LG Optimus Pad Android tablet (preview)

The LG Optimus Pad Android tablet is the world's first tablet with a built-in 3D camera, enabling users to capture 3D images and videos that can then be viewed on a high-definition 3D TV.

Read our guide to the best upcoming tablets in 2011, including the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, and the Motorola Xoom.

The LG Optimus Pad has a 8.9in touchscreen display. The capacitive screen has a resolution of 1280x768, and LG claims the screen size will let the tablet be held in one hand, unlike larger, iPad-style tablets. The rumoured iPad 2 is tipped to have the same sized 9.7in display as the current iPad.

The LG Optimus Pad Android tablet has a built-in 3D camera, but unlike LG's Optimus 3D smartphone, the screen can't display 3D images without the aid of 3D glasses. Images and high-definition 1080p video taken with the Optimus Pad's 5-megapixel 3D camera can be viewed on 3D TVs or shared on the Web via YouTube 3D. The Optimus Pad also has a 2-megapixel front camera for video calls.

The LG Optimus Pad runs the latest version of Google's Android platform — 3.0 Honeycomb — which has specifically been designed for tablet devices. LG has stated the software will not come with any UI additions and will instead by a "vanilla" version of the Honeycomb OS. Key features of Android 3.0 Honeycomb include tabbed Web browsing, support for 3D graphics, added enterprise features like encrypted storage, a redesigned keyboard, and completely redesigned interface that aims to take advantage of the larger tablet screen.

The LG Optimus Pad is powered by a 1GHz dual-core NVIDIA Tegra 2 processor and has 32GB of internal memory, as well as a microSD card slot for extra storage. It has a standard 3.5mm headphone jack, a HDMI-out port, and uses a standard microUSB port for charging and synchronising.

The LG Optimus Pad has not been confirmed for an Australia release, but will begin shipping in worldwide markets starting in March.