As part of the launch promotion those buying from the John Lewis branch in Oxford Street (London) can opt to have their device engraved for free. The engraving service is available from 11am-6pm for the rest of the week (Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday).
John Lewis staff and trainers will be on hand in the high street stores to demonstrate the device, including Nokia's exclusive software (HERE Maps, Nokia Music, Video Director, Nokia StoryTeller, and Dragons Adventure.
Harry Boughton, junior buyer for tablets and telecoms at John Lewis, said:
"We're very excited to announce the launch of the Nokia Lumia 2520 tablet exclusive to John Lewis. We have seen a continuing demand for tablets, selling one every 15 seconds, and we think the addition of this tablet to our range will appeal to customers looking to do more than surf the web. It comes with the Microsoft Windows 8 operating system and Microsoft Office is pre-installed, making it ideal for customers who use Excel, Word, PowerPoint or Outlook. It is also 4G enabled so customers can use super-fast mobile broadband to always stay connected."
John Lewis have a three month exclusivity period on UK consumer sales of the Lumia 2520, after which it is expected to made available through a number of UK operators. A limited number of devices will also be available, in the intervening time period, through business to business channels.
The UK pricing is competitive against similarly specified tablets (e.g. Apple iPad Air 4G 32GB at £579, Microsoft Surface 2 WiFi 32GB at £359), but some eyebrows may be raised when compared to the US pricing of $499 (£305 / £366 inc VAT), which also currently includes the Nokia Power Keyboard accessory for free (as part of a launch promotion).