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LG Optimus Pad hands-on photos show off dual-core, dual-camera tablet

The LG Optimus Pad is the first tablet from LG, and it's looking like a corker. Check out our hands-on snaps of this dual-core, dual-camera darling, photographed from every angle.

Luke Westaway
Luke Westaway is a senior editor at CNET and writer/ presenter of Adventures in Tech, a thrilling gadget show produced in our London office. Luke's focus is on keeping you in the loop with a mix of video, features, expert opinion and analysis.
Luke Westaway
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Mobile World Congress isn't just about phones, as any fule kno -- we're seeing a bunch of rather smart tablets getting an official airing too. One such sultry slate is the LG Optimus Pad. It's LG's first ever tablet, and it's got features up the wazoo.

We've already given the Optimus Pad the preview treatment, but if you're exhausted by our high-quality, in-depth analysis and just want to gawp at the thing for a bit, we've got you covered right here. Click through those photos above to observe the Pad from every angle, and make up your own mind about just how cool it's looking. Then let us know in the comments section, or on our Facebook wall.

The Pad is one of the more unusually shaped tablets we've seen -- it has an elongated, slim rectangular look, rather than the squarish design you find on most tablets. At first it looks like someone took a rolling pin to an iPad, stretching it out a fair bit, but after just a few minutes use we could see the appeal.

A wider display is better for watching video, as you don't get content chopped off at the sides of the screen. Or, at least, you're likely to see more video than you would otherwise.

It also suits Android 3.0 rather well -- using our dextrous digits to sweep through the Honeycomb homescreens felt great on a big display, and this 8.9-inch 1,280x768-pixel panel is bright and sharp enough to make your photo gallery shine. That said, we're not sure how the Pad's display will fare in direct sunlight -- that could yet prove a critical weakness.

Around the back of the Pad there are two 5-megapixel cameras, spaced a short distance apart, which you can use to shoot 3D video. You can't watch that video in 3D on the Pad, but you can export it to a 3D TV or laptop and enjoy it there. It could prove a nifty feature, but for most people it will be surplus to requirements.

We reckon the Optimus Pad has enough grunt to wrassle with HD video, both in terms of recording and playback, thanks to a 1GHz Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor running the show.

With Honeycomb, a swift processor and some cool 3D video options, the Pad is looking promising indeed. A Wi-Fi and 3G version is due out in April in the UK, with a Wi-Fi only version to follow soon after. We'll get a full review up as soon as possible, so stay tuned, gadget fans.

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This is the LG Optimus Pad.
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It's surprisingly light and thin.
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These two 5-megapixel cameras are for shooting 3D videos.
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Try and see past all the security gubbins to the lovely tablet underneath.
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There's a dual-core processor lurking in there somewhere.
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The Pad is running Android 3.0 Honeycomb.
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There are no buttons on the front of the Pad -- everything's handled via these on-screen keys.
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Honeycomb is an operating system specifically designed for tablets.
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The browser feels really fast...
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...and also features tabbed browsing, which makes reading several sites much easier.
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Hardware volume keys.
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USB and HDMI ports, for charging and hooking the Pad up to an HD telly respectively.
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Photos look great on the Pad's screen.
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This is the 3D camcorder app running. It's blurry because it's taking information from two cameras at the same time.

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