So what is the difference between “lightfield” and regular lenticular and parallax barrier displays?
How does regular true 3D content (not pseudo 3D conversions) from other devices look in SBS or MPO format? Is there a decent viewer for it?
Does it have eye tracking like my toy 3DS has?
Can memory be expanded such as with SD cards?
Looking at it it looks like once the battery fails you have no way to replace it, just toss the (expensive) tablet into the trash. Is that correct or am I missing something? Do you have to break the screen to get to the battery? If so that is a TERRIBLE design!
I’m not with Leia but will try to quicly reply, hopefully correctly enough
Q: So what is the difference between “lightfield” and regular lenticular and parallax barrier displays?
R: As relevant difference, if you rotate the device it will be still 3D; physical concept is completely different but result somehow similar (but creating up to 4 views in horizontal and 4 in vertical)
Q: How does regular true 3D content (not pseudo 3D conversions) from other devices look in SBS or MPO format? Is there a decent viewer for it?
R: the embedded Leiaplayer plays natively SBS, MPO and 4V. Excellent, not just decent.
Q:Does it have eye tracking like my toy 3DS has?
R: As hardware yes, but current software is not yet exploiting it
Q:Can memory be expanded such as with SD cards?
R: yes but there is no slot (usb c only). Preferred external connection is via wifi and here @jakedowns has developed also a player to play 3D content via Jellyfin.
Q: Looking at it it looks like once the battery fails you have no way to replace it, just toss the (expensive) tablet into the trash. Is that correct or am I missing something? Do you have to break the screen to get to the battery? If so that is a TERRIBLE design!
R: currently, all devices I know have battery embedded, that should be accessed by the support service, and Lumepad is the same. It is a pity indeed but apparently necessary for some reason (maybe space, maybe safety knowing what happens if anything goes wrong with a battery…) Battery failure would require help from Leia, but sure it will not mean to put in the trash knowing Leia amazing support.
If the battery has issues while under warranty, then we will replace it for free. If there’s an issue outside of the warranty period, we offer a battery replacement service as well. Though you can of course try to source and replace the battery yourself, that’s not supported by Leia and will void your warranty and the ability to have us service the device for you.
Ok no memory card slot. Why? That makes no sense, no good reason honestly. I would pay the extra dollar or two that it would cost extra. It would be a big hassle to have to find wifi then wait an hour to download my own movie etc I wanted to watch. Also I am not always near wifi. It is much easier to just quickly load the file from the SD card. Having a USB dongle flopping around is also far from ideal. It is a tablet, a BIG one, you mean they couldn’t fit a memory card slot in? Come on.
Ok so everyone has non replaceable batteries so that makes this OK? It almost (almost) is passable with phones because people replace them frequently. This is a niche device that you may keep for some years. Batteries degrade over time too not just use, the battery WILL eventually fail. If the company no longer supports the device or ceases business then yes toss it into the trash. Best case is that they are still around supporting it but then you have the hassle of shipping back and forth, maybe having the unit scratched/damaged in the process and of course paying over $100 for a $12 battery. I have an older Samsung tablet and it has a removable back and is very thin. There really is little excuse.
I know companies love to imitate Apple, I wish they would stop. Unfortunately they also emulate their anti-consumer ideas too. Just because Apple does something doesn’t mean it is best and is best for all cases.
Too bad but I will pass on this. It seemed close but planned obsolescence and lack of memory expansion is a deal breaker.
Well Ok but the hassle of shipping back and forth, possible damage during replacement, waiting, and high cost is a poor solution to replace a simple battery that eventually WILL fail, and hopefully it is even possible some years from now. These devices and support for them comes and goes. It doesn’t look like it is even possible to replace the battery without breaking the screen. Everything with these devices are all adhesive bonded together.
I see only disadvantages. These is really no good reason for it and I have seem tablets with removable backs in the past before Apple convinced everyone that it is not needed. Oh well I will stick with my Freevi 3D pad for now (yes that has a tool removable back, and SD card slot).
Sorry that Lume Pad isn’t the right fit for you. Just to give you some additional context, except for the biggest companies in the world (Samsung, Google, etc.) all smart devices are built on an a pre-existing ODM platform, which has core designs like MicroSD card slots and replaceable batteries already locked in to the design. This is why you see effectively all tablets sold today lack user-replaceable batteries.
We chose an ODM platform that was right for our first generation device which helped us keep costs down for the end user. Making changes like adding a MicroSD card slot would have increased costs significantly (not simply the $2 for the component alone) because it would have required choosing a different, more expensive ODM platform. That said, we’ve heard the desire from users so that will be a consideration we make for choosing ODM platforms for future products.
And just to assuage your concerns, we will neither damage your tablet in shipping nor charge $100 or more for the battery replacement service. I think if either of those things were to happen you’d be right to be annoyed
Of course I accept your opinion, and I would have preferred SD card slot (it was my only criticism to the tablet in my review) and having easy battery replacement. My understanding about battery design is that it is not always so easy, since even a completely packed and glued system may have advantages, not only in terms of aesthetics; for example, Red Hydrogen One (really a nightmare to disassemble, all packed and glued) is not certified as water resistant, but I have seen an user that had his H1 in an icy pond, 1 meter deep, for more than a minute, for an accident, but after recovering it was still working… By the way, at the current price (I’m seeing in Amazon.com 275 euros) I think it is an amazing tablet, no doubt (this is my personal opinion of course). Even if it had not such a nice 3D ecosystem, would be among best tablets
For a device that is focused on media expandable memory is almost a requirement in my opinion. Video files and images are big, and any internal memory is going to be inadequate over time. It is too bad that such a simple feature is so costly.
As for the battery replacement you will need to spend at least $15 in shipping each way, wait, cover the cost of the battery, around another $20, then pay for labor. I can easily see a $100 total payout for the ordeal, as well as the hassle.
As for replaceable battery being in the design I don’t know why. It is just a case design thing not electronics. You just have to make a back cover that can be popped off and not all glued together and put the battery in a place that can be accessed without pulling the screen and circuitry apart. The battery can have the usual wired white connector that can be unplugged. It wouldn’t need to be a fancy hot swappable one but something that someone could do in a few minutes without destroying the device trying. It has all been done before, it is nothing new or revolutionary. Most tablets and phones used to do it before Apple so a few minutes of research could see how it was done (lots of teardown videos on the net). As it is now we would need to hope that this tablet was still supported in a few years and Leia was still around doing the service. If not, the tablet would be unuseable and not serviceable. It looks like the only way into it is to pull the screen off. Most likely it would break on the attempt from a user. Not ideal for a niche item like a 3D tablet. It is not like new ones come every year like cellphones where they expect you to buy a new one every year or two.
