T-Mobile G-Slate hands-on (photos)

The T-Mobile G-Slate by LG was first at CES 2011, the tablet was immediately whisked away from public viewing after the announcement. Fortunately, we got a chance to get a full hands-on look at the 4G Honeycomb tablet here at Mobile World Congress 2011.

The G-Slate is notable for a couple of reasons. First, it's the first 4G (running on T-Mobile's HSPA+ network) Honeycomb tablet and it also includes a 3D stereoscopic camera, so you can shoot 1080p 3D videos and view them on the device's 9-inch screen with 3D glasses.

T-Mobile did not announce a release date or pricing for the G-Slate, but it will be available in only one model: 32GB. LG also introduced the Optimus Pad at MWC, which is the global version of the G-Slate.

Unlike the current crop of 7- and 10-inch tablets, the G-Slate falls in the middle with a 9-inch multitouch screen. It looked sharp and felt responsive during our hands-on time with the tablet.

What's more impressive, however, is the build of the tablet. It has a great, premium design that rivals that of the iPad's and feels more solid than the Samsung Galaxy Tab series.

The top of the device (in portrait mode) features a power/lock button, a speaker, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Meanwhile, there's a volume rocker on the side. As you can see, it's relatively thin, but in the hand, there's some heft to it.

There's a nice soft-touch finish on back, so it doesn't slip in your hand when you're using the tablet. The G-Slate is a Google Experience device and will run Android 3.0 Honeycomb.

You'll also find two cameras on the back of the device. The one on the right is a 5-megapixel camera with LED flash, which you can use to take regular photos and video. However, when combined with the stereoscopic camera on the left, you can record 1080p 3D video and view it back on the tablet.

Here you can see 3D camcorder interface with CNET TV's producer Ariel Nunez as the subject.

Unlike the LG Optimus 3D smartphone, 3D glasses will be required to view such videos on the T-Mobile G-Slate.

With the G-Slate's 9-inch touch screen, we found the keyboard pretty easy to use in landscape mode.

A multimedia dock will also be available to use with the T-Mobile G-Slate. When docked, you can use it as a large alarm clock.

You can also use it to view a slideshow of your photos, watch videos, listen to music, and more.