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GSLive 2011: Hands on with the LG Optimus Pad

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One device we were particularly interested to get our hands on at the Gadget Show was the LG Optimus Pad, or the G-Slate as it has been renamed in America. We got our chance thanks to the good folks at Nvidia, who were demonstrating the tablet on their Tegra 2 devices stand.

The Optimus Pad marks yet another industry first for LG – the first tablet device to feature 3D Video capture thanks to the Dual 5MP cameras situated on the rear of the tablet. Unfortunately though, the 3D capture and playback is only anaglyphic 3D – meaning you’ll need to don a pair of those old-school red and blue 3D glasses to get the 3D effect. You’ll find two dedicated apps in the main menu for 3D capture and playback, both of which seemed to work well.

LG have recently announced the Optimus 3D smartphone which has an auto stereoscopic screen, meaning you don’t need any additional eyewear whatsoever to view 3D content. Why haven’t LG transferred this technology to the Optimus Pad you ask? Put simply, cost. If LG were to implement auto-stereoscopic 3D technology into the larger 8.9-inch screen of the tablet, the cost of the device to the consumer would skyrocket.

Asides from the 3D video recording, the Optimus Tab performs well in all other areas. Full HD 1080p video capture works perfectly using one of the rear cameras, and looks super crisp on the 8.9-inch 768 x 1280 resolution screen. Touch controls are nice and responsive, making Android Honeycomb a joy to use.

As with the other tablets on display at the Nvidia stand, the Optimus Pad packs an Nvidia Tegra 2 Dual-Core processor, running at 1GHz. Tegrazone recommended apps ran well, though not as smoothly as on the Motorola Xoom that we tested out at the same time.

Back of device showing Dual 5MP Cameras

Despite the 3D capture and playback features on the Optimus Pad seeming a bit gimmicky, and falling short with anaglyphic 3D instead of stereoscopic, we enjoyed the time spent with the Optimus Pad – it’s a well built Android tablet.

Do you like the look of the Optimus Pad/G-Slate? Let us know your thoughts via Twitter, @Gadget_Helpline.