LG Optimus Pad

“The 3D stuff aside, the Optimus Pad is pretty much like the lot: unskinned Android Honeycomb, 32GB of internal storage, Tegra 2 chipset and rich connectivity options. We’re less than impressed with the screen, but it’s got nothing to do with the resolution or size. In fact, at 8.9” the Optimus Pad hits the sweet spot between performance and portability.”

“Maybe it's because I like slightly smaller tablets, and maybe it's because the G-Slate was launched with Flash (albeit a beta version in need of an update) and the Xoom was launched before it had any Flash support, but I enjoyed my time with the G-Slate more than I enjoyed my time with the Xoom. We're splitting hairs, because they are so very similar, but in the end, if you are a T-Mobile customer already, the G-Slate is a good deal for you. If you're not loyal to any carrier, I would take the G-Slate over the Xoom based on its built-in 4G and slightly more portable design. And hey, you get some 3D gimmicks to goof around with, too.”

“3D is very much an industry led thing at the moment and the Pad taps into that without really committing. The 3D recording and playback is fun, but we doubt you’ll use it unless you’re a hardened 3D fan. It’s a shame because the 3D experience on the Optimus 3D, the company’s smartphone due out later in the year, is so much better and something that impressed us a lot. We can understand that LG would want to add an extra component to their 3D creation story, but the 3D camera without a 3D screen feels like a step too far. And then there’s the final crazy element: the price. Carphone Warehouse has the Optimus Pad listed at £749 which is absurd. It might be fast, it might be great for watching movies, but it’s just simply not worth that much money. Ultimately LG has failed here. It has added technology that’s not needed and made a device that’s likely to be overlooked by many. There are just better Honeycomb experiences on the market.”

“We’ve gone through in explaining which devices excel in specific categories, but it’s still rather difficult to concretely say which one is ultimately the cream of the crop. Naturally, there’s a host of other factors that come into play that would make one more highly prized than the other, like pricing. Taking that into consideration, the two cellular enabled Android tablets currently sport no-contract price tags of $750 and up – making them super pricey! Chiming in at a more reasonable starting price of $500 for their base Wi-Fi only models, the iPad 2 and PlayBook offer plenty of bang for the buck, and if you want to add 3G connectivity to the iPad 2, it'd still be more affordable than the Honeycomb-rocking alternatives. In any event, there’s no denying we’ll still be hearing all four of these tablets in the coming months, especially when they’re setting the pace for all others to come out after them.”