LG G Pad 8.3 and Sony Xperia Z Ultra relaunched with Android KitKat

By Andy Boxall Published December 11, 2013

Google has teamed up with LG and Sony to bring a pair of brand-new devices to the Play Store. Normally, we’d expect some exciting Nexus hardware, but this time we’ve got some new entries into the firm’s growing Google Play Edition range, and both are the first of their kind.

LG has delivered the first Google Play Edition tablet, in the shape of the G Pad 8.3. Its announcement clears up the mystery of the leaked LG V510 tablet, which was seen boasting the same specs as the standard G Pad, but rumored to wear the Nexus name. The truth of the matter has turned out to be somewhere in-between.

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What makes the Google Play Edition different to the regular G Pad 8.3 is the addition of stock Android 4.4 KitKat, which operates without any of LG’s own software over the top. The hardware specs include an 8.3-inch display with a 1920 x 1200 pixel resolution, a quad-core Snapdragon 600 processor, 2GB of RAM, and a 5-megapixel rear camera.

The first Google Play Edition tablet has also been joined by the first Google Play Edition phablet, as Sony has swapped out its own Android OS in favor of Android 4.4 KitKat on the Xperia Z Ultra. The almost comically large smartphone/tablet hybrid has a massive 6.4-inch, 1080p touchscreen, and is powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 800 processor. It has 4G LTE connectivity, 16GB of memory, and weighs in at a serious 212 grams.

Both these new Google Play Editions are on sale through the Play Store now, with the LG G Pad 8.3 costing a reasonable $350, and the Xperia Z Ultra $650, which is the same price as the Galaxy S4 Google Play Edition. Lastly, Google has added a new color to the 2013 Nexus 7 tablet, which now comes in white, but only if you select the 32GB Wi-Fi version.

Former Senior Mobile Writer

Andy has written about mobile technology for almost a decade. From 2G to 5G and smartphone to smartwatch, Andy knows tech.

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