LG, the other South Korean electronics giant, officially announced the 8.3-inch G Pad tablet over the weekend in Seoul. The unveiling comes after a series of hardware-related leaks earlier this month – and only days before the IFA trade show in Berlin. LG is hoping to steal some thunder from leading Android tablet maker (and domestic rival) Samsung with the “premium” G Pad – as well as the best-selling Apple iPad – but does it have what it takes to get noticed in a crowded tablet market?
“Complementing our G Series smartphones, the introduction of the LG G Pad 8.3 further strengthens LG’s premium lineup consisting of our most cutting-edge devices,” said Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of the LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company, in the gadget’s September 1 press release. “Our G Pad is just another example of LG delivering devices with the unique selling points consumers around the world will appreciate.”
The G Pad will sport a dazzling full-HD display – something that LG claims is an industry first for an 8-inch tablet. The G Pad’s “WUXGA” (Widescreen Ultra Extended Graphics Array) screen manages to pack 1920 x 1200 pixels with 273 pixels per inch.
LG’s press release stresses the point that the G Pad was designed to be ultraportable, with the 8.3-inch form factor being based on consumer feedback regarding the “optimum size” for a handheld tablet. According to Business Insider, the G Pad’s size falls between an iPad Mini and an iPad 2 – it’s half the weight of the iPad 2, but slightly heavier than the iPad Mini.
“While maintaining its portability, the LG G Pad 8.3 squeezes in a powerful 4600 mAh battery for long-lasting usage time – but is still as light as a newspaper at just 338g,”claimed the official press release.
Power for the G Pad comes from a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 CPU with 2GB of RAM. It will run Jelly Bean 4.2.2 out of the box and be available in black or white. As far as internal memory, only a 16GB option is available. Its lack of microSD expandability could become a deal breaker for some consumers.
The G Pad is equipped with a 5MP rear-facing shooter and a 1.3MP camera on the front. Exact dimensions are 216.8 x 126.5 x 8.3mm. In the software department, the thin new slate will offer some interesting new features.
“LG threw in a few unique software features, like Slide Aside (multitask by sliding an app off-screen with three fingers), QSlide (run three apps at once in one window) and KnockOn (tap twice on the display to turn it on or off),” said GizMag.
Business Insider added: “While users won't be able to accept calls on the G Pad, they'll be able to see calls and messages that come in to their phones and text back responses from the tablet [when using the QPair app].”
The G Pad will ship globally before the end of the year. LG didn’t provide pricing details, but that may become clear at the G Pad’s hands-on display during IFA on Wednesday.