LG G Pad is a tablet that’s a phone but isn’t a phablet

You may not remember LG’s tablet attempt, the Optimus Pad. It didn’t do very well, so LG promptly pulled out of the tablet game — a similar arc and fate experienced by HP’s ill-fated TouchPad. Seeing as how the tablet scene has exploded since the Optimus Pad’s release in 2011, rumors have been floating around that LG is developing a new tablet. The rumors have gotten traction, even revealing the tablet’s name — the LG G Pad.

In order to avoid the Optimus Pad’s fate, though, LG has bestowed the tablet with a feature that its competition generally does not receive: the ability to make voice calls.

Greek site Techblog reports that LG really is getting back into the tablet game just two years after the company left it. The Android-based G Pad will sport modern day specs, as it doesn’t seem designed as a budget device. If the report is true, then the tablet will feature an 8.3-inch, 1920×1200 resolution screen, which is supposed to be of a quality similar to the new Nexus 7's display. The G Pad will sport 2GB of RAM, and the device will have a quad-core processor, but the details of which one haven’t yet been leaked. It is speculated, however, that the processor will be some sort of Snapdragon — either an S4 Pro, 600, or even an 800.

Anonymous sources have also claimed that the tablet is so lightweight and thin, that you can stick it into your (non-skinny jeans) pockets. This portability will come in handy for the tablet’s supposed unique feature: the ability to make and receive phone calls.

Phone support would instantly make you think that the G Pad is a phablet, however the device appears to be marketed as a “tablet that can make phone calls” rather than a phablet, signifying that the End Times of mobile technology has arrived. We already begrudgingly accept a world where a “phablet” is the official way to refer to something. Now, we might live in a world where you have a tablet, your friend has a smartphone, your dad has a phablet, and your mom has a phone tablet.

The tablet that is a phone but not a phablet is expected to be revealed at the IFA trade show next month.

Now read: LG’s new G2 promises to be a one-of-a-kind experience