LG's new G Pad 2 8.0 has a full-sized USB port in-tow

Perhaps lost in the grand fanfare of LG’s Korean neighbor, a new tablet offering has been released. The LG G Pad II 8.0 looks quite similar to the mid-range device that came before it, however some new additions will ideally allow for increased productivity and use.

The tablet packs an 8-inch 1280X800 IPS LCD display, 1.2GHz Qualcomm Snapdragon 400 SoC, 1.5GB of RAM, 32GB of eMMC on-board storage, a 5-megapixel rear camera and 2-megapixel front camera. It supports microSD, includes a 4,200mAh battery, and runs Android 5.0. Unlike most other devices, it also includes a full-sized USB 2.0 port.

As the above picture explains, the full sized USB port can be used with everything from transferring files to the PC to plugging-in a keyboard to even using a PS4 controller. This is a markedly different approach than other OEMs who have experimented with USB OTG support for some time now, but typically have always required the customer to purchase an optional accessory to facilitate it.

Also being touted with the G Pad 2 8.0 is pre-installed applications for productivity in the form of Microsoft Office. MS Word, MS Excel, and MS PowerPoint are all included, though it will remain to be seen as to if they can be removed entirely or else only disabled as with some of Samsung’s recent devices. 

LG is also touting the inclusion of a new, even thinner-tipped stylus at just 3.5mm allowing for more accurate input:

The product is only being released in South Korea for the time being, but given the larger-scale release of last year’s offerings it would not be surprising to see LG’s latest reach additional territories, possibly with LTE support included.