LG Optimus Pad may reach Japan first, pre-orders March 15
updated 08:25 am EST, Thu February 24, 2011
LG Optimus Pad comes first to Japan' NTT DoCoMo
Japan had the distinction today of being one of the first countries to get the Optimus Pad. LG's 8.9-inch Android 3.0 tablet will come to the country as the L-06C on NTT DoCoMo. Its version will be customized with a BeeTV app for Internet video as well as a 2DFacto app to read Japanese comics and e-books.
The hardware remains the same on the inside and centers on the trick dual five-megapixel cameras and their support for stereoscopic 3D photos and videos. LG's 8.9-inch LCD can't show the 3D without red-and-blue glasses, but HDMI 1.4 support will output a native 3D image for 3D TVs. Like other Android 3.0 tablets so far, it runs on a dual-core 1GHz NVIDIA Tegra 2 chip and can play as well as record 1080p 2D video. The 1280x768 screen resolution is just slightly taller than needed to show both Android 3.0 and 720p video.
Cosmetics are the only real physical change, as the metal back plate from the regular Optimus Pad has gone away in favor of a uniformly matte back.
Pre-orders start on DoCoMo on March 15 and will see the tablet ship through the carrier later the same month. Prices haven't been given out so far. T-Mobile USA still has a chance of being the first with the Optimus Pad through the G-Slate, which is unofficially anticipated for March 23.
