Tablet Shootout: LG's recently unveiled tablet G-Slate vs Motorola Xoom

At the CES 2011, Motorola Xoom was the cynosure of Android 3.0 but a month later it has company, as LG has unveiled its tablet G-Slate, which runs on Honeycomb juice.

The Android 3.0-based tablet will be available this spring on T-Mobile Network.

The 8.9-inch tablet differentiates itself by throwing in the 3D card. G-Slate will be the first tablet to feature 3D capacity which enables users to record and play 3D videos. However, 3D content is to be watched with 3D glasses thus squashing hopes of glasses-free 3D viewing, reports of which were fueled by the possible launch of NVIDIA's Tegra 2 3D processor at the Mobile World Congress.

It was surmised that LG's G-Slate would be powered by the Tegra 2 3D processor. However, LG confirms that the G-Slate will be powered by the Tegra 2 dual core processor which also powers Motorola Xoom.

G-Slate will face stiff competition from Motorola's Xoom which has won kudos at the CES 2011. G-Slate comes in an 8.9-inch form factor compared to Xoom's 10.1-inch display. While Xoom decided to be larger than iPad - which has a 9.7-inch screen - LG has decided to be smaller than an iPad at 8.9-inches.

The small screen size will possibly make it lighter in comparison with Xoom's 1.6-pounds in weight. However, by keeping its display size at 8.9-inches, LG has also differentiated its slate from the 7-inch form factor, crafting a separate category for itself. Thus, it is larger than Samsung Galaxy Tab, Dell Streak 7 and RIM's PlayBook but smaller than iPad and Xoom.

On the screen resolution front, CrunchGear reports that G-Slate has a resolution of 1280x720p which is less in comparison with Xoom's 1280x800p resolution. Also the G-Slate has the capacity to only play 720p videos on-device though with an HDMI output, it allows playing 1080p content on 3D and HD display. But Xoom supports 1080p video playback on-device and also offers HDMI support. However, Xoom's display is optimized for 720p.

G-Slate comes with a rear facing Stereoscopic video recorder that enables capturing videos at 3D 1080p. It also has a 5MP rear facing camera and a 2 MP front facing camera for video chat which is similar to Xoom's camera specifications.

G-Slate also offers 32 GB internal storage capacity which is equivalent to Xoom's internal memory.

When it comes to sensors G-Slate offers an Accelerometer, ambient light sensor and gyroscope while Xoom offers all these and also a barometer and magnetometer.

However, the key success mantra in the LG camp for its slate is 3D, as the feature will allow it to become preferred device for 3D games as well. Thus, it has the potential to gain mindshare in the 3D segment where other tablets have not ventured.

LG has a strong point-of-disparity in its G-Slate even as it meets other reported Android tablet launches like HTC, Samsung Galaxy Tab2 and webOS-based tablets from HP called Topaz and Opal. The only possible contender in the 3D display segment could be Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 as recent reports surmised that Galaxy Tab 2 could flaunt a 3D display.

Here is a comparison between LG G-Slate and Motorola Xoom: