LG tried to steal Samsung’s thunder by revealing the specs of its G Pad tablet range mere hours ahead of Samsung’s tablet launch in New York. The marketing stunt barely scathed Samsung as its feature-rich Tab S series overshadowed LG’s drastically different approach.
LG’s 7in, 8in and 10.1 G Pad don’t compete with Samsung’s better equipped Tab S range. Rather, the company is offering modestly equipped tablets with the aim “to fill the gap between entry and premium tablets”.
The move mirrors LG's earlier foray into the flagship smartphone industry, where it sold prepaid smartphones in volume until it had the experience and consumer confidence to go toe-to-toe with Samsung. Today reports claim LG’s G3 flagship is outselling Samsung’s Galaxy S5 in Asian markets, granting credence to the companies strategy.
All three G Pad tablets have a modest 1.2GHz quad-core CPU, just 1GB of RAM and low-resolution 1280x800 screens.
Photos of the tablets were officially promoted on the 12 May, but LG declined to provide further details. Now it is known LG did not want to reveal many of the features as they were to be debuted on its flagship G3 smartphone.
The G Pad inherits software that is “consistent with the look and feel of the recently unveiled LG G3 smartphone,” it said in the company’s official statement. Knock code, smart keyboard and dual-window are all software features the G Pad series share with LG’s G3.
The company is tightening integration between its products through a feature called QPair 2.0. QPair makes it possible to receive and respond to texts and phone calls from a tablet when connected to a smartphone over Bluetooth.
Read more: Free G Pad: Optus throws weight behind LG G3 flagship
Local pricing and availability of the G Pad range has not yet been confirmed by LG, but the modest hardware should position the tablets at the introductory end of the market. All three tablets will be made available in five colours, including black, white, red, luminous orange and luminous blue.
Full specs as per LG's press release:
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G Pad 7.0 Key Specifications:
• Display: 7.0-inch IPS (1280 x 800, WXGA)
• Chipset: 1.2GHz Quad-Core
• Memory: 8GB eMMC / 1GB RAM / microSD slot
• Camera: Rear 3MP / Front 1.3MP
• Battery: 4000mAh
• Size: 189.3 x 113.8 x 10.1mm
• Weight: 293g
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi
• Color: Black, White, Luminous Orange, Luminous Blue
• Other: QPair 2.0, Smart Keyboard, Knock Code
G Pad 8.0 Key Specifications:
• Display: 8.0-inch IPS (1280 x 800, WXGA)
• Chipset: 1.2GHz Quad-Core
• Memory: 16GB eMMC / 1GB RAM / microSD slot
• Camera: Rear 5MP / Front 1.3MP
• Battery: 4200mAh
• Size: 210.8 x 124.2 x 9.9mm
• Weight: 342g
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi
• Color: Black, White, Luminous Orange, Luminous Blue
• Other: QPair 2.0, Smart Keyboard, Knock Code
G Pad 10.1 Key Specifications:
• Display: 10.1-inch IPS (1280 x 800, WXGA)
• Chipset: 1.2GHz Quad-Core
• Memory: 16GM eMMC / 1GB RAM / microSD slot
• Camera: Rear 5MP / Front 1.3MP
• Battery: 8000mAh
• Size: 260.9 x 165.9 x 8.9mm
• Weight: 523g
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi
• Color: Black, Red
• Other: QPair 2.0, Smart Keyboard, Knock Code