Well, it was fun while it lasted. When Samsung introduced the Galaxy Tab to decent reviews, a lot of folks were expecting it to be the first Android tablet to give the Apple iPad a run for its money. Then we started hearing about ridiculously high price tags in Europe. Not to worry, I figured. It’ll be cheaper in the US. And it is… but now that Verizon has unveiled its pricing for the Galaxy Tab, I have to wonder if it’s cheap enough.

Verizon Wireless will begin offering the Galaxy Tab 7 inch Android tablet on November 11th for $599.99. To be fair, that’s $29 cheaper than a 3G enabled iPad, but that’s hardly the point. It’s still a lot of money and Samsung doesn’t have the same kind of brand loyalty that Apple does. I suspect it’s going to be a lot harder to sell a $600 Android tablet than a $600 Apple tablet… even if the specs are comparable. In fact, if you’re looking a camera or SD card slot, or the more open Android platform, the Galaxy Tab wins. I guess we’ll find out soon whether that’s what people are looking for.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab has a 1GHz Samsung Hummingbird CPU, a 7 inch, 1024 x 600 pixel capacitive touchscreen display, 16GB of storage and a microSDHC card slot and runs Google Android 2.2 Froyo. It has two cameras, a front-facing 1.3MP camera and a rear-facing 3MP camera. The tablet has a 4,000mAh battery which should provide up to 7 hours of video playback, and it can handle 1080p HD video. It also has 3G, GPS, full access to the Android Market, support for Adobe Flash, and some custom apps including ThinkFree for editing documents and Swype for entering text.

I had kind of expected wireless carriers to subsidize the tablet the way they do with smartphones in order to make it cheaper than the iPad when you sign up for a 2 year contract. That could still happen. Unlike the iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab will eventually be available from all four major US wireless carriers. Right now we only know how much Verizon will be charging for it.

Verizon’s data plans for the Galaxy Tab start at $20 per month for 1GB of data.

Update: It looks like Sprint will offer the Galaxy Tab for $400 to customers who sign up for a service contract, while Best Buy will offer a WiFi-only version for $500.

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20 replies on “Verizon to offer the Samsung Galaxy Tab on Nov 11… for $600”

  1. Well to be fair the Samsung Galaxy Tab may have similar CPU performance as the iPad but performance isn’t all about just the CPU. The Tab for example has twice the RAM as the iPad and can handle 1080p thanks to the PowerVR SGX 540, while the iPad can only do 720p. The Tab also has many features the iPad is lacking like cameras and MicroSD slot. So it’s not like it isn’t giving you something for the price, compared to the iPad…Android is also more optimized on the Tab than in other tablets. Helping to ensure easier operation and a greater range of supported apps. So there is a level of quality involved and one of the reasons Samsung tends to be pricey is because of their high standards. Also the price mentioned is just the price you can get it without a contract. Price can potentially go down to about $200 if you get it with a 2 year contract.It also depends on what you intend to use it for but it can potentially be the better choice in certain scenarios like this article shows for example… https://www.umpcportal.com/2010/10/the-1k-challenge-a-closer-look-at-the-rigs/Also, unlike the iPad presently, the Samsung Galaxy Tab will be sold by Verizon Wireless, AT&T, Sprint and T-Mobile. All who already carry Samsung Smartphones and thus already have an established customer base, which may give them an advantage over Apple even when they start eventually being carried by the other carriers as well.

    1. Where are you getting $200 for on-contract price? Sprint is said to be $400 on contract, $600 un-subsidized.

      1. In the WSJ, https://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704206804575467060590811950.html?mod=index_to_businessesOne thing about carriers, when they first release a product it’s usually priced at a premium but within a month or two it should drop.Like the last year on Verizon the Blackberry 9630 Tour was released at over $200 with contract, but within a month you could have gotten it off Amazon for the same contract deal but at $99.Besides they make more money on the contracts than anything else.Though Verizon surprised everyone pricing it at full price with or without contract. Though with the apparent plan to sell iPads later they may have a reason not to promote the Samsung at this time.Speaking of which, https://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9192100/Verizon_defends_Galaxy_Tab_pricing_at_600Notice the pricing for the iPad with Mifi package?

        1. OK, thanks for explaining.

          BTW, iPad + MiFi… you get the MiFi which can be used with other stuff besides the iPad right? So that is a better deal they are offering really. They are making the Apple deal sweeter. I’d rather see a WiFi only Galaxy Tab + MiFi for the same price. That would be a better deal. Of course that won’t happen. I’m just saying.

