LG G Pad 8.3 Google Play Edition tablet runs Android 4.4

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LG’s Google Play Edition of its G Pad 8.3 tablet runs unadulterated Android 4.4 KitKat and looks to be quite the desirable slice of cutting-edge Android.

The new slate is a Google Play Edition of the standard G Pad 8.3, meaning you’ll be able to buy it direct from Google, but also that it’ll be very near the front of the queue for new Android updates in the future.

It’s coming soon to the US for the thoroughly reasonable price of $350, which works out at £255 once you’ve added VAT. The non-Google version of the G Pad 8.3 is out now in the UK for £250, so that sounds about right.

LG hasn’t said whether it’ll go on sale in the UK. You can’t get the most recent Google Play Edition phones here — the Samsung Galaxy S4 and HTC One — so I’m not going to hold my breath.

It’d be a real shame if it doesn’t hit Britain, because it’s a decent spec for that price, and unlike Google’s Nexus tablets it’s made of metal. The 8.3-inch screen is better than Full HD with a resolution of 1,920×1,200 pixels, for a density of 265 pixels per inch. On a tablet, that’s sharp.

Under the hood is a 1.7GHz quad-core Snapdragon 600 chip — not quite the top of the range 800 behemoth, but a considerable powerhouse. It’s backed up by a respectable 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage, with no word on whether that’s expandable.

Its cameras pack 5 megapixels on the back and 1.3 megapixels on the front, there’s no 3G or 4G option — it’s Wi-Fi only — and its beefy 4,600mAh battery should last for yonks.

When Andy reviewed the version running LG’s own software last month, he was unimpressed with the cameras (the least important feature of a tablet) and its older iteration of Android, but for £250 it delivered a cracking screen, plenty of power and a classy metal chassis.

If you’d like to see it in action, here’s our CNET.com colleague Lynn’s video review:

Would you like a metal tablet with the latest version of Android? Do you think Google should expand its Edition scheme so we get more devices here in the UK? Let me know down in the comments, or over on our Facebook page.