Le Pan TC 970 9.7-Inch Multi-Touch LCD Google Android Tablet PC
- Android 2.2, 1 GHz procesing speed
- 512 MB of DDR2 RAM
- High-Definition Display 9.7″ high definition touch screen, 1024X768 XVGA TFT LCD,supports 720P HD video playback
- Wi-Fi 802.11b/g, Front-facing 2-megapixel camera
- 1.6 pounds
This nice design with 9.7 inch 720 HD touch screen,Android Le Pan tablet keeps you connected and entertained everywhere you go! The touch screen Google Android comes with a built in webcam for video chat, Wifi, and numerous cable ports, including one micro SD slots which support up to 32GB,an audio jack,a connector to USB (for charging and USB drive), and It includes a built in GPS chip, which allows Le Pan tablet to be used as a GPS device. Maps can be purchased online and downloaded to the Le
List Price: $ 249.99
Price: $ 199.99
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A review for those new to tablets AND Android,
IMPORTANT UPDATE 11/30/2011: Please read B. Brinton’s Amazon review (can’t give the URL but it’s one of the two star reviews here) regarding inability to update to new operating system. I stand by my original review as to the quality of the tablet, but recommend that you check out Brinton’s review before actually buying.
Before I even start, I absolutely LOVE my Le Pan tablet. It’s a blast to use, has a lot of upside for the things I want to do with it, and has a definite “wow” factor with bystanders. Typical quotes are, “wow,” and “I want one” and “that is so cool!” This could be said about a lot of the better tablets (e.g., iPad) that have nice, high def, shiny screens showing video, but I appreciated the coveting looks (and I let people play with it extensively and had trouble getting it back a couple times).
I have never used a tablet (well, 10 minutes goofing with an iPad in the Apple Store a year ago) and have never used anything with the Android operating system.
A lot of my “cons” are probably pertinent to a lot of similar pieces of hardware, as well as shortcomings of the Android OS as it is currently implemented, rather than unique to the Le Pan.
I would NOT recommend this for someone looking for a turnkey, works perfectly out of the box solution. You will need either some experience, or a strong nerd compulsion (or a little of both). You’ll have to overcome quirks of the hardware and software.
First, the “bad.”
The power button sucks. After four days I STILL fumble with that sucker.
The fingerprints on the screen drive me nuts. I think it’s worse in a tablet with a large screen than on an Android or Iphone with smaller screens. I’m already carrying around a microfiber cleaning cloth. A definite hazard of this entire class of machine. You might want to invest in some wet-dry LCD screen wipes for when you want to get it in pristine condition before you show off in front of the boss (e.g., Audiovox Surface SURF402 Wet/Dry Screen Wipes). Think of it as detailing your tablet.
Saying the speakers are “tinny” might be generous and there is absolutely no recognizable bass component. I’m ready to get a bluetooth headphone for this immediately.
Can’t run Hulu to watch TV (yet) – the hardware is probably perfectly capable, but Hulu sees “Android mobile device” and just serves up an annoying message. However YouTube (included app) looks and works better than I have ever seen it.
It’s heavier than I thought, but not that bad. It’s about the same weight as an iPad. I found that holding it in one hand I would cramp up after a couple of minutes. It is light enough to cradle, and propping it up on an ample paunch while in bed was ok. Sitting down with tablet on lap, no problem.
Next, the “weird.”
The onboard camera only shoots pictures in a mirror mode (i.e., titles of books are reversed like in a mirror). In using Skype I found that for this version of Android, video calling is not supported. Otherwise, Skype works quite nicely on this platform.
In certain network environments (I’m on a University network half the time) you can easily purchase apps via the included Android Market, but downloading wouldn’t commence – probably some security feature of our network. Using my home wifi connection (DSL via AT&T) I had no problems downloading and installing Skype and some other navigation based stuff.
The included browser can’t handle Ebsco databases (if that means anything to you). The browser handles most websites well, and the large screen means you don’t need to access the specially configured mobile sites, which are still a lot cleaner. I ran this on our library catalog and most of our databases with no problem, but the Ebsco ones didn’t allow any search entry. Weird. (NOTE ADDED June 2, 2011: Just installed the Opera Mobile Web Browser ver. 11 from the Apps for Android store on Amazon and the Ebsco databases work just fine).
Finally, the “good.”
The screen is awesome (except in daylight where it is useless). Use this indoors, not at the beach.
The response time is lightning fast. Apps come up fast and operate fast. Scrolling, screen switching, etc. is ultra-smooth.
In the right network environment, getting, installing, and using apps is trivial.
