LG G Pad 2 10.1 hands-on and first look

LG’s tablet offerings haven’t necessarily been all that exciting as of late, at least when it comes to the high-end market. That all seems to be changing now, as the company just recently announced a newer, larger addition to its G Pad line. Could this new device be a viable option for those looking for a high-end Android tablet, or will it fall short against other big devices from the competition? To help answer those questions, we go hands-on with the newly-announced LG G Pad 2 10.1.

Once of the first things you’ll notice with this G Pad 2 is its big 10.1-inch display with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and a pixel density of about 224. Despite its large screen, though, this is actually quite the nimble device, coming in at just 7.8mm thick. It features a soft metallic finish on the back that may look great, but can still be quite slippery at times. Much like other tablets of this size, the somewhat large side bezels and the side-mounted dual speakers suggest that LG primarily imagined this tablet for landscape usage.

Underneath this large screen sits a 2.26GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor and Adreno 330 GPU, with 2GB of RAM, only 16GB of on-board memory and a microSD card slot for expandable storage. There’s also a5MP rear-facing camera, a 2MP front-facing camera, as well as a non-removable 7400mAh battery powering the device that should be able to keep it running for some time. Given that LG decided to go with a Full HD panel instead of a more power hungry Quad HD screen, we’re sure battery life will be just fine with the G Pad 2 10.1.

In terms of software, many folks think LG’s G UI software overlay can be a bit crowded and bloated at times. This isn’t really a problem here, as there seems to be ample room on the big 10.1-inch display for handling everything LG’s Android skin brings to the table. You’ll find all of the familiar software features on this tablet that we’re used to seeing on LG devices – QSlide applications, Dual Window functionality (perfect for larger displays), Quick Memo Plus, various LG widgets, and much more. It’s true, LG tends to oversaturate its G UI software when it comes to sheer number of additional features, but we’re sure Qualcomm’s capable Snapdragon 800 CPU will be able to handle most things that are thrown at it.

The G Pad 2 10.1 comes pre-loaded with Microsoft Office for Android tablets, which also comes with an additional 100GB of free OneDrive cloud storage for two full years. Obviously this doesn’t make up for the fact that LG only opted to throw in 16GB of on-board storage with the tablet, but for those who don’t own a microSD card, this will help out a bit.

LG also recently announced a fun little accessory called the LG Rolly, an ultra-portable wireless keyboard, which is perfectly suited for this device, but can be paired with other tablets as well. Typing on this particular keyboard is really easy, and all you have to do is fold it out, and place the tablet on the stands that help prop the device up. The keyboard is very impressive, with keys that offer a lot of tactile feedback, but there large gaps in between the lines of keys here that will take some getting used to. One AAA battery powers this foldable keyboard, and with it priced at around $100, it is a great option to have for use with any other tablets you may have in your possession as well.

So there you have it for this first look at the LG G Pad 2 10.1! Overall, the latest tablet from LG is another fantastic offering, and the complete package is quite impressive. We can’t wait to put this tablet through its paces when we give it the full review treatment.