LAS VEGAS ― LG Electronics and German-based telecommunications firm T-Mobile on Wednesday (Las Vegas time) unveiled the G Slate, the first tablet PC manufactured by LG.

The world’s third-largest handset manufacturer sought to re-enter the smart device race after it lost out in the smartphone battle last year.

The G Slate underscores the company’s attempts to get back into the groove, industry watchers said.

“This is the year that LG will show everything there is about smart products,” said Scott Ahn, the Chief Technology Officer of LG Electronics on the sidelines of the Consumer Electronics Show, the world’s largest electronics tradeshow that kicked off this week in Las Vegas. 
 

Jeff Hwang, President of LG Mobile Phones, said “LG is dedicated to continuing its role as an innovation leader and is thrilled to announce it’s entry into the tablet marketplace with the G Slate.”

The G Slate will start being sold in the U.S. during the first half of this year. Global sales will begin soon after, LG officials said.

LG’s G Slate is a 4G tablet that runs on the Honeycomb, the 3.0 version of the Android operating system created by Google, optimized for tablets.

Among South Korean manufactures, G-Slate will be the first tablet PC to run on the Honeycomb.

Samsung Electronics, the only other domestic firm to have rolled out a mobile computer, the Galaxy Tab, runs the device on the Android 2.2 version operating system.