The integration with web based Google apps is seamless. I didn’t even notice my calendar and contacts were downloaded and synchronized (and continue to be synchronized). A very cool thing I discovered this morning was that when I was out of wifi range (on my bus and train commute) I could still do my Gmail offline. The Gmail app downloads and caches your email so you can use it offline, including replying to messages…
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|***WARNING*** – WON’T BE ABLE TO UPGRADE TO NEW ANDROID OS (ICS – 4.0),
I got this tablet back in September and was initially fairly impressed. It looked pretty good, seemed to have a good build quality, had fairly fluid graphics and ran on Android. Plus, even though it was inexpensive, its memory was expandable to 32GB through the micro SD. I talked with their customer service folks before buying, and they explained that although the camera wouldn’t actually work with video chat for the time-being, when the new Android OS (4.0) came out it would be able to [Note: I've since been corrected that there is other software and other ways of doing video chat]. As I started to use it I realized that Android 2.2 (aka froyo) is really mainly designed for cell-phones rather than tablets. It doesn’t use the screen space very well, doesn’t support split pane gmail, and is incompatible with a number of apps you’d would hope to be able to use on your tablet (although I managed to find others that still did most of what I was looking for, it was a pain–particularly given that it was a new product). I also noticed that although my wifi connection was fairly stable at home, it was extremely unstable with my school’s enterprise wifi network–a big deal for me since I had bought it mainly for school use. Still, I figured that as soon as I would be able to upgrade to Android 4.0 (ice cream sandwich), the rest of its functionality would be restored.
Google released the source code for Android 4.0 (ICS) 2 days ago (Monday 11/14/11). I called Le Pan about the wifi issue today and confirmed that it was probably because of the old OS. I asked when I’d be able to upgrade the OS, and they said that their engineering folks were now saying it would be impossible to upgrade, but that they’d be coming out with a new tablet next year that would support it. I would be stuck with my current OS. I explained how limited the functionality was and how I wouldn’t have bought it if they hadn’t reassured me that it would soon have the fully functioning OS and asked for a refund. They said they couldn’t offer a refund unless it was broken in some way (as opposed to intrinsically broken). Fortunately, after talking with the folks at Amazon they are refunding it (way to pull through, Amazon!).
I realize that for some of you this wouldn’t be a deal-breaker and am giving it two-stars because it does work for some things. But for those hoping for a cheaper (slightly slower) iPad alternative, I’d say this isn’t the android you’re looking for. Hopefully someone will benefit from this warning.
[Note: I realize that I could root it and install a slightly newer OS, but that would void the warranty, and it would ultimately be a dead-end--it would never get to 4.0 or beyond.]
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|Amazing for such a low priced tablet!,
The Le Pan TC970 is an excellent Android tablet, I am honestly thrilled with it. It’s extremely responsive, never once did I have an issue with it slowing down no matter how many other things were going on. I’m thoroughly enjoying the TC970, and I think you will as well.
Aesthetically the TC970 is very pleasing and stylish looking, it’s also thin and lightweight. The build quality is excellent, it’s a solidly made tablet on par with those much more expensive.
I’ve had the pleasure of testing both the Motorola Xoom and the Samsung Galaxy Tab, and I have to say I like the Le Pan TC970 much better overall. The TC970 doesn’t have a Tegra in it but from what I’ve seen it doesn’t need it, it’s more than capable a handling anything you can throw at it in terms of apps, games or videos or anything else. I was truly surprised that the 1Ghz CPU could handle everything I threw at it.
The most surprising or actually amazing thing is the battery life, no joke here I got over eight hours use while doing a mixture of playing games and browsing the web. I even left I on just sitting and overnight and still had battery left to use it.
The TC970 isn’t without its problems though, but they’re small and not deal breakers. I don’t care for the Apple-like USB connection at all, I would have rather seen a standard micro-USB or even mini-USB connector. The screen is very glossy causing reflections in the correct light and after a few hours of use you’ll find the accumulated fingerprints very annoying.
The built-in memory is rather small, yes you can put a larger microSD card in it but I would also like to see more built-in memory.
The build quality is excellent, but the back is rather slippery honestly, I would have liked it to be more rubberized of textured for a better grip.
The other small issue the limited video support, it can’t play basic WMV or Divx files.
Yes it’s running Android 2.2, some people might think that’s old and ask why not Gingerbread or Honeycomb. I thought the same thing so I asked them and they told me to expect an update last quarter of 2011 with Ice Cream Sandwich, they told me they decided to skip Gingerbread and Honeycomb and wait until the next major Android release.
The camera shows things mirrored or backwards, a major update is supposed to be released any day now to fix it. I got no real explanation as to why the camera was that way in the first place though.
The pros and cons are listed below and it might look like a lot of cons but they’re small, and not exactly bad things really.
Lastly I should mention the price, it’s very low for a tablet of this caliber and quality. It’s nice to see something this nice at a low price.
Pros:
+Amazing battery life
+Very responsive touch screen
+Does work in bright light
+Fast and responsive overall
+Low price compared to other tablets
+Simple to use
+Excellent design and construction
+Aesthetically pleasing
+Viewing from most any angle
Cons:
-Proprietary connector
-Screen attracts fingerprints
-Glossy screen
-Small built-in memory
-Back is rather slippery
-Can’t use in direct sunlight
-Limited video formats
-Camera is backwards
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