The specs are top of the line, with 128 GB of storage, 8 GB of RAM, and a 7,760 mah battery with fast charging via USB-C. If yours doesn’t come updated already, it’ll come with a paper reminder to update to the latest software version. I tried to use it without updating first and wasn’t able to sign into my pre-existing Leia accounts in the various apps, so perhaps that’s one of the things the update fixes. But, of course, the main attraction is the 10 glorious inches of glasses-free 3D screen. The pre-installed gallery app includes some of the same 3D samples from the Red Hydrogen One, but it also has many new ones. One of the new methods available from Leia for creating 3D videos involves taking a 2D video of either sideways panning movement or a stationary video of a rotating object. After these videos are duplicated and one of them slightly displaced, you effectively have a different angle for each eye and a resulting 3D video. The gallery has multiple examples of these, and some are truly stunning. You can also easily make your own using Leia’s software. The resolution of the screen is lower when displaying 3D because multiple angles have to be shown using the same amount of pixels. If you see text when in 3D mode this is apparent, but seeing as most 3D images and videos don’t have text, this isn’t a huge issue. There is also the ability to use artificial intelligence to convert stills and video from both local files and YouTube into 3D. While it of course isn’t nearly as good as a Hollywood conversion, it is much better than most automated conversions as it can detect and separate objects giving a sense of real depth despite periodic errors.
Sound
One thing you’ll notice right away when watching a video is that the sound is amazing. They could’ve thought that since they were focused on 3D, they could go cheap on the speakers, but thankfully they didn’t. The Red Hydrogen One was also good in this area, having big speakers on the sides for great spatial audio, and the Leia is even better with rich bass and 3D sound processed by Dolby Atmos. Included is a clip from Pixar’s Coco, but you could also rip your own 3D Blu-rays to side by side format to watch on the tablet.
Screen
One thing that is over-hyped in the marketing is the “holographic” aspect, which isn’t truly accurate. From the standpoint of the user, Leia screens aren’t much different than a parallax barrier screen. They aren’t true holograms that can be smoothly viewed from any angle. There are still sweet spots and inverted depth if viewed from the wrong angle. The major difference is that Leia’s screen allows four different angles instead of just two so that slight movement is allowed. What’s great is that the player gives you the option to instantly switch between 4V (four view) and traditional stereo 3D (ST). There are several reasons why both serve a purpose. If an image or video was created in 4V, such as the aforementioned rotational videos, or an image taken with four distinct angles, then 4V is rightfully the only option. Most 3D content has two views, however. When viewing this in ST, the native 3D imagery is shown, but in 4V, a depth map is generated on the fly and then used to convert into additional views. This can be a good thing for 3D videos with production errors, such as excessive parallax or inconsistencies between the left and right images, which will typically be fixed in 4V. However, this conversion can also introduce errors into otherwise perfect 3D images, so in most cases, ST is the ideal format for standard 3D content. Choices are good, though, and thankfully the choice is always there if there is an issue to choose whichever looks best.
Apps Included
Several other new apps are included, such as Leia Frame, which lets you use the device as a 3D picture frame with various options, and a Dicom viewer for medical professionals to view x-rays and other medical images stereoscopically. Another app with more widespread appeal is Leia Viewer which lets you look at computer models in 3D, but also adjust their parallax, texture, and lighting while zooming in and exploring them. The app is integrated with SketchFab, letting you browse their huge library of models featuring everything from characters to buildings and scenes. Mozaik is an educational app that’s fun for all ages and let’s you zoom in and explore historic city scapes and rooms in 3D.
Leia Stream, Leia Tube and Leia Flix
There are many more apps to be found in Leia’s app store, not just for productivity but also for games of all types, such as casual, strategy, action, and more. Also, check out their own 3D “YouTube” called Leia Stream. I recommend two videos from there, in particular, one of them being the IMAX countdown logo and the other being LG’s demo reel with flower petals, which is absolutely mind-blowing in glasses-free 3D. The Leia Tube app let’s you use the “share” function in other apps like YouTube to stream SBS videos in 3D or 2D videos converted to 3D. Finally, their latest streaming app Leia Flix is a means to rent many major Hollywood 3D movies at low prices.
Camera
When it comes to the Lume Pad’s camera, things have taken a step back. While the Red Hydrogen One lets you adjust resolution, frame rate, and even bit rate, the Lume Pad allows none of those things. It films roughly the same specs of full HD at 30 frames per second (with a slightly taller aspect ratio). While the ability to preview your shot in 3D has been added along with the ability to lock the problematic auto-focus (which still works clumsily), all in all the camera is bare-bones, but it does the job and is essentially the same in specs as the Red Hydrogen One while having a slightly wider interaxial. Seen here are sample images taken with the Lume Pad, in half width side by side 3D format. © 2021 Jonathan Sabin
