Today LG Electronics announced that its latest tablet, the LG G Pad 8.3, is officially available for sale in the U.S. Just days after making a similar European announcement, LG has revealed that the new tablet will be available at bestbuy.com starting immediately. The tablet will roll out to physical Best Buy stores and other offline merchants on November 3.


With a retail price of $349.99, LG is targeting midrange consumers, but it isn’t skimping on features. The centerpiece of the tablet is its 8.3-inch IPS screen, which features an impressive 1920x1200 pixels of resolution (more detailed than 1080p High Definition). At the same time, the smaller screen means the tablet is compact enough to fit (albeit just barely) in a single hand.


The LG G Pad 8.3 is powered by a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 processor, features 2GB of RAM, 16GB of ROM, and a microSD slot that allows for memory expansion of up to 64 additional gigabytes. The camera is a standard 5 megapixel model, and Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2 is installed under the hood. A beefy 4600mAh battery should offer ample running time for a full day’s worth of adventures.


LG has enhanced the G Pad 8.3 with a few sweet software extras, including QPair connectivity. This software lets G Pad users open a window into a paired Android smart phone. With QPair, you can access recent apps directly through the tablet, read your incoming text messages, and even see who’s ringing when a new phone call arrives. Notes written on the G Pad can also be quickly synced to your phone with the tablet’s QMemo software. Best of all, these tools are manufacturer agnostic and don’t require an LG brand secondary device in order to work.


Another recently upgraded app included on the device, QSlide Function 2.0, lets you multitask by “floating” up to two apps over the home screen. You decide how large the windows for these apps are, and can even set the transparency level of the windows. This is a great time-saving trick for users who don’t like constantly tapping and swiping to navigate back and forth among multiple open apps.


In a curious coincidence, the tablet is just 8.3mm thick, which makes it amply portable. As well, its metal body is a testament to higher-grade construction and a focus on durability. The $350 price tag has some potential buyers concerned that it may be priced a little too high compared to the competition, but the sleek design, build quality, dazzling screen, and thoughtful add-ons may ultimately be persuasive enough for LG’s newest entry to make a serious showing in the tablet race.



[ This sponsored article was written by IDG Creative Lab, a partner of PCWorld. ]







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