Nokia Lumia 2520 has 'clear advantage' over Microsoft's Surface 2, says Qualcomm

Nokia announced the Lumia 2520 Windows RT 8.1 tablet at its conference in Abu Dhabi earlier this month. Microsoft had already unveiled the Surface 2, but which tablet is more appealing? According to Qualcomm executives, the Nokia RT tablet is the one to invest in, with a "clear advantage" over the Surface 2 with regards to the speed of the processor, graphics power and wireless connectivity.

Here's what Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm's application processors, told CNET:

"The performance on [the 2520] is brilliant. It's really at the next level. It's not even really a contest [compared to Surface 2] ... In every area, it's much bigger, faster, and lower power."

Now, of course Talluri is going to big up the Lumia 2520, especially since it's sporting a Qualcomm CPU. Nvidia is behind the processing power in the Surface 2 (just like its first generation of Surface tablets). But no one can ignore the specification sheet.

Both chips are more than capable of running Windows RT 8.1, there's no questioning that. However, in terms of processing power, the Lumia 2520 is slightly ahead of the Surface 2. You've got the Snapdragon 800 2.2GHz chip inside the Nokia tablet, while Microsoft lags behind slightly with the Tegra 4 1.7GHz - this isn't a deal breaker, but it's a significant difference in speed.

Whether you're a Surface fan, or an avid Nokia follower, you'll not be disappointed. Both quad-core processors are able to load up and run both apps and games from the Windows Store. Microsoft's choice of CPU is also an improvement over the original Surface RT, which wasn't sluggish by any means.

That said, Nokia's packing an improved Qualcomm chip, but how much of a factor the CPU will play in consumer decision making between the two is yet to be seen. Does the speed of both processors affect your decision as to which Windows RT 8.1 tablet you'll purchase? Side note, remember that Qualcomm is the company behind one of the most bizarre keynote presentations:

Source: CNET