LG upgrades G Pad 10.1 tablet with better screen and more power

LG's latest tablet, the G Pad II 10.1, is more powerful and has a better screen than its predecessor,  but it also has a slightly smaller battery.

A quad-core 2.26 GHz Snapdragon 800 processor powers the G Pad II and its 10.1-inch screen has a 1200 x 1920 pixel resolution. That's a big step up from the original G Pad 10.1, which had a Snapdragon 400 processor and an 800 x 1280 pixel screen. 

The G Pad II also has 2GB of RAM and 16GB of integrated storage that can be expanded using the tablet's microSD card slot. There is a 5-megapixel camera on the back and a 2-megapixel camera at the front.

Features that could turn out to be useful include a Reader Mode, which makes reading e-books more comfortable by reducing the blue light of the display backlight, according to LG. On the software side, the tablet comes preloaded with Microsoft Office and an additional 100GB of free OneDrive storage for two years.

One of the Android-based tablets that LG's newcomer will compete with is Samsung's recently launched Galaxy Tab S2 9.7. The two products represent different schools of thought in many ways when it comes to designing tablets.

Samsung decided to switch to a squarer screen format on the Tab S2, just like on Apple's iPads. LG, on the other hand, has chosen to stick with a widescreen display on the G Pad II. The Samsung tablet is also a lot lighter at 389 grams versus 489 grams. But by making its tablet heavier, LG could include a 7,400 mAh battery (which is still smaller than on the original model). The battery on the Tab S2 has a 5,870 mAh capacity. 

The Samsung tablet is also more powerful and has a screen with more pixels, and likely a much higher price tag. 

LG didn't reveal when the G Pad II 10.1 will go on sale, but said it will be available in North America, Europe and Asia. Pricing for the LTE and Wi-Fi models will be announced locally at the time of launch, the company said.