T-Mobile G-Slate Android Tablet: Perfect Size, Not So Perfect Price

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Other than that, we’re dealing with a stock Android 3.0 interface. I’m hesitant to compare Android 3.0 to the iPad’s interface but seeing as though it’s an inevitability, I’d say that right now Android 3.0 feels like an SUV to Apple’s sports car. Both get you around town just fine; the SUV can go some places the sports car can’t while the sports car goes fast, handles like butter, and has a ton of cool apps in its app store. Whoops, that analogy went right off the track there.

Whatever the case, Android 3.0 is a quiet place right now but it’ll get more lively over the course of this year as more apps pour in and more tablets hit the market. The core stuff works pretty well already, though—now it just needs a little sanding and polishing.

Overall

Is this tablet worth $750? I don’t think so, especially given the $450 Acer A500 and the $400 Asus Transformer—both of which pack similar hardware, minus the 4G connections and 3D cameras. I absolutely love, love, love the G-Slate’s 8.9-inch form factor—look at it! It fits perfectly.

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But I don’t love the form factor enough to pay $750 for it, unfortunately.

That being said, if I were already a T-Mobile customer and I happened to be willing to add another chunk to my monthly bill, I’d consider the tablet at $530 for sure, especially given the ability to use the G-Slate as a 4G hotspot. People who are in the market for both a 4G portable hotspot device and a tablet can find excellent value in the G-Slate as well.

If LG, which builds the G-Slate, releases a Wi-Fi version of the tablet independent of T-Mobile, I’d probably pay a slight premium for it—maybe $50 to $100 more than the least expensive Android 3.0 tablet—given its size, weight and overall build quality. But right now the tablet seems too expensive unless you fit a pretty specific buyer profile.

Second Opinions

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