Since the release of the G-Slate and Optimus Pad last year, tablet offerings from LG have been pretty thin on the ground. Now the company has announced it will be releasing its first LTE-capable tablet in its homeland next week. The Optimus Pad LTE is powered by a Qualcomm 1.5 GHz dual-core processor and comes running Android 3.2 (Honeycomb). It also features the same True HD IPS technology that debuted on LG's Optimus LTE smartphone but with the 1280 x 720 pixel resolution now spread over 8.9-inches worth of display.

In announcing the new LTE tablet, LG claims that tablets generate five times more traffic than the average smartphone, so tablet users will likely appreciate LTE's faster connectivity. In addition to being the company's first LTE-capable tablet, LG claims the Optimus Pad LTE is also the first tablet in the world to support micro SD memory cards of up to 32 GB. This is on top of the 32 GB of onboard memory already included in the device.

Other specs include an 8-megapixel rear-facing camera for shooting HD video, and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera for video calls. It also features HDMI and DLNA connectivity and is powered by a 6,800 mAh battery. The unit measures 245 x 151.4 x 9.34 mm (9.64 x 5.96 x 0.36 in) and weighs 497 g (17.5 oz). It will be released in Korea next week priced at KRW880,000 (approx. US$774). Now word on plans for a wider release as yet.