Nokia Lumia 2520 Windows tablet (preview)

The Windows RT tablet space is heating up as Nokia prepares to enter the fray with its Lumia 2520 tablet. Well, "heating up" and "entering the fray" may be gross overreactions, but Nokia is now the sixth brand (including Microsoft) to bring out a Windows RT-based device. RT hasn't exactly been the success Microsoft hoped it would be, but with the introduction of yet another piece of hardware that runs the cut-down software, it might just find an audience for it.

The Nokia 2520 is a 10.1in tablet that looks a little similar to the Surface 2, but it's in no way the same. For starters, the Surface 2 has a 10.6in screen, and it runs an NVIDIA Tegra 4 processor with Tegra 4 GeForce graphics. The Nokia Lumia 2520, on the other hand, has a Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and Qualcomm Adreno 330 graphics. There is 2GB of RAM installed, and the storage capacity is 32GB.

The big deal about the Lumia tablet is that it's designed to buck the trend of tablets being used only in the morning and then again at night — and mainly at home. Nokia, in its keynote at the Abu Dhabi launch of this tablet, said that 80 per cent of tablets on the market simply aren't made to be highly mobile devices, mainly because they are Wi-Fi-only. To this end, Nokia has included a 4G LTE module (a Qualcomm 8974), which means the Lumia 2520 can be always connected to the Internet. With the inclusion of LTE, Nokia wants the Lumia 2520 to be an all-day computer, and this might just be possible if the battery life is good enough. It has an 8000 milliamp-hour battery, but we won't know how long it lasts until we do a full review.

Another big aspect of the Lumia 2520 (and one that will affect the battery life) is the screen. It's a Full HD (1920x1080) panel with IPS technology, but Nokia claims that it has been designed to be readable in all sorts of conditions — including outdoors in bright environments. To counter the sun, the screen has a brightness rating of 650 nits (that's peak brightness), and Nokia also claims that it has the lowest reflectivity of any tablet screen on the market. It's protected from scratches by Gorilla Glass 2.

Here are some more things that we know about the Nokia Lumia 2520:

• runs Windows RT 8.1
• has ZEISS optics and a 6.7-megapixel camera
• its battery can be charged to 80 per cent of capacity in one hour
• Nokia HERE Maps are integrated
• the tablet can be paired with the Nokia Power Keyboard, which has its own battery, a protective cover, and two USB 2.0 ports
• Microsoft Office and Outlook are pre-installed

The physical design of the tablet is also slightly curved towards the edges, rather than being squared off, which Nokia says makes it lighter and more comfortable to hold.

Despite running the cut-down version of Windows, we think it's an interesting device and look forward to testing it when it hits our shores — mainly because we're fans of Nokia hardware. At the moment there is no hint of pricing nor a release date.