Nokia T20 review: Budget-friendly tablet for basics

A lot of people have been asking for recommendations for a tablet — mostly for kids — that doesn’t cost much. It seems that we’re moving beyond Samsung and Lenovo. Recently Realme launched a tablet and now Nokia has an option to add to the number of Android tablets you have to choose from. They call their tablet T20, I presume not after the cricket matches, and it’s a 10.4-inch device which is ‘regular’ tablet size. Though it’s meant more for landscape usage, it can be held in portrait for reading and browsing as well.

Premium aesthetic

The T20 is a well-built device that manages to look more expensive than it is. The back is smooth and aluminium in a deep blue-black ‘Ocean Blue’ colour, but it is a little slippery and holds on to finger smudges quite stubbornly. You really have to wipe the back vigorously to get rid of fingerprints. This is a light tablet and not difficult to hold. You can get a rugged case for it which also has a kick-stand separately and this should be a nice addition. Overall, the design is supposed to be Nordic and minimalistic.

The power button on this tablet is on top in quite a natural place. The volume button is on the right edge, high up and that too is fine whether you’re using it in portrait or landscape. Look around the edges and you’ll find the SIM tray which also takes a micro SD card and a 3.5mm jack on the absolute corner on the bottom where you could easily miss it.

The display is a 2K LCD with 1200x2000p. It’s pretty good for an LCD display but has a brightness that goes up to 400 nits. Adaptive brightness is quite avoidable and was quite a nuisance at setup. Also there are no deep customisations you can make with this display as the settings let you just adjust the basics. So it’s a perfectly usable but not remarkable display. You can use it to watch movies, but colours are slightly sub-par so don’t expect miracles.

This tablet has adequately loud stereo speakers but the sound tends towards being a little thin and reedy though it is clear.

Basic use

The T20 runs on Unisoc T610 with either 3GB or 4GB of RAM and 32GB or 64GB of storage. The bottom line is that it’s good for basic things to do on the tablet, but not specially powerful and not the device to push beyond a point. Heavy games or video editing aren’t what this tablet is meant for. The software, Android 11 that hasn’t been tampered with very much, is mercifully clean and not bursting with unwanted apps and notifications. In fact, those wanting the kids in the family to use it will be able to lean on Google’s Kids’ Space.

The battery on this tablet is particularly big at 8.200mAh and it has a pretty good battery life. You get 15W charging The battery should serve the user well when on long video calls or when on long sessions of movie watching.

The cameras are an 8MP on the rear and a 5MP and this should probably have been the other way around because tablets are needed more for their clarity during video calls than shooting photos. The cameras are entirely average and with the slightest drop in light are barely able to focus. Thankfully though the front camera is placed to be used when in landscape mode, which is how a user will be making video calls.

The T20 costs between ₹15,499 and ₹18,499 depending on the configuration you opt for. A case is of course extra. There’s no Nokia keyboard dedicated to this tablet so if you’re interested in buying it factor in the additional cost and spend some time looking for a Bluetooth keyboard that would work for you as without it, the tablet is just a light media consumption device. A keyboard should never be an after-thought because it will be the primary way of interacting with a tablet that’s put to any serious use such as attending and participating in classes or even doing a light bit of work such as answering emails.