LG Optimus Pad review

Like Samsung, LG often replaces standard Android icons with garish alternatives, but luckily our preview sample came with the standard Android layout. The only additions were a copy of Polaris Office for viewing and editing office documents, and a copy of Google’s Books app. The Google Books store isn’t yet available in the UK, but it still lists free books in the public domain that you can download. However we couldn’t find where it stored its files, and it didn’t find the ePub and Mobi test files we placed on the disk.

There are also two apps for 3D: a 3D Camcorder and a 3D viewer. The 3D Camcorder defaults to anaglyphic 3D, to match the red-and-blue-tinted glasses that come in the box, but “mixed” and side-by-side modes are also available for viewing on a 3D TV or display later.

Movies recorded with the Pad store all the necessary information, however, for conversion to other formats, although the files are in 3GP format and can’t be played directly on most TVs. YouTube recognised the format successfully and displays it in red/cyan mode, while connecting via HDMI to a Sony HDTV allowed us to watch using active shutter glasses.

However, we didn’t like any of the results. The red/cyan glasses caused unnatural colouring, while the active shutter mode suffered from heavy ghosting, however much we adjusted the depth slider. It’s also a shame that the tablet doesn’t have a glasses-free 3D display.

Finally, we come to the price. At £750, it’s extraordinarily expensive even for a tablet than can shoot 3D video. The most expensive iPad 2, with 64GB of storage and 3G, is £659 direct from Apple. If the Pad’s 3D capture was effective enough, LG might be justified in adding a price premium, but it isn’t. The excellent Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is lighter, lasts for ten-and-a-half hours playing video, and costs almost half the price.