LG confirms Android tablet for Q4 2010 launch, Froyo for Optimus Z
Now this is jolly good news. LG, which already has a Windows 7 tablet in the works, is gearing up to service those with a hankering for some Android in their slate computers as well. Clearly unwilling to fall behind its fierce rival Samsung, LG has just announced that it'll bringing out its own Google-centric tablet before the end of 2010. Indications are that it'll be different (presumably better) than current offerings on the market, but alas there's nary a peep about what that might mean on the spec sheet. In other machine-translated news, the Korean company is also planning a new version of its SU950 handset, aka the Optimus Z, which will come preloaded with Android 2.2. Current owners of the phone need not despair either, as Froyo upgrades are planned for them by the fourth quarter as well. Hmm, all this Q4 and 2.2 action flying about, would be nice to think this tablet would benefit from the same treatment.


























Nice already Android 3.0 Devices are in the works
@panckakes Sounds SICK (In a good way!)!!!
@statickeith
Opposed to a bad way?
@panckakes Where did you get 3.0 out of this article?
@juanvaldez
I do not think he read the article.
@juanvaldez Yes I am wondering the same. They're speaking of Froyo, 2.2, not Gingerbread. I love this news of a potential legitimate and probably good spec'd Android Tablet coming out too, but jeesh, don't get ahead of yourself.
@panckakes
Read the article, you moron.
@OCJP I believe the Samsung tablet has been in the works longer and will be out sooner. The main thing LG has going for itself is that they don't put in much work to cover Android up with proprietary software or a complicated UI. The fact that we don't have specs on this might be good because perhaps they will try to one-up Samsung and anyone else that pushes anything out with 2.2 within 3 months.
In the end, I see Samsung as a company that has a greater ability to spend on R&D and get both cheaper components & higher-end components thanks to their memory and mobile flat-panel divisions. Still, if they want LG can still out spec them on the internals though.
@panckakes
It's going to be a very nice Christmas present
@arboreal snowman I do not think he even read the title
@Revolutionary he read the article,he was just laughing at the fact that these other companies are even bothering to make products with such old software when google has already confirmed in ANOTHER article that it will have android 3.0 on the nexus and maybe another new device by q4.
Long story short: nexus remains the only android phone unless your either really stupid or like to rot and use custom vanilla roms
@marxman You're speaking for another person, first of all. Second, "Android 3.0 Devices" is not implying the same thing you took from it, it means manufacturers are already developing these devices, meaning that this is more than the N1 and possibly even excludes the N1 as that device isn't in the development stage (phone would be being tested with 3.0 is a better term to use to avoid ambiguity, IMHO). Lastly, they didn't state that they would have this out after 3.0 and really no device has ever been that quick to the punch on launching with the most current OS...tablets are notorious for actually being very old, let's just be glad this is coming with 2.2 and that seems to be the current trend.
@juanvaldez
Do you write small print for crooked comanies?Slow down.
@panckakes : Wow, another company promises to build a tablet. Let me hold my breath. :)
Google, please make your own 9 inch tablet with Flash and USB ports and it will be awesome.
I hope Android 3.0 will eat souls
@Eastwood for Prez
Oh it will eat souls alright...and Apples!
@sandaboy
No, I think we will eat them instead.
I've already eaten the Donut, Eclair and Froyo.
Next up, in my menu, Gingerbread!
@sandaboy It would shT Apple.
@Masterdebated thats the advantage of producing your own software and hardware to work together. then you know there will be an update available when it comes out and you know it will work. Thats why Nexus one will have 3.0 before other android compatible devices because google made both. just as when there is an update for all of apples mobile devices it will go to all of them.
thats one problem with android. you have to wait for an update to be compatible for your device while everyone else has the newest update. and by the time you get your update there's already a new update for the other devices.
strangely you will always be one update behind the others.
thats why Nexus one and even the iPhone, iTouch, and now iPad are always current and step ahead.
WANT ANDROID TABLET NOW
I guess I will have to sell my Dell streak then LOL.
But I guess 7" is to big for my pockets. So I guess I will have to keep it for the full term of its contract LOL...
Go on Dell bring out a update to 2.2 or 3......
@atc9000 Having had much time to play with a Dell Streak (in a store), one thing becomes obvious: Alan Kay was wrong to state that 10" is the optimum size for an electronic 'pad'. (A major influence behind the sexy but impractical iPad.) The display on the Streak is the perfect size. Large enough to read an eBook on comfortably (unlike the eye straining iPhone 2, 3 or even 4) and small enough to slip into a front or jacket pocket.
If the Streak could operate with a stylus and had a built in USB and HDMI port, it would be perfect. LG? 5" please too. Oh, and put the 3.5mm audio out jack on the top, not the side.
@Oflife I, too, was Jonesing for a 5" streak for a while, but it got pushed back just a bit too long. I agree, 5" and thin is a great size to have as an all-in-one. Still, that size is too big for some, and after that, as you get smaller for a smartphone then a bigger device becomes a better niche filler.
So, if you have an iPhone a 7-12" iPad is a better secondary device than a 5", but if you have a 5" streak then a 7-10" tab is less beneficial. Personally, I love my 4" device, when I heard about the Streak I wanted a 5" but now I'll be getting something hopefully 10-12" to compliment it when I see something that suits my tastes (no rush though).
