Le Pan TC1020 Tablet Review

Le Pan TC1020 Tablet Review

Introduction

As new technology allows components to get faster and smaller, we see the mobile market continue to expand. A phone today is twice as powerful as a PC from just a few years ago, and costs less too. At this year’s CES, virtually everything was focused on mobile, whether it be tablets, phones, smart watches, etc. Tablet makers are capitalizing on this market growth and putting out extremely powerful systems with specs that are approaching those of laptops.

Today we are taking a look at Le Pan’s entry in to the high-end tablet game, the TC1020. With a Tegra 4 quad-core processor, 2GB of RAM, a 9000 mAh battery, and the highest resolution (2560 x 1600) 10 inch IPS display available right now, you can tell right off the bat that this thing is no joke. Read on to see how well it performs and if it can stack up to the competition.

Features

• Fantastic Display – 10.1 inch IPS display with a resolution of 2560 x 1600
• Ultra Fast Speed – Nvidia Tegra 4 Cortex A15 quad-core processor at 1.8 GHz.
• Dual Cameras – 8MP rear camera with dual flash and a 1.2MP front camera.
• Large Storage – 16GB of built-in memory and expandable through Micro SD.

Specifications

Operation System	Google Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean
Processor	Tegra 4 (1.8 GHz, Quad-core)
Memory	2 GB
Storage	16 GB NAND Flash
Display	Panel – Capacitive Multi-touch LCD Screen Screen – 10.1″ (16:9), 2560 X 1600
Network	Wi-Fi – Yes, 802.11 b / g / n
Battery	Type – Rechargeable Lithium Battery Capacity – 9000 mAh Battery Life – 7 Hours
Positioning	GPS E-Compass
Sensors	E-Compass G-Sensor Gyro-Sensor ALS
Support Format	Audio – AMR / AAC / AAC+ / MP3 / WAV /PCM Video – MPEG4 / 3GPP / H.263/ H.264
I/O	Camera – 1.2MP Front Webcam ; 8.0MP Rear Camera Speaker – Yes, Internal Stereo Speaker Virtual Keypad – Yes, Standard Android Keypad Mic
Ports	Micro USB Port Headphone – Standard 3.5mm Headphone Jack Micro SD Card Slot – Support up to 32 GB
Accessories	Micro USB Cable Adapter, 5V/2A Quick Start Guide
Dimension	262 x 183.5 x 8.9 mm
Weight	610g

Packaging

Our TC1020 came in a very plain box that definitely does not project the outward appearance you would expect from a high-end device such as this. Hopefully this just a placeholder since we received a very early model and the final design will be better.

Included with the tablet itself is just the barebones that you need. Le Pan gives you a wall charger, USB cable, and quick start guide. A couple things to note about the wall charger is that it has interchangeable plugs so you can use it around the world and it pumps out a whopping 2 amps, which  is good seeing as the TC1020’s battery is a massive 9000 mAh.

Closer Look

The overall design of the TC1020 is quite simple and elegant. The bezel around the display itself is a little large but not excessively so. The only feature on the front is the 1.2 MP front facing camera.

My initial impression after removing it from the box is that this a high quality unit. It has a solid feel to it and the overall fit and finish is quite good, with smooth transitions between bezel and glass. The only quality-related issue I had was that the power and volume buttons felt mushy and cheap, and the SD slot cover does not sit as flush as it should.

The top right corner is where most of the controls are. Your power button is along the top edge and volume buttons are on the right hand side.

The right side of the tablet holds the rest of the ports including micro-USB, headphone jack, and the micro SD slot.

Along the bottom we have a speaker on either side and at the top we have the rear facing 8 MP camera with dual flash.

General Use

The tablet currently has Jelly Bean 4.2.2, but Le Pan ensured us Kit Kat is soon to come.With a large, high-res display, a Tegra 4 quad core processor, and 2 GB of RAM, using the TC1020 is a joy. Web browsing, Youtube videos, movies, and games all load quickly and are butter smooth at all times.

The Display

The display is obviously the focal point of the TC1020. With a 10 inch IPS panel and an impressive resolution of 2560 x 1600, every webpage, photo, movie, and game looks absolutely stunning. The super high def resolution gives you twice as many pixels as a 1080p display, and shoves them in to a tiny 10 inch screen, which means you have extremely high pixel density, giving you incredibly crisp lines with no detectable pixelation.

The brightness is just fine in everything but direct sunlight where it can become a little difficult to view. This is pretty normal though, especially for a larger 10 inch display such as this. The viewing angle is essentially 180 degrees thanks to the IPS panel. I can detect no color distortion regardless of how far I tilt the screen, which is perfect for sharing movies with a friend.

Battery Life

Le Pan claims a battery life of about 7 hours which I feel is a little optimistic. With my general use consisting of about 50% web browsing, 20% videos, and 30% games I got about 6 hours on a full charge with auto brightness on. When those ratios changed to 20/10/70, it dropped to about 5 hours. I expect with just light web browsing and the occasional video you could get right around 7 hours though.

The only way Le Pan was able to keep a reasonable battery life with such as powerful display was to cram a massive 9000 mAh battery in the TC1020. The problem with such a large battery is that charging often takes quite a while. The included 2A wall charger helps pump some serious juice in to it, but it still generally required around 5 hours to go from dead to 100%. If you are actively using the tablet while you are charging it though you will only be barely over the maintenance level, essentially giving you a trickle charge.

Also, forget about trying to charge through a USB port on your computer, the tablet doesn’t seem to support it. I don’t know why this is or if it is a problem with just our sample, but it means that if you are low on charge you are going to be tethered to the wall which is a problem for a mobile device.

Benchmarks

Antutu Benchmark

We started our benchmarks with Antutu where the tablet pulled a respectable score of 17251. This puts it right in line with the Google Nexus 10 which has very similar specs to the TC1020. As you can see from the comparison on the left, the Le Pan’s CPU is clearly more powerful than the Nexus 10 while the Nexus pulls ahead in the graphics tests.

3DMark

Next up is 3DMark Ice Storm benchmark which was ran on the Extreme setting. The TC1020 mustered a score of 6340, averaging 30 fps in graphics test 1 and 23.4 in test 2. To put that in perspective the Nexus 10 only recieved a score of 5500 on the Extreme setting and only held 27 and 18 fps in the graphics tests.

Vellamo

Lastly I ran the Vellamo benchmark which tests the web browsing capabilities of the tablet in the HTML5 benchmark and the CPU performance in the Metal benchmark. In the HTML5 bench it scored a 1920, placing just below the Galaxy S4. In the Metal bench it pulled a 657, putting it just below the Nexus 7.

Final Thoughts

Pros:

• Incredible display
• Great performance
• High build quality
• Competitive price

Cons:

• Low battery life and long charging time

Overall, I found that the Le Pan TC1020 was a very impressive tablet. Between the stunning 2560×1600 10 inch IPS screen, powerful Tegra 4 quad-core processor, and just an overall sense of high build quality, this tablet really puts on display what Le Pan is capable of. The only major gripes I have with it is the relatively short battery life of 5-6 hours and the long charging time. However, with a very competitive price point of $400 I am willing to accept these issues.

Le Pan set out to create a super-premium, yet affordable tablet and they succeeded. You get the specs and features that the big players have at a lower cost. If you are in the market for a high-end tablet, you are going to want to definitely take a look at the TC1020 from Le Pan.