LG details the LG Optimus Pad tablet

LG finally took its time today to introduce the LG Optimus Pad, the European cousin to its G-Slate tablet, in a more detailed way, going through its quite intriguing features, one by one. Of course, we're already quite informed about the specifics of the device, however, it's always worthwhile to see a company official stand in front of you and go through the details.

It became clear that one of LG's main goals was to find the perfect balance between "work and play". The manufacturer has tried to achieve that by going for the pretty fine display size of 8.9 inches, positioning it right between the iPad's 9.7" and the Galaxy Tab's 7" screens. It claims that this size makes the tablet very comfortable for both two- and one-handed operation. The Optimus Pad will weigh 23 oz (654 grams); for comparison, the iPad weighs in at about 26 oz. Whether the device is really that comfortable to use as LG states, we'll check for ourselves in our hands-on coming a bit later!

In terms of raw power, the LG Optimus Pad will utilize NVIDIA's one and only Tegra 2 chipset, which fares quite decently, at least judging by our personal impressions with the Optimus 2X. What's more interesting in this device however is its ability to capture 3D content with the two 5MP sensors found on its back. Unfortunately, users won't be able to watch glasses-free 3D on the LG Optimus Pad's 8.9-inch screen. 3D video watching will be done by either using glasses (most probably anaglyph ones) on the tablet's screen, or by streaming the signal via HDMI 1.4 to a compatible 3D TV or monitor (again, for use with glasses). This shouldn't be considered much of a disappointment though, since being able to shoot our own 3D movies sounds exciting enough! Of course, courtesy of the NVIDIA processor inside, the Optimus Pad will also be able to shoot Full HD 1080p videos.

When it comes to software, LG has wisely chosen to stick with stock Android 3.0 Honeycomb (we've not yet seen any personalizations of this OS anyway), so we kind of know what to expect - a real tablet-optimized user experience. We hope that LG's promises for outstanding performance will be kept, so that we won't experience any hints of lag. Still, keep in mind this might not become clear with the preview units here at the event, since they will most probably not be very final.

Fortunately for all of us, the LG Optimus Pad will begin shipping inMarch. The company says it'll start shipping in "local" markets, so we guess this is the release time frame for Europe/Asia.

source: LG