Not a huge amount of information came about from the live blogs that I have been reading.  Basically LG has attempted to find that perfect medium regarding tablet size.  “The right size needs to be struck so it’s big enough to be useful, but small enough to carry around.”  The Optimus Pad is a tablet with dimensions of  8.9″ diagonally and 5.88′ horizontally. It’s screen is rated at 1280 x 760 WXGA resolution with a 15:9 aspect ratio. The Optimus Pad weighs in at 630g (1.38 lbs or 22 ounces).  It is running Android OS 3.0 (Honeycomb) and powered by the mighty Tegra 2 with dual-cameras on the back for 3D picture and video creation, on the front is a 2.0MP camera for video chat.  In the Press Release LG President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company, Dr. Jong-seok Park, stated,
“With a flood of tablets hitting the market, we felt strongly that the LG Optimus Pad needed to set a new standard for what a tablet should be.”  “We think the LG Optimus Pad achieves the right blend of portability and viewability with no performance compromises.â€
LG identified 3 cornerstones for success for tablets: Productivity, Advanced Multimedia, and Portability.
- Productivity – Easy multitasking in Honeycomb, quick web browsing
- Advanced multimedia – Full HD, 3D camera. 1080p video playback.
- Portability – Easy one-hand and two-hand use. Â Gotta be able to type with full hands in landscape. Â 630g – nice and light.
The LG Optimus Pad appears to also be a “Google Experience Device” just as the Galaxy Tab 10.1″ covered here and the Motorola Xoom covered here and here.  To me it seems as if (for the time being) Google has done enough to convince the manufacturers to avoid adding their “enhancements” to Honeycomb.  I’m not really sure how long this honeymoon will last, but I’ll gladly take it.
Live blog sources: Intomobile and AndroidCentral and photo source: Engadget
Press Release
SETTING A NEW STANDARD IN TABLETS, LG OPTIMUS PAD DEBUTS AT MWC
Designed for Both Work and Play, LG’s 8.9-inch Tablet is Convenient to Hold with One Hand; Features Android 3.0, Dual Core CPU, 3D Camera
Barcelona, February 14, 2011 – LG Electronics (LG) today unveiled the highly anticipated LG Optimus Pad at a press conference on opening day of Mobile World Congress 2011. With diverse multimedia and productivity features, the LG Optimus Pad features a unique 8.9-inch display for one-handed portability and uncompromising viewability, a departure from the trend toward tablets featuring 7- and 10-inch screens.
The LG Optimus Pad is powered by Google’s Android 3.0 platform and the NVIDIA Tegra 2 mobile processor. The world’s first tablet with a 3D camera, the LG Optimus Pad wraps users in an immersive multimedia environment with Full HD 1080p decoding.
“With a flood of tablets hitting the market, we felt strongly that the LG Optimus Pad needed to set a new standard for what a tablet should be,†said Dr. Jong-seok Park, President and CEO of LG Mobile Communications Company. “We think the LG Optimus Pad achieves the right blend of portability and viewability with no performance compromises.â€
The LG Optimus Pad also represents the fruits of a close partnership between LG and visual computing leader NVIDIA. “The world of computing is shifting under our feet,†said Phil Carmack, Senior Vice President of NVIDIA’s mobile business. “Tablets are quickly taking their place as our most personal computer, providing previously unimagined capabilities and full mobility. The new LG Optimus Pad uses NVIDIA’s Tegra 2 to give consumers outstanding levels of power, speed and performance.â€
Easy Portability, Ideal Viewability
Sized at 8.9-inch diagonally and 149.4-mm horizontally, the LG Optimus Pad offers a sensible solution to other tablets on the market that are either too large for comfortable portability or too small for ideal viewing. The conveniently-sized LG Optimus Pad fits comfortably in one hand, goes anywhere and slips easily into purses and slim briefcases. With 15:9 aspect ratio, the LG Optimus Pad allows users access to the full range of applications in Android Market and its 1280 x 768 WXGA resolution vividly displays multimedia content in full widescreen format.
Powerful, Fast and Versatile Platform
The LG Optimus Pad is powered by Android 3.0, Google’s latest platform optimized for tablets which supports larger display resolutions and applications specifically designed for tablets, including Google eBooks, Google Maps 5, and Google Talk. Android 3.0 also makes the LG Optimus Pad easy to use with a more intuitive PC-like interface. The LG Optimus Pad fully utilizes the 1 GHz Dual Core CPU of NVIDIA Tegra 2 to deliver lag-free web browsing and quick app start up. The superb graphics and multitasking capabilities of NVIDIA Tegra 2 enables the LG Optimus Pad to run multiple apps simultaneously and handle rich multimedia with ease.
Haven for Multimedia Enthusiasts
As the world’s first tablet equipped with a 3D camera, users can capture vivid images and video with the LG Optimus Pad for viewing on 3D TVs using HDMI or on the web via YouTube 3D. Business users will also appreciate the built-in videoconferencing feature. With 1080p Full HD decoding, movie enthusiasts can transfer high quality content to their TVs without any loss in picture quality. Serious and casual gamers alike will delight in the wide collection of console-quality games available through the Tegra Zone app that runs seamlessly on the LG Optimus Pad.
The LG Optimus Pad will begin shipping in local markets starting in March.
