LG announced its first tablet equipped with LTE 4G capability, heading first to Korea. Running Android 3.2 on a dual-core, 1.5GHz processor, the Optimus Pad LTE has an 8.9-inch, 1280 x 720-pixel display, an SD slot, plus both eight- and two-megapixel cameras — and it's just 0.37 inches thick, says the company.

Like most of its Android-oriented competitors, LG finally succumbed to signing a Microsoft patent agreement covering Android and Chrome OS devices. (Reportedly, Pantech too will soon join LG, Samsung, HP, and others in Microsoft's patent Valhalla.) But LG — which is now number two in the U.S. smartphone market, according to ComScore — appears to be raking in enough cash to comfortably afford paying protection to Redmond.

Optimus Pad LTE
(Click to enlarge)

With LG's new Optimus Pad LTE, the company is again trying to re-create the success it's had with Android phones in the tablet market. Earlier models have included the 8.9-inch, European targeted LG Optimus Pad and the almost identical G-Slate, available on T-Mobile.

The Optimus Pad LTE stays with the 8.9-inch format, but boosts the processor and camera and adds 4G LTE cellular service. (Recent LG Android phones, including the Korean-bound Optimus LTE, as well as Verizon's LG Spectrum and Sprint's LG Viper, both announced at last week's CES show have also jumped on the LTE bandwagon.)

Optimus Pad LTE in portrait mode

Whereas the Optimus Pad and G-Slate were equipped with dual-core 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 processors, the Optimus Pad LTE jumps to an unnamed dual-core, 1.5GHz chip. Resolution is the same as on the earlier tablets — an already high 1280 x 768 pixels — but the screen moves to in-plane switching (IPS) technology, which typically improves brightness, contrast, and viewing angles.

The rear-facing camera has moved from five to eight megapixels, although there's no longer any mention of 3D stereoscopic capability — a must-have feature at last year's CES that seems to have lost some of its luster in 2012. The front-facing camera, meanwhile, is said to record at two megapixels. 

The Optimus Pad LTE is not only the company's first LTE tablet, but also the world's first tablet to support an SD memory card expandable to 32GB, claims LG. Confusingly, the limited spec list released with the device lists only 32GB of user memory and up to 32GB via a micro-SD slot, as opposed to an SD slot. However, the image at left appears to confirm a full-sized SD slot.

Other features are said to include an HDMI port with Digital Living Network Alliance (DLNA) media sharing support, as well as a 6800mAh battery. The tablet is also lighter and thinner than the earlier models, measuring 9.34mm (0.37 inches) and weighing 479 grams (16.9 ounces), says LG.

There's no word as to whether the Android 3.2 ("Honeycomb") build will be updated to Android 4.0. Software is said to include a Smart Movie Editor, as well as a Web Duet app for emailing, messaging, and SNS sharing, complete with search functions. In addition, an On-Screen Phone (OSP) app "ensures compatibility" with LG smartphones, says the company.

Stated Dr. Jong-seok Park, president and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Co., "With tablets generating five times more traffic than the average smartphone, it's not a huge jump to assume that tablet users need and want faster connectivity."

Availability

The Optimus Pad LTE will initially ship in Korea, says LG, which did not list timing or pricing. More information should eventually arrive on LG's tablet web-page.

 

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