Nokia Debuts Lumia 2520 Tablet & Lumia 1520/1320 Phablet Smartphones

Nokia, a company that once dominated the mobile industry, has experienced a rapid slow-down of sales in the past few years. The truth is, Nokia’s recent devices have failed to compete with offerings from the likes of Samsung and Apple.

Nokia’s mobile department recently was bought out by software-giant, Microsoft. October 22^nd’s Nokia event held in Abu Dhabi marks the beginning of a potential fortifying relationship between the two. At the event, two “phablets” running Windows Phone and a tablet running Windows RT were announced.

The Lumia 2520 is a full-size Windows RT tablet. From a design standpoint, it represents a larger Lumia smartphone. The 2520 is available in red, white, cyan, and black and these colors really make the tablet “pop.” The tab features a full 1080p display on 10.1-inch panel. Performance is still something many question on a Windows RT device. Microsoft’s first crack at today’s tablet game with the Surface RT didn’t go so well. Application bugs and slow performance plagued the device, but Microsoft fixed up these issues in the Surface 2.

This same level of expertise is seen here with the 2520. There’s a 2.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 CPU running the show here and the device is far from feeling slow. Windows RT has many benefits like full access to desktop Office apps and Nokia takes advantage of RT by including what they call a Power Keyboard. It adds a keyboard and track pad, similar to what is seen with the Surface 2, but also includes some extra goodies. There are two USB ports and an extra reserve for battery life that should add five hours of juice, making for a total of sixteen hours with the keyboard and eleven without. The Lumia 2520 also features LTE connectivity as well as a 2MP front-facing camera and a 6.7MP rear-facing sensor. The device will be ready for consumers’ hands before the end this year for $400.

Two new Lumia smartphones were also announced. Except these aren’t your average Lumia phones. They’re “phablets” and they’re called the Lumia 1320 and the Lumia 1520.

The Lumia 1520 is the higher end smartphone here and features a 6-inch 1080p screen. The 1520 retains Nokia’s design philosophies, with a glossy and colorful polycarbonate case. Being a “phablet”, however, means the device is one behemoth of a cell phone. It’s 3.36 inches wide, 6.4 inches tall, 0.34 inches thin and weighs 7.37 ounces. Windows Phone has always felt fluid; even with lower end hardware, but jam specked specs should make for an even better user experience. The 1520 features a 2.3GHz Snapdragon 800 CPU paired with 2GB of RAM.

We’ve seen specs like this on Android phones, like the Galaxy Note 3, and they perform extremely well. Camera-wise the Lumia 1520 is rocking a 20-megapixel variant of Nokia’s PureView camera technology. It is basically a lower-resolution version of the 41-megapixel PureView senor on the Lumia 1020. It has optical image stabilization (OIS) and the awesome retainment of clarity while zooming. Instagram, a popular photo sharing application available for Android and iOS, is coming to Windows Phone in the coming weeks; so that’s a big plus for photo enthusiasts. The device should land before the end of the year and is going to go for around $749 unlocked. In the U.S., the device will be exclusive to AT&T. However, Verizon is expected to launch a variant of the 1520 known as the Lumia 929 this year.

The Lumia 1320 is the second jumbo-screened from Nokia. However, it’s a lower end device with the purpose of providing a big-screened smartphone experience at a price that won’t lighten your wallet too much. It suits up with a 720p display instead of a 1080p display and takes it down a notch to a dual-core Snapdragon 400 CPU. The 1320 also contains a scarce 1GB of RAM and drops the fancy PureView camera in exchange for a standard 5-megapixel shooter. The Lumia 1320 is going to be avalible in orange, yellow, black, and white. The device, like the 1520, is expected before the end of 2013 in U.S. and is only $339 unsubsidized.

These new products from Nokia are a step in the right direction for the company. The Lumia 2520 looks to compete with budget laptops and other tablets in its size range. The Lumia 1520 and Lumia 1320 look to join the “phablet” race and are the first Windows Phones to do so. Additionally, Microsoft and Nokia have added some software tweaks to enhance the Windows Phone experience on a larger, “phablet” display. The 1520 provides high-end specs and a flagship status while the 1320 proves you don’t have to break the bank for a good “phablet” experience.

Source: PC Magazine