Le Pan TC 970 9.7-Inch Multi-Touch LCD Google Android Tablet PC

 

 

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*WARNING*

Fairly long review ahead. With lots of technical gibberish.

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The Le Pan TC970 hasn't got many reviews here on Amazon.ca, and the only reason for that I think, is the fact that people are too busy enjoying it to come over and write a review. So I will, and I will provide a bit of background as well.

I've been working in computers (personal and industrial), for over 20 years. I jumped on the Android bandwagon only last year, when I got my HTC Desire, and I fell in love with it at first sight: Highly customizable in appearance, a lot of potential hardware-wise. The only difference is that back then, I paid over US$500 for my phone.

And I bought the Le Pan TC970 for less than CA$300 with shipping included. Go figure.

First, I'll address some of the issues that you will encounter on other reviews (and that didn't really help me much in deciding whether to buy this or not, to be honest).

*) Finger Smudges: Yes, they are annoying, and the screen gets pretty full of them rather easily. However, they don't affect visibility as they do on other (and smaller) devices. Thanks to the brilliance and clarity of the display, the fingerprints on the screen are only really bothersome when you turn the tablet off. If you don't care about that, cleaning it once a day with the provided pad should be enough.

*) Awesome display: Absolutely. Clarity and definition. For a tablet within its pricepoint (and many far beyond it), there is nothing that beats the display on the Le Pan. It's simply fantastic.

*) Dead pixels/ghost spots: I can only speak about mine, but I have 2 dead pixels, and to be quite honest, I don't really care. You might, but I don't. I don't use it for video editing or something of the sort, so maybe that's why I don't care. I don't have any ghost spots on mine, though.

Now, the nerdy stuff:

*) The processor is a Cortex A8 with a clock speed of 1GHz. It's really, really responsive. I've used it so far for video calling (I'll get to that later), and Netflix (also will get to that later), which are the most excruciating tasks that I'll be putting the tablet through, and it didn't even flinch, even with other stuff (like the Market and MercuryMSN), running in the background. Another good thing about the Cortex Processor is that it is not only powerful, but compatible with a LOT of important software.

*) Something (else) that's not said on the description, which I think is awesome, is that besides the 2GB MicroSD card included, the internal storage of the tablet is also 2GB (or thereabouts), so you have 4GB ready to use out of the box. Big plus for me, as with my HTC Desire, I'm constantly running out of space because the on-board storage is not even 1GB.

*) The tablet runs a pretty basic version of Android 2.2 (FroYo). This means you'll run into some annoyances if you want to do stuff like videocalls, because this device has a front facing camera, and supposedly, FroYo doesn't support it. Well, I'm able to use it, no problem. However, it's only after 2 full days of tinkering, looking for a CUSTOM version of Skype that would make it work.

Also, and following this same line, Netflix for Froyo here in Canada, with streaming, is not officially supported (as are many other applications, most of which have very good substitutes available in the market anyway). However, if you are a bit nerdy and have the patience for it, you can find the APK for Netflix that will allow you to watch movies on this (and many others) device.

I've had to contact Le Pan Customer Service already, because I wanted to do a Hard Reset on it after figuring out everything, so that I could only have the working versions installed. (you might not need to do this, it's up to you).

They replied in less than 12 hours, and not only did they provide full instructions on how to do a hard reset, but they also provided me with a link to download an updated build of the Operating System to upgrade my firmware.

As it stands right now, I'm running build 4431, still in FroYo, with Videocall capabilities (with front-facing camera) in Skype, and Netflix streaming like a dream.

It has been said that Le Pan will wait until the next major release of Android (set to drop sometime in the last quarter of this year), by the name of Ice Cream Sandwich, for a complete upgrade on the Le Pan TC970. We'll have to wait and see.

Final Notes:

*) For a medium user, this tablet is MORE than powerful, it's well built, looks beautiful, it has plenty of storage, and it's affordable. However, you might need to be a bit nerdy to get stuff like videocalling and Netflix streaming to work, with lots of patience and (very careful) tinkering.

*) For nerdy users, this is even better. If you know your way around APKs, and don't mind spending a couple of days setting it up, you'll have a tremendously powerful device that looks, feels and works better than many of its rivals in higher price ranges, at less than CA$300.

I love mine, and I'm really, really glad I bought it. I'll continue to use my desktop computer for major computing, but for surfing, emailing, and general entertainment, my Le Pan is my Go-To device, even with my HTC Desire still in my pocket.

Sorry the review is long, but it needed to be done, I think!

Cheers!

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Update: 18/12/2011

Still loving this tablet. Battery life is eternal, ADW makes it look fantastic. Still super responsive. The most major change since I first wrote the review is that Netflix is now natively supported, which is good, because I was a bit tired of looking for updated APKs. If you read about compatibility issues with the official Netflix app, as I did, don't pay much attention to them. The Le Pan runs Netflix like a dream on the app you get from the market.

