for its users to find their favorite apps on this OS.

But the good news is, despite not having such a huge app catalog just like Android OS or iOS,there are still many popular games that you see today on Android and iOS which can be found easily on this Windows RT and of course, can be played perfectly on Nokia Lumia 2520 – given its powerful high-grade specs.

If you love Asphalt 8: Airborne, you got it.

With Nokia Lumia 2520, you can play this awesome arcade racing game in buttery smooth performance and even with the highest graphics setting (as i’ve already seen on video reviews on YouTube).

I don’t know about other popular games that can be found on this Windows RT, but i believe the latest popular games like Modern Combat 4 and 5, GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City, NOVA 3, Real Racing 3 or FIFA 2014 can all be found and played perfectly on this tablet, not to mention, in full graphics.

Overall, Nokia Lumia 2520 can still be considered as a great gaming tablet.

In fact, put its lack of app catalog aside, this 10-inch tablet is probably one of the best gaming tablets on the market right now.

• It handles all the games (even the most graphically demanding games) smoothly and in full graphics,
• it has great touch response,
• it has great long battery life (given its light-weight OS, huge battery and less-power-hungry processor and display)
• and pretty much everything about its gaming performance is just great.

Well, of course, if you decide to buy this tablet, you must also be willing to accept that fact that many of your favorite apps and games that you’ve come to love on your iOS or Android devices, cannot be found on the Windows RT of this Nokia Lumia 2520.

But you can still find the other alternatives on Windows RT MarketPlace or app market.



On the sector of battery life, Nokia Lumia 2520 is powered by a huge 8120mAh power battery.

This battery capacity actually kind of reminds me with the same battery capacity of iPad Air.

And they both also run on a simple and light-weight UI. So if iPad Air proved to have such a great and long-lasting battery, then you can definitely expect the same thing on this Nokia’s tablet.

According to GSMarena, Nokia Lumia 2520 is able to survive in about 10 hours of talk time (and i assume multimedia use as well) and a staggering 600 hours of stand by – which is really insane for a 10-inch tablet.

So for doing any basic tasks like watching HD or full HD movies, browsing the web or even playing some games randomly – all in combined screen on/off usage -, Nokia Lumia 2520 is definitely capable to deliver you an all-day-long battery life or even more than 1 day.

All thanks to its light-weight UI and OS, less-power-hungry processor and display.

Of course, this can be achieved only on a full charge of 100%.

However, if you’re a type of power user and gonna use this device solely for doing some heavy tasks intensively with resting the screen at all – like watching HD movies in marathon or playing games in the row -, then its battery life will drop drastically to just around 6 to 8 hours – or probably more.

And this is already considered as great for a media-consumption tablet.

So if you’re looking for a great media-consumption device, then you’re on the right track if you're planning to buy this Nokia Lumia 2520 because not only does it have great and powerful performance, but this tablet also has great and long lasting battery life, not to mention, sharp display and amazing cameras – given Nokia’s years experience on camera departments of its previous devices.


So my final impression of this 10-inc tablet is, i think it’s just really easy to recommend Nokia Lumia 2520 to you especially if you’re only looking for a decent media-consumption and even productivity tablet – thanks to its productivity-related features that Microsoft has provided on Windows RT.

Not only is this tablet great as a media and productivity tablet, Nokia Lumia 2520 is also amazing as a gaming tablet.

Thanks to its Snapdragon 800 processor, accompanied with 2GB of RAM and a beast Adreno 330 GPU, this tablet is just more than capable to handle even the most graphically demanding games on the market to date – like Modern Combat 4 and 5, NOVA 3, GTA San Andreas, GTA Vice City, Real Racing 3, FIFA 2014 and many more.

The other strongest point found on Nokia Lumia 2520 is definitely its cameras.

On the back, you’ll find the 6.7MP camera equipped with Carl Zeiss optics and autofocus and it’s able to take 1080p videos which absolutely will look great – given Nokia’s years of experience of mobile camera development like Pureview and many more.

Meanwhile, on the front, there is also the 2MP camera that can be really handy for doing selfies or video calls, and it’s capable to take 720p videos.

So there’s no single doubt that Nokia Lumia 2520 is more than superior on this camera department, even on par with iPad Air and Samsung’s flagship tablets, or maybe much greater then its 2 rivals.

However, there is still one thing that probably will hold back this tablet from being the perfect 10-inch tablet.

And that is its app catalog and ecosystem.

As you might know already, Windows RT on this tablet is not as popular as Android and iOS, and it’s still left behind by these 2 rivals in terms of app catalog and market share.

This Windows RT may already have many popular apps and games like Modern Combat 4 and 5, Asphalt 8: Airborne, GTA San Andreas and many more, but there are still many of your favorite apps on Android and iOS that cannot be found on Windows RT.

Therefore, if you decide to buy this Nokia’s tablet, you must be willing to accept the fact that there are many of your favorite apps that you cannot find for this tablet, thus forcing you to find the alternatives for them.

However, apart from that lack of app catalog, Nokia Lumia 2520 is still a decent quality tablet.

It’s made by Nokia and it runs on Microsoft’s light-weight but reliable OS. And you’ll make no mistake if you decide to buy this tablet.

It’s still a great 10-inch tablet and in fact, one of the best 10-inch tablets on the market right now, although iPad Air, Sony Xperia Z/Z2 and Samsung GALAXY Tab S/Tab Pro/Note 10.1 are still the definite choices on today’s tablet market.

Anyway, to end this review, i’m gonna try to answer some of questions i’ve already asked previously above:
Does Nokia Lumia 2520 have what it takes to be a good gaming tablet?

Yes, definitely – thanks to the Snapdragon 800 processor, 2GB of RAM and Adreno 330 GPU inside this tablet, Nokia Lumia 2520 absolutely has what it takes to be a great gaming tablet.

In fact, i’ve already seen this tablet perform really smooth when playing the latest graphics intense games like Asphalt 8: Airborne and GTA San Andreas, both even in full highest graphics setting.

Is this tablet still relevant to be positioned alongside other devices on today’s tablet market?

Yes – given its high-class hardware specs and it’s made by Nokia/Microsoft, then YES – there’s no single doubt that Nokia Lumia 2520 will stack up against its 10-inch rivals on today’s tablet market.

It’s even on par with Microsoft Surface RT tablet – especially given their similar platform.

Is it worth it to buy this tablet?

Yes – despite lacking in app catalog and ecosystem, plus market share, Nokia Lumia 2520 is still a worth buying tablet.

It has sharp display, a powerful processor (the best on the market), huge RAM, huge battery capacity (8120mAh just like on iPad Air), sharp cameras along with its Carl Zeiss optics, smooth experience on light-weight UI and pretty much everything on this tablet is simply great.

However, i have to remind you again that, if you decide to buy this tablet, there are probably many of your favorite apps that are still not available on Windows RT.

But the good news is, as the ecosystem and app catalog keeps growing bigger, many new games like Asphalt 8 and GTA San Andreas have been available on this platform.

So i believe it’s just a matter of time before you finally see your favorite Android or iOS apps get ported to this Windows RT in the near future.

Have any question? Leave your comment here!