First look at Nokia's Lumia 1520 and the Lumia 2520

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

The future of Windows Phone rests in Nokia's Lumia line. As Finland's finest continues to refine its Windows Phone hardware and features, more models have been making waves in the market. All this, while other Windows Phone hardware partners have fallen from the wayside.

The dozen or so OEMs that graced the Microsoft stage when Windows Phone debuted, have left the party, with HTC and Samsung as the last two OEMs to release notable handsets, but that was in 2012. 

While not yet available in Canada, the Lumia 1520 and the Lumia 2520 round out Nokia's pre-acquisition family of devices and here are my impressions after having had a chance to try both devices out.

Lumia 1520

With a 6-inch display, the Lumia 1520 is the largest Windows Phone handset in the market today and is another supersized device that's meant to sit between a smartphone and a proper tablet.

It looks and feels very much like a blown up Lumia 920. The larger screen, a 1920 x 1080 full HD panel with the super-sensitive touch feature for gloved use, enables more tiles and apps as well as an improved viewing experience.

Like most 6-inch smartphones, it is clunky to hold in one hand and feels a little silly to hold up to one's ear but I found it to be fairly light and well built even if I wasn't attracted to the glossy and potentially slippery finish of the case.

The 1520 was fast and responsive but two handed use is a must, specially when navigating back and forth through apps.

The 1520 borrows a page from the Lumia 1020's playbook by including a 20 megapixel Pureview camera complete with Zeiss optics, dual LED flash and an industry first four microphones for recording audio and ensuring what Nokia calls 'distortion-free, immersive directional stereo recording, but also highly improved sound clarity for the sound you want to capture."

This feature set backed by a quad-core 2.2GHz processor, 2GB of RAM and 32GB of storage make the Lumia 1520 an interesting addition to the growing phablet market and one that's certain to find fans in the corporate and consumer markets. Reporters and journalists who are invested in SkyDrive and Office 365 will find the Lumia 1520 a compelling option, specially those coming from earlier Windows Phones since it is better suited to content gathering and that 20 megapixel camera could be a game changer for anyone who needs to get good pictures on-the-go.

The Lumia 2520

The Lumia 2520 looks and feels very much like a large Lumia device. It is a 10.1-inch  Windows RT tablet that looks like a giant Lumia smartphone. It is thinner and lighter than the Microsoft Surface or Surface 2. It's bright red colour and playful look and feel will appeal to consumers.

The Surface and Lumia 2520 run the same OS and are powered by similar ARM processors, but they couldn't be any more different. The Lumia 2520 can use super fast LTE which makes it a great mobile option, specially when paired with an optional keyboard case.

The Lumia 2520 looks and  feels unlike any tablet we've seen before and while it has a distinct Nokia flavour to it, it brings a fresh look to and feel to the tablet space.

The polycarbonate is slick and glossy (although the black variant seems to be using a matte finish), the 2.2GHz quad-core processor is identical to what is on the Lumia 1520 offers. The 2520 feels good all around and carrying it in one hand is doable.

The most interesting thing about the Lumia 2520 is that it competes directly with the Microsoft Surface and Surface 2, it features LTE connectivity which those devices strangely do not but I'd have to spend more time with the Lumia 2520 in order to see if it is as good a mobile productivity device as the Surface plus the keyboard accessories.

Nokia has done the right thing by offering a variety of sizes for its Windows Phone and RT products. Unlike Samsung, which just offers a ton of screen sizes, Nokia has managed to differentiate each device with a unique feature in the camera or LTE connectivity department. I'm hoping we see the Lumia 1520 and 2520 in Canada soon.        

Comments

[Alberto]

Any updates on the availability of NOKIA 2520 in Canada, specifically Toronto?
Any idea of the Cell Cos. that will offer it and its approximate price.
Thank you,