Another Thrive owner. Thrive versus my Le Pan so far. Video calls

[liv2scoot]

Nice machine. Not laid out as nice as my Le Pan. I think the display on the Le Pan is more vivid. I find that a little disturbing considering the huge price difference.

The Thrive is better built and the quality does shine through. Only been playing with it for a couple days so still a lot to learn about it.

Everyone is saying android 3.1 is far superior to 2.2 but I'm not feeling it yet.

No skype video on the Thrive which is a huge let down. None on the Le Pan either.

I might return the Thrive. It has some nice features and connectivity but I'm not sure its worth twice the price of my le pan.

 

[Spider]

Hi liv2scoot. Sounds to me like you should just box it up and return it. If I bought something new and felt the way you do about it, I wouldn't keep it. Especially if it cost twice what the old one did.

 

[liv2scoot]

Yes, you are right Spider. It is bit of a let down. I was so excited about getting the latest and greatest. The wife wants a 7 inch tablet for her purse and I cannot warrant buying three of these things.
I already have a collection of laptops and the wife is starting to lose her sense of humour over my computer obsession.

 

[timothyh]

It seems as though owners of Le Pan really like it. I'm not sold on a $500 tablet, but would like to have something well built and useful, and larger screen than what I own. I have a nook running 2.3 and like it, but would like to run Hbo-go. This is downloadable to the nook, but doesn't run. Also would like to have GPS. Have you heard of any updates to the Le Pan? Sharing of any information would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks much.

 

[liv2scoot]

I have heard a rumour they want to upgrade when "ice cream sandwich" comes available. Just a rumour so don't count on it. Not much happening at their website so I have doubts. They were supposed to upgrade the camera firmware.
At least, with the big names you know there will be some support.

 

[timothyh]

Thanks much

 

[Topman]

are they really naming it "ice cream sandwich" ?

 

[if10else01]

@ Liv2scoot

Try the new Skype download for your Le Pan, if that doesn't work... there are some "moonlight developers" that have a version that works to enable video conferencing on the Le Pan TC970. An internet search for Le Pan Tablet AND Skype should quickly find the mod I am talking about.

Yes us Le Pan lovers like our tablet. There are pros and cons, we didn't get everything, but for the price and the device's abilities, it is a great tablet and the manufacturer's did their homework on where to skimp and where to excel. The Thrive is a great tablet as well, but if I wanted to spend that much, I might just by a netbook or laptop. The tablet has it's conveniences and those features we look for in a tablet all come with the Le Pan. As liv2scoot said... It has some nice features and connectivity but I'm not sure its worth twice the price of my le pan.

 

[liv2scoot]

Thanks if10. I will look for that Skype download.

I ended up keeping the Thrive. Video and voice calls are acceptable on it.

The Le Pan makes a good ereader but has mostly been retired.

 

[FatNinjuh]

So, I did my homework on tablets this year for Christmas for my wife. Since I am unemployed and had a limited budget, I had to review just about every 10 inch tablet there was on the market. Based on the performances of the Thrive, ASUS, ACER, Samsung and Motorola, FOR THE MONEY the Le Pan blew away the competition. The touch response is the same as the others, it supports flash; even though the power button isn't recessed, it has a hold switch, so if you hit the power button, it doesn't sleep the machine; it's fast 1gz dual core processor, has all the features of Android 2.2; the interface isn't quite as sleek as 3.0, however functionality is the same; i purchased a 16gb microSD and WALA! I have a 16gb tablet. I have 3.0 on my dual core phone and this tablet is just as fast and with the big screen better. Front facing camera is great for FRING, video chatting. It doesn't support 3g or 4g, however, my phone does and I can hotspot my cell and BAM! I have a 3g tablet! So, yes there are some features missing, however they knew exactly where to cut corners to keep costs down. I believe there are working on an Android 4.0 (ice cream sandwich) upgrade which makes sense as to why they have not put out at 3.0 upgrade. The Le Pan is absolutely amazing and my wife LOVES it. She wanted an iPad, but she loves this tablet. (We did Christmas early this year.) There is no reason to pay $400 for a thrive or ACER or ASUS, when you can have a machine that is just as good for HALF the price. Amazing job with this tablet. I can't wait for another in the series which I'll probably buy for myself.

 

[Tom T]

It's refreshing to see people that are happy with their tablet purchase decision.

Sent from my Transformer TF101 using Android Tablet Forum

 

[Calibre]

I just bought the toshoba thrive 10 inch 8 gig, pretty nice so,far, but want to know how to add mods or how to hack it, o would like to add a different theme to it so maybe it could look like windows 7...if it is possible, I am mew to this so dont know much about it

 

[liv2scoot]

I doubt very much Le Pan is going to update the ones we have bought. They have just released their new tablet with 3.2.
I do see a firmware update for ours but it looks like one has to jump through a few hoops to get it installed. I will do the update eventually to see if it improves video, sound, and microphone. Video calling is still the sh*ts on mine.

A couple of clicks updates the Thrive. The newest Skype works very well.

Le Pan is not a replacement for the Thrive but I have seen them on sale for $170 which makes them a bargain even for ebook reading. The Le Pan does have a tremendous battery and display.