LG G-Slate Tablet Review
The LG G-Slate uses the tablet-specific incarnation of Android OS, the Honeycomb (Android 3.0) and it is powered by Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor. It has 768MB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage, which is adequate for average users. Unlike any tablet you may have seen, on the backside, LG has slapped a 3D 5 Mp (stereoscopic) camera, meaning you can impress friends by showing off videos that have one extra dimension in them. It also has a standard 2Mp front-facing camera. But still, it’s a little difficult to believe that users will find the 3D camera enjoyable after using the tablet for more than a few weeks.
Previous benchmarks showed that the performance level is roughly comparable with the Motorola Xoom. It runs Honeycomb just fine; you rarely will get slowdowns or memory issues. Also, if the tablet does crash completely, you can revive it using the reset button located behind the back cover.
The G-Slate feels unnaturally long and holding it in landscape mode may feel a little unwieldy, also when dealing the Honeycomb interface, your fingers and eyes may jump too often from corner to corner. Obviously, it also feels too tall in portrait mode. It’s unclear why LG chose the odd, elongated design. At 0.49 thick and 1.3 pounds, the tablet is not necessarily thicker or heavier than others in the market.
The problem with the LG G-Slate isn’t the weird form factor or the somewhat gimmicky 3D camera, but it’s the fact that under T-Mobile network you need to spend $630 and sign up for a 2-year contract. Even with the basic plan, at $29.99 per month for 200MB, you need to shell out $1250 over the duration of the contract, not counting the regulatory fees and taxes. However, the LG G-Sate is still a solid device, which can tackle nearly anything you throw at it.