Today, Vodafone UK confirmed that it will be carrying the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The Galaxy Tab now has a dedicated landing page on Vodafone UK with a tentative launch date of “Coming Soon”. Vodafone UK is silent on the official timing of the Galaxy Tab’s arrival, only stating the Galaxy Tab will launch sometime in October. Vodafone is also mum on the oh-so-important pricing of this highly anticipated tablet device.
The pricing of the Galaxy Tab remains a contentious mystery. Online retailers are hinting at a price tag that ranges from a low of $800 all the way up to an extraordinarily high $1000. The latest retailer to jump on the pricing bandwagon is Amazon Germany which lists the Galaxy Tab for a staggering €799 ($1030). While online retailers are promoting a price tag that pushes the limits of what people are willing to spend on a tablet device, Samsung executives are publicly stating a friendlier price of $200-400.
This striking difference presumably results from the disparity between the on-contract price and the full retail price of a device. People buying smartphones, particularly in the US, expect rock bottom prices on devices in exchange for signing a two-year contract. Those same people are also familiar with the higher price tag of a mobile device when bought off-contract. When you consider that most major smartphones retail for $500-600, a price tag of $800-1000 for a full tablet is not that surprising. The big question is whether people will cough up that amount of cash for a non-essential device or opt for a lower price tag in exchange for yet another binding contract.
While we wait for Samsung to come forward with the off-contract price and carriers to announce the subsidized pricing, you can check out our hands-on review and use it to decide what you are willing to pay for this Android tablet.
[Via Vodafone UK and Gizmodo]