LG's new G Pad 8.3: A Decent ~8in Android tablet?

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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http://www.droid-life.com/2013/08/3...nch-hd-display-and-snapdragon-600-arrives-q4/

The LG G Pad 8.3 will be rolled out globally in key markets including North America, Europe and Asia as well as other regions starting in the fourth quarter of 2013. Prices will be announced at launch time.
Key Specifications:
• Processor: 1.7GHz Quad-Core Qualcomm? Snapdragon™ 600 Processor
• Display: 8.3-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200 pixels / 273 ppi)
• Memory: 16GB eMMC
• RAM: 2GB LPDDR2
• Camera: Rear 5.0MP / Front 1.3MP
• Battery: 4,600mAh
• Operating System: Android Jelly Bean 4.2.2
• Size: 216.8 x 126.5 x 8.3mm
• Weight: 338g
• Colors: Black / White

I've got a Galaxy Note 8 right now, used primarily for comic books and reading, but there's some design aspects of it I dislike.

I also don't see an sd slot on the LG, which is a major negative point. Tablets need expandable storage, especially if they want to include a pitiful 16GBs of onboard.
 

jpiniero

Lifer
Oct 1, 2010
16,656
7,135
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No Android 4.3 is more worrisome. Might get stuck with 4.2.2.
As for price, $279 maybe?
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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No Android 4.3 is more worrisome. Might get stuck with 4.2.2.
As for price, $279 maybe?

4.3 is very recent still, so I'm not going to give LG too much flak for launching with 4.2.2 yet. If, 3 months after launch, its still on 4.2.2, then I'll give them flak. :p
 

Trombe

Senior member
Jun 30, 2007
213
2
81
If the international version ends up with a native dialer like the Note 8.0 I think I finally have a new phone in mind.
 

bearxor

Diamond Member
Jul 8, 2001
6,605
3
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I also don't see an sd slot on the LG, which is a major negative point. Tablets need expandable storage, especially if they want to include a pitiful 16GBs of onboard.

Well... I don't know about NEED. I've been buying 16GB tablets since 2010 and never, not once, said "I really need expandable storage!"

Now, you might need expandable storage, but I don't think I'd say that every single tablet for every single user needs it.
 

kaerflog

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2010
1,899
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No Android 4.3 is more worrisome. Might get stuck with 4.2.2.
As for price, $279 maybe?

I don't see how LG can price this at $279 and make any money.
If they did, I would buy this instead of the Nexus 7.
Its not going to happen.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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Well... I don't know about NEED. I've been buying 16GB tablets since 2010 and never, not once, said "I really need expandable storage!"

Now, you might need expandable storage, but I don't think I'd say that every single tablet for every single user needs it.

Might have had a case when Android tablets with Tegra 2 based, but now that we've got quad core devices with 2GBs of RAM and good good screens, they're lasting much longer before falling into obsolescence. My Nexus 7 is almost useless now because its 16GB is full.


I don't see how LG can price this at $279 and make any money.
If they did, I would buy this instead of the Nexus 7.
Its not going to happen.

Shrug, these devices only cost about 200-220 to actually make, so they are making money with a 280 price tag. Which is actually a pretty good profit margin. And since not everyone wants a 7in tablet, I can easily see people going for an 8in device with superior specs.
 

Lyfer

Diamond Member
May 28, 2003
5,842
2
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If they can keep this thing below $250 it could challenge the Nexus 7 2013.
 

Brian Stirling

Diamond Member
Feb 7, 2010
3,964
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The size is almost perfect and the screen resolution is pretty decent BUT no uSD slot. Even if everything else were perfect having only 16GB of storage is not a fail, it's a huge fail. WTF is it with tablet makers, OK, scrimp on internal storage to cut cost but for fuck sake allow me the option to add more with a uSD slot.


Brian
 

kaerflog

Golden Member
Jul 23, 2010
1,899
4
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Shrug, these devices only cost about 200-220 to actually make, so they are making money with a 280 price tag. Which is actually a pretty good profit margin. And since not everyone wants a 7in tablet, I can easily see people going for an 8in device with superior specs.

