OptimusPad
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LG makes Optimus Pad LTE official, 8.9-inch IPS tablet coming first to South Korea
You've already seen this little guy in the wild, but LG has gone ahead and made its first LTE tablet very official -- ladies and gentlemen, meet the Optimus Pad LTE. The 9.3mm thin slate packs a 1.5GHz dual-core Qualcomm CPU and an 8.9-inch 1280 x 768 IPS display, along with an 8 megapixel camera on the rear and a 2 megapixel option up front. Users can expect an SD card slot that supports modules up to 32GB, and there's also HDMI connectivity and DLNA certification for good measure. It's powered by a 6,800mAh battery, but out of the gate, it'll ship with Android 3.2 -- no word on when the latest Pad hopes to grab a bite of Ice Cream Sandwich. The Optimus Pad LTE's scheduled to arrive first in LG's home territory of South Korea, but for those interested in a more complete rundown, be sure to check the PR after the break.
LG Optimus Pad coming to Rogers May 17th
It's already made its rounds of the European continent, and now LG's Optimus Pad seems poised to make its North American retail debut via Rogers in Canada. A helpful tipster sent us the above screenshot that reveals Rogers will be the exclusive career of the Honeycomb tablet (known as the G-Slate in the US), with a $700 starting price. With a data plan, the price ranges from $450 for a three-year contract to $650 on a month-to-month contract. Users seeking a one-year deal will shell out $600, while a two-year contract comes with a $530 asking price. The 8.9-inch slab should land up north May 17th, so plan your life accordingly. [Thanks, Anon]
T-Mobile G-Slate and Sidekick 4G now on sale, Android overload imminent
That delectable G-Slate we just reviewed is today shaking off the cobwebs from its long journey westward and is making itself available for purchase directly through T-Mobile. The price is still a daunting $530 with a two-year contract and there's a suggested retail price of $750, though we're not seeing any option to obtain it that way. Then again, why would you want to, it's a 4G tablet designed to ride T-Mobile's HSPA+ airwaves anyhow. In more budget-conscious news, the Sidekick 4G is also making its retail debut today, at $99 on contract, bringing all the goods of a Galaxy S handset, combined with a QWERTY slider keyboard and a tricked-out Android UI. Hit the links to learn more about both, though don't blame us if you end up doing damage to your bank balance in the process. Update: Fear not, there is indeed a fine-print option to purchase the tablet off-contract if you really want to spend $750. [Thanks, Charlie]
LG's 3D-shooting Optimus Pad nabs March 31st retail date in Japan as T-Mobile fiddles
Japan's NTT DOCOMO just announced a March 31st retail offering of LG's Optimus Pad. The Honeycomb tablet listed as model L-06C is the same 8.9-inch 1280 x 768 pixel slab known as the G-Slate 'round T-Mobile subscribers. Besides its 1GHz dual-core Tegra 2 processor and internationally compatible 3G data and GPS, the Optimus Pad's most noteworthy features are the stereoscopic rear-facing video cameras capable of 1080p 3D capture which can viewed directly on the L-06C with a pair of passive glasses. Unfortunately, NTT DOCOMO is mum on pricing. Remember, although T-Mobile originally hedged with a spring launch (recently rumored for April 20th), LG told us that it'd be arriving on US soil in March. So... T-Mobile, anything you'd like to add before Thursday?
LG Optimus Pad listed on Amazon.de for a slightly less crazy €899
Shortly after our first hands-on encounter with LG's Optimus Pad, we came across a press release from the company announcing the price for its 8.9-inch Android Honeycomb tablet in Germany: €999 ($1,380). We rubbed our eyes and pinched our cheeks, but we weren't dreaming -- that's LG's recommended retail price, alright. Now Amazon has listed its pre-order page for the same slinky slate, though it's sagely opted to chop €100 off and offer it up at €899. We still don't know who exactly will be jumping at this opportunity, even with 32GB of onboard storage, a dual-core CPU and a dual-camera array on the back allowing for 3D video recording, when equally or more compelling products are about to hit the market at lower price points. At least shipping's free. Update: And just like that, Amazon's listing is gone. Did we just alert them to LG's RRP or something?