The Skype situation is the one that most people will be worried about, and sadly, there still isn't (and I don't really know if there ever will be), an Android-market provided app that supports the camera on this tablet. However, my modded APK works fine still, so I can't complain.

I've also spoken to Le Pan technical support again, and they've told me that even though they thinking about a more solid Froyo build, they will not be upgrading to Gingerbread, Honeycomb or Ice Cream Sandwich.

Actually, Le Pan is already hinting (very heavily), that they are working on a new tablet that will run Honeycomb on a Tegra platform.

Overall, I am satisfied with this purchase. I only gave it three stars because after researching it for some time, I was under the distinct impression that the operating system would be upgraded. LePan support staff say: " This OS is not upgradable to anything beyond 2.2. Le Pan plans to release a new tablet with a new OS that will come out early next year." Also, do not waste your time downloading the Skype App from the Market. That version will not work. The tablet has been working well for the five weeks that I have been using it and I would highly recommend it if you are on a budget. I see that it is now selling for about $165. That is a real bargain. You won't be disappointed unless you want to use your tablet as a camera and a phone. It is excellent for browsing and e-mail.

I stumbled across this tablet when it was on the 'deal of the week'. I was in the market for a tablet/ereader and the price was RIGHT, so I decided to look into it but after much searching online for reviews, product information, videos, etc I found hardly anything. The few reviews I found and comments on Amazon, Tiger direct, were all positive. I decided to buy it anyways and was really worried because of the low price.
I received it from Amazon and put it to work immediately. Let me just say, this is AMAZING!

The screen quality is stellar (really crisp, great color quality, vivid)
capacitive, multi-touch screen (not one of those beyond terrible/obsolete Resistive garbage screens)
The build quality feels premium
The power button is fine (apparently a problem for lots of people??)
Full android market access (not a slimmed down version, or carrier regulated)
1.58GB internal storage readily available for apps
Battery life is much better than expected
Pure Google tablet, no skins, and no interference from Le Pan

Runs on Android 2.2, presumably up-gradable to Ice Cream sandwich in Q4, but I'm not holding my breath, and really I don't care, froyo does all you need, flash and the ability to move apps to SD is all I need.
I never write reviews for products, but I wanted to be one more for people like me that are considering buying but searching for reviews first.
You won't be disappointed with this tablet.
Even at the current price it's a huge steal! buy a 16gb microsd card for 15$ and you've just saved $300 off a comparable tablet.
It goes to show you that you don't need to spend $500 for a premium tablet
Congrats to Le Pan, this is a quality tablet! Really happy I dove in and decided to purchase!!
I'd highly recommend this for anyone in the market for an android tablet.

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› See all 263 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

 

1.0 out of 5 stars Le Pan TC 970 - best to avoid this little tablet. It will only cause you heartache
I REALLY wanted to love my Le Pan TC 970. When I saw it was the Amazon.ca deal of the week at the amazing price of $179.00 CAD I leaped at the chance to grab one. Lisez davantage

Published 4 days ago by Lloyd H. Wasser

1.0 out of 5 stars It was amazing.... for 3 days.
I opened this and was absolutely stunned at what I got for the price I did.

I haven't been able to put this thing down since I've boughten it. Lisez davantage

Published 8 days ago by krystalized

1.0 out of 5 stars Great..for the 24 hours it Worked
I really wanted a tablet and didn't want to pay a lot of money. I did my research and finally decided on this one.

I loved it! Lisez davantage

Published 13 days ago by Onanon Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Très bien!
C'est ma première tablette et je dois dire que j'en suis très satisfait!

Bon fonctionnement du système Wi-Fi, l'appareil répond très... Lisez davantage

Published 21 days ago by Serge

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, but not out of this world great.
After reading many of the reviews, I was under the impression that this was a diamond in the rough type of find, so perhaps I set my expectations too high. Lisez davantage

Published 27 days ago by Nicole

5.0 out of 5 stars Works great
For me this tablet does everything I want. It has a good battery life, is well constructed and most of all it is very inexpensive compared to all the others out there.

Published 29 days ago by Terry

1.0 out of 5 stars poor quality
Usually i don't do review, but the poor quality really motivated me to write this. In short, after less than 5 month light use (less than 8 hrs per week), it refused to charge, it... Lisez davantage

Published 29 days ago by SZ1999

1.0 out of 5 stars LE PAN (LE TRASH)
The machine's touch screen doesn't work. The machine charges and is able to turn on but the touch screen doesn't work. Customer service doesn't exist. Lisez davantage

Published 1 month ago by ruy

5.0 out of 5 stars Great product, questions about warranty service
So far so good, the product works flawlessly, touch wood.

Be sure to update the firmware as directed from their website first thing, if you don't know how, get a techie... Lisez davantage

Published 1 month ago by PurplePeopleEater

1.0 out of 5 stars aweful warranty repair
my tablet went in for warranty repair. it has been at lepan for over two months and they cant give me a date as to when it will be fixed. Lisez davantage

Published 1 month ago by wiz

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