LG Optimus Pad To Hit Japanese Stores This Thursday

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Word has only just recently landed that says that the LG Optimus tablet will hit markets first in Japan, before expanding outward to the rest of the world almost a month later.

Though the tablet that Docomo will be selling out in Japan isn’t specifically being called the LG Optimus Pad just yet–it’s actually being called the Optimus Pad L-06C–it’s got pretty much identical specs, and mostly identical name, to the LG version. It’s set to offer Android 3.0 ( the Honeycomb version, in case you don’t keep up on the numbering), an 8.9 inch LCD touchscreen showing at 1280 x 768 resolution, and in 3D if you have a set of 3D glasses, 3G wi-fi and Bluetooth connectivity, a dual-core Tegra 2 processor, a gig of RAM, a 5.1 megapixel rear-facing camera and a two megapixel front facing camera, as well as HDMI, USB and a microSD card port.

Word is that Docomo will be offering the tablet at $980 without contract (no word on if that will be the price elsewhere or what kind of prices will be available with the contract), so hopefully there will be a subsidy or two when that hits stateside. And what’s even stranger is that LG was projecting this would arrive in the United States by March, while T-Mobile meanwhile reportedly came out and said a much more general “spring” release.  The reason for the disconnect between LG and T-Mobile is very much unclear, though it’s enough to make you wonder if maybe the T-Mobile / AT&T merger had anything to do with it. Strictly conjecture, of course, but the timing is close enough to at least make you wonder.

Meanwhile, I also wonder if T-Mobile will at some point have something to say about this strange maneuver–I’d certainly like to hear what caused the unexpected delay in the arrival of LG Optimus Pads.