Details have just been announced for T-Mobile version of Samsung’s iPad killer, the Galaxy Tab. Not only will it be the first mobile provider to begin selling the device, it’ll also be available with a $200 discount.
T-Mobile will offer a $200 subsidy on the $600 gadget to anyone signing up for a two-year data service agreement.
It’s a big move for T-Mobile, which hasn’t carried a killer Android product since the early days of the operating system.
While a November 10 launch date will officially make T-Mobile the flagship carrier, the Galaxy Tab will immediately go on sale the next day at Verizon. It will be followed very shortly by Sprint.
Sprint is also offering a $200 subsidy to customers who sign a 2-year contract. Verizon, however, won’t let you get a contract even if you wanted one and is offering no discount for people who want the $600 tablet.
Either Verizon expects it to sell very well at the $600 price point, or it expects it to be a flop and it just wants to return it to Samsung as soon as possible.
The only major carrier still to confirm its Galaxy Tab plans is AT&T, which is still scrambling to figure out how it will operate once the iPhone escapes its clutch of exclusivity.
The Galaxy Tab is a smaller, Android-based tablet designed to compete directly with the iPad. It can be used with one hand while holding it with the other and hopes to be more of a value item as a portable device than the larger iPad is.
However, with a $600 sticker price, it might scare some customers away, knowing that for the same price they could buy the much more well-known iPad.
