14 DAY TRIAL // It wasn't too long ago that LG posted a teaser trailer for the G Pad 8.3 tablet, and already the company has formally introduced this particular product. Then again, with IFA 2013 about to start, this was expected.
The G Pad 8.3 gets its name from the screen size of 8.3 inches. The device has an LCD with a native resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels (273 pixels-per-inch).
That, alone, is enough to suggest this isn't just any slate. LG is definitely aiming for the high-end market here.
Sadly, the company didn't say how much it would cost, only that sales would be carried out in North America, Europe and Asia.
We assume the price will be near $400 / €400 or $500 / €500 though, since anything above that would work against the device, given the usual price points of these things. Usually, it's 10.1-inch tablets that cost that much, or more, so an 8.3-inch one doesn't afford to aim too high in comparison.
Anyway, the newcomer relies on a quad-core Krait 300 CPU clocked at 1.7 GHz, and has 2 GB of LDDR2 RAM backing it up. These two assets are part of the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chipset.
Other than the SoC, LG's invention utilizes a 5-megapixel rear camera, a 1.3-megapixel front camera, and 16 GB of NAND Flash storage space.
That theory about a $400 / €400 price point is looking more and more appealing by the second.
Moving on, the LG G Pad 8.3 runs the Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean operating system, but that's not the only software asset worth mentioning.
And we're not talking about bloatware either. The company has actually included a couple of elements that raise the quality bar.
First off, the QSlide software allows three apps to run on the screen at the same time. A big leap from how, not long ago, slates had no multitasking at all.
QPair is another important addition, as it lets the tablet pick up calls and messages from any Jelly Bean smartphone. Finally, the Knock On software turns the display on without using the power button.
All the hardware and software run on the energy provided by a 4,600 mAh battery that should be able to last for several good hours.