Damm you need to do a bit more research on how businesses make money.
They don't make money selling a device for $280 that cost $220 to make.
When people do the teardown, they estimate on how much are the parts cost.
There's a whole lot more to a product than just component cost.
The only reason Google is able to sell their product cheap is they make money elsewhere.
 

Bateluer

Lifer
Jun 23, 2001
27,730
8
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Damm you need to do a bit more research on how businesses make money.
They don't make money selling a device for $280 that cost $220 to make.
When people do the teardown, they estimate on how much are the parts cost.
There's a whole lot more to a product than just component cost.

Sadly, Apple seems to have convinced many people that a 200-300% profit margin is normal. :/ 10-15% mark up used to be normal, above that used to be considered extreme.

Obviously, there are R&D costs and advertising costs. In LG's case, the R&D costs are spread over many products. The same display tech in this GPad is also the same place they make all their phones, televisions, and yes, the iPhone and iPad screens.

And seeing how LG probably isn't going to drop half a billion dollars in advertising like Samsung and Apple do, a 60-80 dollar profit on each G-Pad is plenty. Especially if you consider that they can't sell it above 300.

The only reason Google is able to sell their product cheap is they make money elsewhere.

I know its hard to follow every thread and article, but Google does not lose money on their Nexus line. Ok, they may lose a little on the entry level storage SKUs for the N4/7/10.

Know what the difference in production costs is between an 8GB N4 and a 16GB N4? About a dime, yet the price is 50 dollars more. Difference between the 8GB N7 2012 and the 32GB N7 2012, also measured in pennies. Yet, MSRP is double. Storage is cheap, and doubling it then charging the customer 50 dollars more for a few pennies more in production costs is an easy way to make money. Especially if you strike the SD slot from the spec sheet to 'save money', the customers have no choice but to buy the more expensive, profit rich model if they actually want to use the device effectively. Ooh, and they also might be more inclined to sign up and pay for cloud storage solutions. More profit. So, sorry to rain on that 'Google makes no monies on the Nexus line' parade again. Just one of those myths that refused to die, like fragmentation or Android has poor battery life.



But, back on topic. Anyone planning on buying a GPad?
 

gorcorps

aka Brandon
Jul 18, 2004
30,739
454
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16gig memory is an automatic ignore from me. 32gig should be an absolute minimum.
 

Oyeve

Lifer
Oct 18, 1999
22,060
880
126
16gig memory is an automatic ignore from me. 32gig should be an absolute minimum.

Its not so much 16gb, but the no msd that is an auto ignore, which is why I dont buy iphones or ipads. The only iphone I have is a 4 and a 5 and those are from work and I just use them for work email. Really tho, why do manufacturers NOT put in these slots? Stupid in my opinion and I bet that if an android tab that had these specs AND memory slot were to hit the market at a sub 250 it would sell like hotcakes.
 

lopri

Elite Member
Jul 27, 2002
13,311
687
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There is a significant difference between 7" screen and 8.3" screen just as there is between 4.3" and 5.0". Expecting Nexus-like price for this tablet is unrealistic. Looking at the specs, it's a top-notch tablet. Light-weight for the size, thickness is minimal, and it is not a bad-looking at all. It's a realistic alternative to Note 8.0 minus digitizer, although I really hope from this point on all devices will come out (or be shortly updated) to 4.3.

Battery life is the question mark for this device. Note 8.0's battery life isn't that great.
 

Ravynmagi

Diamond Member
Jun 16, 2007
3,102
24
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$350 seems like a good price for a 8.3 inch 1920x1200 tablet with S600 processor, 16GB, micro SD, and dual cameras.

Processor is a tiny bit faster (though it's not stock Android so the speed gains may be negated by what LG does to the OS).

There really are no quality 8 inch Android tablets and I think 8 inches is a good size.

With the micro SD slot I could expand the storage up to 80GB (I assume it supports 64GB micro SD cards). Way more potential storage than a Nexus 7.

Looks good.
 

you2

Diamond Member
Apr 2, 2002
6,808
1,867
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Well the excite 7.7 is pretty decent; but yea I'm looking at this tablet. Mostly I just want to know if the battery life is spectacular. Hopefully there will be some reviews soon.