Psst. I’ve got a little secret to share with you. If you’re thinking about picking up a new tablet device and you’ve got your eyes set on the G-Slate from T-Mobile, there’s a way to get it for $100 less than the $530 advertised price.

You ready for it? Okay, here goes: Call them and ask for the discount. Instead of going to a physical retail location, simply ring them up on the phone and say that you want the G-Slate, quoting promo code GSLATE100 if they ask for it. That’s the good news.

Unfortunately, it comes with a fair bit of baggage. In order to qualify for this price, you need to already have a voice plan (or get one) and you need to sign up for a two-year data contract too. There’s also a pesky mail-in rebate.

Really, T-Mobile? $430 for a tablet on contract? Considering that most of the other tablets out there — PlayBook, Galaxy Tab, iPad — can be had for $500 or so out of contract, this doesn’t sound like much of a deal anymore. Don’t be fooled by that unlimited data plan either.

The post How to Get T-Mobile G-Slate Tablet for $100 Less appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s one thing to come forward with a spec sheet that should leave users in awe. It’s another thing altogether to have a product that people will actually want, admire, and use in the long run. Apparently, the G-Slate from LG falls short in that regard.

Kat Hannaford had the opportunity to go hands-on with the G-Slate (known as the Optimus Pad on the other side of the pond). The specs were impressive, to be sure, but she was left feeling “kinda chilly.” The 3D camera and display are to be applauded for their innovation and boldness, but it’s little more than a novelty at this point.

The anaglyphic 3D is a pretty funky feature, but personally I can’t imagine using it. It’s not like I have a 3DTV and would only shoot stereoscopic video at 720p—because I don’t—but imagine yourself in day-to-day life, viewing your home videos wearing red and cyan glasses. You’d maybe show your friends once or two, for kicks, but that’d be it.

It’s not that the G-Slate is a bad tablet — Kat says the build quality is quite a bit better than LG products of the past — it just lacks that X factor makes you feel that “I have to have it now” kind of feeling. What do you think? Is a 3D display a winning feature for you? Or are you satisfied with just having a smartphone pull your mobile duties?

The post LG G-Slate Tablet Not What It’s Cracked Up To Be appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

LG’s marketing is tasteless to say the least. They release a video for the newly announced Optimus Pad, aka G-Slate, with a simulated “Spec Fighter” video game challenging what clearly resembles Apple CEO Steve Jobs and the iPad, not so cleverly renamed to the A-Pad. LG’s unnamed Ninja kicks Jobs in the face at about the 1:00 minute mark of the video.

I’m not an Apple fanboy by any means, but Jobs is not well, and that is publicly known. I’m not saying the guy needs to be babied, but your marketing approach LG, is pitiful. So you beat the specs of a one year old device, you should get the virtual award you so deserve. But when it comes to the real world, you’re still not even close to second best.

Why didn’t you use your own CEO’s face on the one who kicked Steve Jobs shamelessly in the head? Perhaps because you don’t even have a CEO who could stand up to Jobs. You fired your last one because your cellphones are generally regarded as subsidized giveaways (crap), now you expect the next CEO to stand by you? You better keep hiring new CEOs because the next iPad is going to dust your ass again. You may be laughing in your boardroom now, but wait until your next quarterly earnings are released including this tablets sales.

The post Tasteless Marketing By LG Kicks Steve Jobs In The Face appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

This video gives us a quick peak at the LG G-Slate from T-Mobile. Although the Android 3.0 OS wasn’t shown off much to see if LG skinned it some how, it does give us an idea of how useless a 3D tablet could be. It has multitouch, HSPA+, HDMI output and well, you can probably guess the rest by watching the vid. Due “this spring” from T-Mo.

[BGR]

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Taking advantage of the T-Mobile HSPA+ 4G network are a new Android smartphone and, you guessed it, a new Google Android tablet too. First up, we have the Samsung Galaxy S 4G. If you were to place this new phone next to its Vibrant predecessor, you probably wouldn’t notice any major differences. It has the same 4-inch touchscreen, 1GHz Hummingbird processor, 5MP camera, and 16GB microSD card. The only real difference is the 4G ST-Ericsson radio found within, as well as the front-facing VGA cam and pre-loaded Inception.

On the tablet side of the equation, we get the T-Mobile G-Slate with Google by LG. This is rocking a 3D-capable 8.9″ capacitive touchscreen, but it’s not the glasses-free variety on the Optimus 3D; you need to use the pack-in glasses. As expected, it’s got Android 3.0 Honeycomb too, as well as dual cameras, Tegra2 processor, and 32GB on-board storage.

If you like Android and you like 4G, it looks like T-Mobile is a good bet. Then again, Verizon has quite a bit of 4G (albeit a different kind of 4G) and Android happiness going on too. So, the question remains, where’s the 4G-capable iPhone?

[Wired]

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