@juanvaldez I had the Sony x10i. And tested the streak and within 24 hours of using the streak. I became the owner of one. As I saw how much faster it was over the x10i, and the extra 1" does help too.
I wanted ipad due to missing the apps and games i had on my iphone 3gs, but no one would do them on contract unlike the Dell. And its hard to pay just £100 under what my 1998 406 cost to get the 32gb model. As I would have to buy it cash lol
@atc9000 Agree on the subsidy, and it's a good point. I bought the Galaxy S thinking it's the fastest thing besides the N1, but with more capable hardware, plus when I convinced myself that I was going Galaxy S the N1 wasn't announced in South Korea. Then they announced an unlocked N1 and I really, really had to think about it, but it was the 4.0" plus SAMOLED that kept me sold in the end.
I don't mind the unlocked thing here in Korea, because for unlocked devices there is so many plan options and they are cheaper if you bring your own phone. You don't need data, or you can really skimp out on minutes (0 minutes & 0 free texts are possible) and go heavy on a data package (though no "unlimited" options exist, but they do have free tethering). But, for a tablet only, I would love to see a middle ground, where they subsidize the tablet with a data-only package and give 200-300 off a device for a contract that would bring in 600-1000+ in bi-annual data fees.
@Oflife
I think maybe the sweet spot is a 7 inch screen if the bezel is small enough and the device is light enough. Basically small enough to comfortably hold in one hand for a reasonable period of time while still having a screen large enough to justify it's use over a modern phone.
The iPad is an impressive device, but I think it is too big and heavy. If you most of the time have to prop it on a table or lap to use it comfortably then why not have a keyboard?
And the world will see what a tablet that can play flash is like.
@arboreal snowman
So we shall see.
@arboreal snowman
I don't think you want to compare Flash games on the Android slab to iOS Games on iPad.
LOL!!!
The problem with current tablets is that the bezels on them are huge. There has to be a way for a user to easily handle a tablet without having such a wide bezel on the interface. But yeah, there may be issues with the components of the device that necessitate the need for large bezels, but I'm sure a designer/engineer can come up with something that works and has aesthetics to it.
@bloozie You won't see much smaller bezels than you see now. With a touch screen, you need some dead area around the screen so you can hold it without registering touch.
@SuperNa7uraL I don't agree with the OP, but if the market does then I think that a software fix will come in the future. If more than a certain amount of your screen is being touched then your hands wont actually affect the touch-input, seems feasible, however the main purpose of eliminating the bezel is for aesthetics and the main time it'd be useful would be along with a dock/kickstand for hands-free reading or movie watching...if I'm not missing something big, which I probably am, I don't see the point.
We will get used to this design as it's a function over form situation, I originally found the iPad bezel design ugly, but it quickly made logical sense and I accepted it.
@SuperNa7uraL I know that that's what the bezels are for, but what if a designer designed a tablet so that there wouldn't such a huge bezel for that dead area. Perhaps have a only one side of a tablet with a bezel? Actually, nevermind... I'll just go and run through some ideation and figure out a design myself.
Now we just need it to be a good tablet. Well, Android is certainly a capable OS, so it's up to you, LG.
What if it sucks? Android 3.0 is nowhere near to being released, and no one knows what it will look like. And if Android 3.0 isn't ready by the end of this year, which is probable, you know they'll just release it with 2.2, and that will surely suck.
@Stanley "What if it sucks?" ...then people won't buy it...
Damn! Doesn't LG make Apple's IPS panels? If they made this high res (ie. Retina Display), this could be some serious competition.
@simantic I don't think we know who makes the displays on the iPhone 4, if you have a link please provide. Apple uses both LG & Samsung to manufacture their iPad IPS displays.
@juanvaldez Samsung said that their SAMOLED displays are better than the iPhone 4's IPS, so Samsung can't be the manufacturer. I don't think it's been confirmed, but it seems like LG would be a likely candidate for the manufacturer of the iPhone 4's displays.
@einhanderkiller "Samsung said that their SAMOLED displays are better than the iPhone 4's IPS" By that logic, Samsung doesn't make AMOLEDs, lcds or any other tech that is lower than their SAMOLED. Additionally, they are just marketing what is their highest margin product, would you rather sell a smartphone that you can profit $100+/unit or an iPhone IPS display where you can profit less than half of that?
Marketing speak, especially if/when Apple depends on you for a subcomponent is meaningless (I'm not saying that they do need/use Samsung for this, I'm just saying that if Apple uses Samsung, Samsung will still market it's product above the competition and can say SAMOLED>IPS even though we put out the best IPS in the world...it's just business).
Android tablet, or wait it out for a WebOS tablet. Decisions, decisions...
@llamaiguana
I'm waiting for the webOS tablet myself.
Everyone wants to be apple lol
@BallastatuzX
Everybody that Apple contracts out to for their parts wants to cut out the middleman is how your post should read.
Is that the prototype in the image with the post? If so it doesn't look like it'll be a large slate based on the size of the headphone jack sticking out. Or power adapter eitherway doesn't look that large.
YAAAAAAAAAAAAAWWWWNNNN!
Given that the Android OS is free and the form factors for the tablets can be had for almost nothing you can see the problem. A glut of Android crap cannibalizing profit margins.
@pspitts While this is true, this is not a problem (for us).
Hmmm, an Android tablet, a WinMo tablet, a MeeGo tablet and an iPad. Looks like the mobile wars are going to be fought on the tablet-side of things, too. This is going to be interesting.
@Sippeecup A Win 7 tablet, rather.