LG’s “iPad killer” Optimus tablet delayed for Android 3.0

Don’t make promises you can’t keep. South Korean electronics giant LG set the Internet on fire in August when it said its Android-based Optimus tablet “will be better than the iPad.” Now it appears that we won’t be seeing that tablet anytime soon, Reuters reports.

LG has apparently dropped its plans to release the tablet with Android 2.2 (codenamed “Froyo”) — a decision which will likely delay its release from late this year to early 2011.

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“We plan to introduce a tablet that runs on the most reliable Android version … We are in talks with Google to decide on the most suitable version for our tablet and that is not Froyo 2.2,” an LG official said.

The news comes just a few days after details of Motorola’s rumored Android tablet hit the Web. Motorola is looking to use Android 3.0 (codenamed “Gingerbread”, due for release later this year) in its tablet, and it’s aiming for an early 2011 release. LG will most likely wait for Android 3.0 as well — an update which is rumored to be more stable and better suited to tablets than current Android versions.

LG’s tablet may also be delayed so that the manufacturer can focus on its iPhone-rivaling Optimus smartphones, according to another LG official speaking to Bloomberg. The official also says that LG’s tablet hardware is ready to go — it’s the software that’s holding the company back. The tablet will probably be shown off at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next January, he said.

The longer LG waits to get into the tablet game, the less likely it will be able to offer something that’s truly “better than the iPad.” Apple will most likely show off its second-generation iPad early next year, and it will probably include many of the hardware upgrades — like a camera for video conferencing — that LG is looking to include in its device.