Motorola Xoom vs. Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 vs. LG G-Slate -- battle of the Tegra 2 Honeycomb tablets
Hello, Moto -- no wait, Samsung... or is it LG? Three of the world's biggest smartphone makers have leapt at the opportunity to serve up Google's brand new Honeycomb build of Android, however their selection of menu items looks to be somewhat lacking in diversity. Motorola's Xoom matches Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 in both screen size and resolution (1280 x 800), while LG's Optimus Pad / G-Slate offers only marginally smaller measurements with an 8.9-inch display spanning 1280 x 768. More than that, all three tablets run the bone-stock Honeycomb UI and are built around NVIDIA's 1GHz Tegra 2 system-on-chip, leaving little room for differentiation on the basis of user experience or internal performance (LG would have you believe its 3D camcorder is a big advantage for its slate, but we're not so sure). Most choices between the three, then, will come to things like brand loyalty, ergonomics and pure, basic aesthetic appeal. To help you judge the latter of those three points, we've prepared an exhaustive barrage of side-by-side photos below -- we expect you to view every last one of 'em... at least twice. %Gallery-116882% %Gallery-116881% %Gallery-116879%
T-Mobile G-Slate hands-on: yep, it's an LG Optimus Pad
In case there was any lingering doubt in your mind, we can now definitely confirm -- having just played with it -- that the G-Slate that'll be going on sale shortly from T-Mobile in the States is a dead ringer for the Optimus Pad officially unveiled here at MWC this week. We just posted our impressions on that bad boy a few minutes ago, so let's go over the few differences: first off, there's a tastefully small T-Mobile logo silkscreened toward one side of the back (and thankfully, no logo whatsoever on front). As software goes, the only customizations include a utility to activate the tablet on T-Mobile's network along with the standard My Device app that users of T-Mobile's other Android hardware will be familiar with; the carrier tells us it'll be making some additional announcements revolving around media and content partnerships closer to launch (tablets are good for reading and watching things, don't you know), but they don't have anything ready to unveil just yet. That's literally it -- other than those minor details, customers on both sides of the pond are going to be enjoying the same 3D-capturing Honeycomb action with this one. See the full gallery below! %Gallery-116540%
LG Optimus Pad priced at €999 in Germany
Yikes. We just finished getting our fingerprints all over LG's Optimus Pad (aka the G-Slate), and now we're thinking we should have been wearing white gloves while doing so. The tablet is coming in March to the US, but we didn't know a price. Now we do -- in Germany, at least, and get ready to wince: €999. That's about $1,350 if you do a straight conversion, out-classing even the Xoom's eye-wateringly high $1,199 pre-order price, which we're still holding out hope is a misprint. Maybe the golden goo in Honeycomb really is gold. Update: Roland wrote in to remind us that German prices include a 19 percent VAT, which would drop this price down to a mere $1,075 if you're into the conversion game. Well within pocket change territory. [Thanks, Enzo]
LG Optimus Pad first hands-on! (video)
We've just gotten back from playing around with LG's 8.9-inch, 3D-friendly Optimus Pad (known as the G-Slate in the US). This Android Honeycomb tablets sports a dual-core CPU inside and a dual-camera array outside, giving you both the optical and processing capabilities to produce 3D video. Its screen cannot actually play back glasses-free 3D, but if you really have to have that third dimension on the move, you'll be able to buy a set of glasses to recreate the effect. The Optimus Pad is slim, though we couldn't get a great feel for its ergonomics with all the wiring attached to it, has nicely curved corners, a matte black back cover that's pleasant to the touch and seemingly durable, and an extremely glossy screen up front. We likened the Pad to the Optimus 2X in an earlier post and it carries over a lot of industrial design elements from its smartphone sibling, including the metallic strip down the middle of its rear branded with a "with Google" logo. That's actually meaningful this time -- the Optimus 2X wasn't