          1. No prob, I agree… only problem is the Google Market, without 3G it’s hard to get it. Not sure MiFi qualities for Android. Unlike the iPad, which has access to the Apple market as long as you have Internet and the market the main thing giving Apple a significant advantage.

  2. Face facts. Samsung products are way overpriced. Look at their netbooks. Sure, nice build quality, but compare their prices to Asus. It’s no contest. I don’t buy Apple, but I am enjoying this cinema play out. Apple make these other tablet players look like a bunch of clowns. As mentioned here already, just wait to iPad 2. And then this Galaxy Tab is the competition? Wow. Good for you Apple. I give you full marks for pwning the entire industry. Not easy to do, but you’ve done it. As mentioned before…

    Tablet market? Tablet market = iPad.

    /end of story

    gemaster
    aka gman

  3. Also, I don’t really understand the reasoning for a 3G equipped tablet.

    If you have a modern, 3G smartphone (say running Android Froyo), you can create a hotspot around it, and the tablet can connect to the internet by this.

    Even non-technical people can do this, Android supports it in a very straightforward manner.

    Most tablets are big so you would need a phone anyway and the 3G tablets are usually 50-100 dollars more expensive. Using that price differential you can buy/upgrade-to a better phone, buy a wifi-only tablet and do 3G the way above.

    1. If you already have a smart phone then why get a tablet? I’d rather go for a smart phone or tetherable dumb phone and laptop combination. Tablets just don’t make sense to me.

  4. So what I wanted to say: the Tab is an overpriced, inferior tablet, don’t buy it if you can wait a couple of weeks

  5. This pricing strategy (even more expensive than the ipad) is just silly.If somebody absolutely wants a brand name on an expensive tablet, they would rather buy an ipad (for non-technical customers, that is enough).I believe the recipe for a successful Android tablet is:- More powerful hardware than the ipad (camera, more ram, dual core-powerful processor, usb connectivity)- Stylish look so it is not handily beaten by the ipad- At least 2/3 the price of the ipad, just to make sure that the customer makes the right decision 🙂
    – >10hrs battery life with browsing

  6. Of course its pricing strategy. The market will let it settle down to decent levels in a matter of weeks

  7. I agree with you, geep. Big Fail for Samsung. Apple has very little
    to worry about. And even less when it introduces iPad gen 2.

    Let’s see how the rest of the netbook manufacturer crowd will
    come up with.

    If anyone can approach the sweet spot, it’ll most likely be Acer.

  8. So, let me get this right, people are going to see the 7″ Tab for $599, then look at the 10″ iPad+MiFi next to it for $30 more at the same Verizon stores, and then decide to buy the Tab. Dream on Samsung. How embarrassing.

  9. What a joke!

    Waaaaaay overpriced…where’s that KMart ad again ?

  10. lmao, dead out of the gate, overpriced, under specked, old version of android, no voice, no removable battery, no 4G, no hdmi 1.4 out, no pixel-qi type screen, when will they learn what people really want?

    1. Given your request for specs, I wonder what something like that would cost and would it sell for its price? $600 is at least $100 to much to be even considered an iPad competitor IMO..to me the sweet spot for a 7″ would be in the $300 range..that would make Apple hurt

      1. Completely agree. Single-core, Cortex A8 processor. Why the heck would I buy it when I will get 2 times more powerful machines in a couple of weeks and at half the price (any Tegra2 tablets).

        1. And Nvidia is going to release a new Tegra chip each year! So will be interesting to see if they can set the standard or not.

          Meanwhile Snapdragon is also going dual core and will soon see 1.2-1.5GHz out next year and Marvell has a triple core 1.5GHz coming out, with two cores being high speed and one low speed core for when not doing anything significant to save power.

          For now though, if you want something $300 or less Archos has a nice line of tablets ranging from $99 to $299 (not counting higher storage version) that range in size from 2.8″ to 10″… All will have accelerometers, wifi, and the 7″ and 10″ are multi-touch capacitive 1GHz Core A8 and should be out in November.

    2. You’re one of those “spec list” guys, huh? You must drive an amazing car. You must eat some amazing quality food. You must have fantastic clothes.

      Sorry, but almost nothing on your list would matter if this device cost a consumer $50. People are ONLY going to be interested in Android slates to the extent that they are CHEAP. Android is a LOUSY operating system, and for $600 dollars a typical consumer would probably be better served by a Windows 7 tablet, which can do many, many things but none of them all that impressively, instead of an Android slate, which can only do a few things but does them well.

      1. In the typical use cases of a tablet a Windows 7 tablet will do much less than Android 2. Especially when it comes to battery life, just take a look at the reviews of the freshly outed Win7 slates.

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