Hands on with the TC979 Le Pan II
As I mentioned earlier 90% of what you do with a tablet is hands on. This includes interaction with the screen and various buttons and ports. So how does the Le Pan II fare in a hands on test? The answer is very good overall with a few areas that could be improved. Handling the Le Pan II is easy, it fits well in my hands, feels right, and looks good doing so. The back of the Le Pan II is an anodized brushed aluminum finish which looks nice but can be scratched. After a few weeks of using the Le Pan II the back has a few scratches even though I do keep it in a neoprene case. The included speakers on the Le Pan II are quite loud all things considered, though the sound is a bit tinny. Using a pair of good headphones like the Monster Turbines makes a big difference in watching a movie or playing games.
As for games here is one of the strong points of the Le Pan II as well as an area that could be improved. While the Adreno 220 provides plenty of power, the resolution and responsiveness of the screen and touch panel on the Le Pan II could be improved. They are not bad by any means but some applications lose track of my finger placement or the controls have to be clicked multiple times to respond. In all fairness this is likely an OS and game bug more than anything to do with the Le Pan II. I would however, like to have seen a higher resolution display to take advantage of the graphics power available.
Controls:
If there is a downside to the Le Pan II it would have to be the controls. The power button and volume buttons to be specific. I find myself often searching for the power button as well as the volume control. The difficulty is mostly due to the diminutive nature of these two controls which makes them hard to locate with your fingers. Both pairs of controls are nearly flush with the top edge and the same color. While this does make the device look good definitely makes both harder to use. I was going to include the SD card slot in this section as an additional feature that could use improvement but after some thought I really like the way it was done. The SD card slot is accessible only after opening a door on the top edge, then you may slide the card in. Unlike the Asus’ SD card slot which is immediately available on the outer edge of the device. On the plus side the open slot on the Asus makes it much easier to swap cards, while on the down side it also means its much easier to lose cards. The access door on the Le Pan II means that once the SD card is in place your chances of losing a card are virtually zero.
Moving along the Le Pan II is outfit with a single front facing camera which is great if you are doing self portraits or for skype two way video chat. If you want to take pictures of other people, places, or things though that is going to be a bit difficult. Considering the price tag of $399 many other tablets come with both front and rear cameras and this is an area in which the Le Pan II could be improved. In a bit of good news the Le Pan III has specs which show it will come with two cameras.
All in all the Le Pan II is still the tablet I pick up in the morning to work on and until the Le Pan III comes in I expect it to be my tablet of choice for a while.
Which SKU is this tablet and hdeolr? You should put the sku the description.Thanks for the reviews, man you are rocking all these reviews out! Keep up the great work.
I gave the LePan 1 to my husband as a gift Christmas 2011 and we all run to his tablet first. It is amazing. Never had any problem and believe me we had no problems. I would highly recommend this over any tablet, even Ipad. My friends have different Ipads, especially Ipad 3 and she complains all the time about overheating. One paticular feature I really love: email. I set up all emails and with just a click, I mean only one click I can swicth to different emails and check within a tenth of a second. It is really quick. We are constantly checking emails and websites quickly for business and we love it. I suggest you purchase one and if you have any doubts, just return. Believe me you wont ever return it. I am getting 2 this Christmas, which I am hoping that LaPan3 is released by then. Gotta go, check some emails. Have a great Holiday that are coming up. Blessing to all !!
Im sorry that it was not clear. What I said was Q2 or Q3 of 2012. I will have the Le Pan Rep clarify the date again and post here.
Thank you for clarifying the scheduled release date. I guess I’ll go ahead and get the LP II.Thank you for your review.
Was wondering if LP III release date has been solidified yet.
I’m hoping to get a tablet by the end of May for a trip. Do you think timing is too tight to wait for III since demand on introduction will be great?
Has anyone been successful in upgrading II to 4.0?
Lastly, availability of II also seems to be limited. Any suggestions on where to purchase?
Thanks for your guidance.
On your video you mentioned the scheduled release date for the Le Pan III, unfortunately is was a little confusing, it sounds as if you say “two-two-two-three of twenty twelve.” Can you clarify the date and if that date is still on? This way I’ll know whether to get the Le Pan II or hang on for the Le Pan III to be released. Thanks!
For reading technical PDF’s the Asus transformer would be my choice due to the 16:9 aspect ration and the elongated screen size. For reading documents you dont really need graphics or CPU power only a readable screen. For that matter the kindle, nook, or other e-reader would work just fine and probably provide better battery life.
I am looking for a tablet for: email, web browsing, showing pictures, and some basic games–sudoku, angry birds, etc. What would you suggest? Price is not the only factor, but it seems that under $250 should work.
Hi, If I were looking for a tablet primarily for reading a large number of technical PDFs all the time, would the Le Pan III be a better choice over Asus transformer?
We will share your comments with the makers of the Le Pan series and see what they have to say.
I have owned both the Le Pan I and II and can confirm they are both great tablets except:
The broken promise from Le Pan that the Le Pan I would be upgraded to a newer version of Android ( They claim it is not possible even though an independent group of developers are managing it)
The lack of a cable for the HDMI. (Not much point selling it as HDMI out and then making it impossible to connect to anything through lack of a cable)
The false claim that Le Pan II has not been updated to ICS yet because Google have not released the source code (To put it in the language of politics this seems to be an untruth)
Unfortunately it looks like Le Pan is moving so fast on their release schedule they are forgetting about their existing customers.