a stock Android installation, it was subjected to LG's (not entirely successful tweaks), however the Pad looks to be a straight Google Experience Device, in much the same vein as the Motorola Xoom and Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, its nearest and most direct competitors. That being said, the code on the device we handled still wasn't up to scratch on the software front, as evidenced by us managing to crash both the browser and Google Maps within a few minutes of putting down our first fingerprints on the tablet. The 3D camcorder also seems like a memory hog, we weren't able to get it started up initially because of the number of apps that were already open (which at the time was no more than four). Let's remain optimistic, though, this wasn't exactly a slate we snatched off a retail shelf and LG has time to optimize and spruce things up before shipping this thing out. We've got pictures for you below and a press release after the break. Video is incoming at the very fastest speed our wireless connection can carry it. Update: Video is now in, get to the ogling! %Gallery-116522%
LG G-Slate handled on video, looks like a giant Optimus 2X
The wonders you can find on YouTube, eh? LG's G-Slate (to be known as the Optimus Pad outside the US) has made yet another appearance on Google's video repository, this time giving us a whirl to show off its slender body and port and speaker arrangement. The integrated 3D cameras also get a demo, as you can see above, though we're much more excited to be able to churn out 1080p video with this device thanks to the Tegra 2 SOC it's built around. Its smartphone buddy the Optimus 2X delivered some very smooth output and we can't see any reason why the G-Slate should do any worse. Make your way past the break for all the intimate video action. [Thanks, KC]
LG Optimus Pad (aka G-Slate) coming to MWC 2011 with Honeycomb, Tegra 2 and 3D display
The T-Mobile G-Slate may be fully official now, but the rest of the world needs love too, and LG's just announced it intends to deliver said loving at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona a few days from now. The Optimus Pad, as this 8.9-inch tablet will be known outside the US, will offer Android Honeycomb as its OS, along with a 3D-capable 1280 x 768 display, dual-core Tegra 2 processor, a front-facing camera plus a pair of imagers on the back allowing for 3D picture-taking, 32GB of onboard storage, and a 6,400mAh battery. We should be getting to grips with the device at MWC in due course -- look for it to launch alongside or shortly after its US twin hits retail in March.
LG Pad coming in Q1 2011, with Android Honeycomb, dual-core Tegra 2, and 8.9-inch screen
Want some specificity about LG's super-duper tablet roadmap? Last we heard from the Korean tech giant, it was canning plans for a Froyo slate and looking forward to a more suitable iteration of Android, which a senior official at the company has today clarified to mean Honeycomb, describing it as the "tablet PC-version" of the OS. He's even gone beyond the call of PR duty in placing a release schedule for the 8.9-inch LG Pad in the first quarter of 2011, boasting that it'll come with a dual-core Tegra 2 chip inside. That sounds terribly delicious to us, as does the note that LG has worked hard to accommodate the needs and wants of European and North American consumers -- the release window is explicitly said to be for both domestic and overseas markets. Update: We've just heard back from LG on the matter and the company says it has nothing official to tell us. It'd seem whoever the cited official in this piece is, he was dishing details that LG doesn't want the world to know yet. LG's PR team has also pulled a tweet about this story, ostensibly to cover its tracks.
LG's Android-based Optimus Pad gets pictured, looking tablet-like
We've already heard LG talk up its forthcoming Optimus tablet, and it looks like we now have our first look at it. As you can see above in a slide apparently shown during LG's pre-IFA Dealer Days event, the Android-based tablet is now apparently known as the "Optimus Pad," and it's described as boasting "superior performance" and being "thinner and lighter than many competitors' tablets." Not much more than that at the moment, unfortunately, but here's hoping that "more information to come" teaser is a lead-up to a full announcement at IFA this week. [Thanks, Nicole]
