LG has a long track record in the smartphone segment, but its experience in the tablet space is a little more limited. The company announced the Optimus Pad in 2011, followed by the Optimus Pad LTE a little less than a year later. In November 2013, the company introduced us to the LG G Pad 8.3, the first tablet to use its 'G series' branding. This week, LG is hitting us with three tablets at once, something it's never done before. All of these are part of the G series, too.
The line is comprised of 7-, 8-, and 10.1-inch offerings. The 7-inch model, the imaginatively named G Pad 7.0, is designed to be held in one hand and no doubt hopes to compete with the likes of the iPad mini, the Kindle Fire, and the Nexus 7. Next up is the G Pad 8.0 with its 8-inch panel that offers an 'immersive multimedia experience,' as well as smooth multitasking. Presumably, this will replace the G Pad 8.3. Rounding out this new family of tablets is the 10.1-inch G Pad 10.1, which LG promises will provide 'endless hours' of entertainment.
LG didn't offer us anything else in the way of hardware specs. From the sounds of things, the company wants to drip feed us information about these devices (perhaps in an attempt to drum up excitement). The devices will be officially unveiled at MedPI 2014, which takes place in Monaco starting tomorrow, and then additional details on specs and local availability will be revealed 'in the weeks ahead.'
All is not lost, though. We did get some information on the software LG will be shoehorning in on top of Android. This will include LG's own proprietary UX with QPair 2.0 (Bluetooth pairing) and Knock Code (a pattern-unlock feature for the lock screen that uses tapping).
LG has obviously decided that the one-size-fits-all approach of its flagship Optimus Pad wasn't going to cut it, though it's not clear if this carpet bomb approach of hitting every major tablet category will be much better. LG will have to really impress with specifications and pricing if it hopes to compete in the Android space. We're excited to hear more about these slates but will reserve judgement on LG's new strategy until we know all about it.
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