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| The Hannspree Lumo is an Android tablet with a reflective LCD screen |
In a market saturated with ultra-high-refresh-rate OLED screens, one company is taking a surprising step back to go forward. Hannspree, a brand known for its monitors and TVs, has unveiled the Lumo, a 7.8-inch tablet that dares to ask: what if you could have the eye-friendly, paper-like readability of an e-reader with the full, unrestricted utility of an Android tablet?
The answer is a fascinating device that makes some smart trade-offs, targeting users who are tired of screen glare and eye strain, but aren't willing to leave the Android ecosystem.
The Star of the Show: A Reflective LCD Display
At the heart of the Hannspree Lumo’s unique proposition is its display technology. Instead of a traditional LCD with a constant backlight or an emissive OLED panel, Hannspree employs a reflective LCD.
This means the screen has no built-in backlight. Instead, like paper or the popular MiP displays found on devices like the Garmin Instinct 2, it uses ambient light to illuminate the content. The result is a vastly more comfortable reading experience under bright light, with significantly reduced glare and eye fatigue—a boon for bookworms, students, or anyone who spends hours reading on screens.
For use in the dark, Hannspree includes an optional front light that gently illuminates the screen from the sides, mimicking a reading lamp on a physical book.
The Necessary Trade-Offs
To achieve this reflective design, some compromises are made on pure specs. The 7.8-inch screen offers a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels, which is functional but not exceptionally sharp by modern premium tablet standards. The refresh rate is a standard 60Hz. Don’t expect buttery-smooth scrolling for gaming; this display is purpose-built for clarity and endurance, not high frame rates.
Another point of contention is the 3000mAh battery. While small by tablet standards, it's a direct consequence of forgoing a power-hungry backlight. Hannspree claims up to 6.5 hours of runtime with the front light at maximum, which is modest but understandable. The silver lining? This small battery makes the Lumo remarkably lightweight at just 8.82 ounces (250g), enhancing its portability and comfort for long reading sessions.
Interested in seeing it for yourself? You can check the latest price and availability for the Hannspree Lumo at Back to the Office UK.
Performance and Software: A Clean Android Experience
Under the hood, the Lumo is powered by the MediaTek Helio G99 chipset. This capable mid-range processor, with its blend of two Cortex-A76 performance cores and six Cortex-A55 efficiency cores clocked up to 2.2GHz, provides enough power for everyday tasks, web browsing, reading apps, and even some light gaming.
It runs a clean, open-source version of Android 14 with full support for Google Mobile Services. This means full access to the Google Play Store, your favorite apps like Kindle, Libby, Google Docs, and YouTube. The touchscreen also supports an optional pressure-sensitive stylus, making it a potential tool for note-taking and sketching.
For photography—a secondary concern on such a device—it packs a 5MP front-facing camera and an 8MP rear shooter.
Price, Availability, and Final Thoughts
The Hannspree Lumo is now available through select European retailers. You can find it at partners like Computeruniverse, and always check the official Hannspree product page for the most accurate and detailed specifications.
So, who is the Hannspree Lumo for? It’s a niche but compelling device. It’s perfect for the avid reader who also needs a lightweight, casual-use Android tablet without the aggressive glare and eye strain of conventional screens. It’s for the student who wants a durable, long-reading-session device for textbooks and notes. While its display specs and battery capacity won't win spec-sheet battles, its unique reflective screen technology offers a genuinely different and valuable user experience in a homogenized market.
Ready to experience a different kind of tablet? The Hannspree Lumo is available for purchase on Amazon as well.
