Samsung Galaxy tab now on sale.

[Naldo]

Now on sale, without contract you are looking at 539.99 quid.

http://www.carphonewarehouse.com/laptop-redirect/samsung-galaxy-tab?intcmp=hp-hp-hero-4-v1-1134

[TeaLeaf]

I have to say that it is looking increasingly expensive for the option of buy your own phone and add a SIM only contract compared to a contract phone.  For example when I got my HTC Hero I could buy the Hero and save money when compared to the contract.  More recent deals seem to be going more and more expensive and making the 'buy your own phone' option uneconomical.  

For example, the HD Desire is available free for an 18 month Ã,£35pm contract, versus buy your own (Ã,£460) and a Ã,£15 per month SIM only deal.  18 x 20 = Ã,£360 saving versus the price of the phone at Ã,£460.

The Samsung at Ã,£540 outright plus a SIM only deal makes little financial sense compared to a Ã,£35pm contract with an upfront Ã,£150 to buy the phone as part of the contract and I am sure cheaper contract deals will appear soon to compete with 3's offering.

Seems they pricing us phoen buyers out of the market and pushing us towards contracts.

[smilodon]

I suppose as Android tablets go, this is really the only serious offering on the market that competes head to head with the iPad. I just can't see what it offers over a net book at half the price. Unless you fall into a niche that needs a 'gaming device linked to a web browser e-mail tool which also offers media playback and rudimentary word processing' all rolled into one, I can't currently see the attraction. I have a net book which is a better web surfer, e-mailer and word processor that a Tab. I have a Desire which is a better phone, music player, camera, social network tool, sat nav and pocket mobile information platform, a Kindle 3 which is a vastly superior e-book reader. The down side is that collectively they cost Ã,£800 and they take up about half as much space again as the Galaxy Tab. That being said the Kindle fits neatly into the accessory pocket of my net book case (which is about the size of a large 'man bag)



and my phone just goes in my pocket. So i don't think I have much more to carry about than an iPad or Tab user. Plus I can do almost everything better on my three devices than on one Tablet. I posted this on a netbook and it would have taken ages to have messed about on a touch keyboard.

Ã,£600 quid when you've bought the carry bag and other associated bits and bobs (there are always bits and bobs when you by a cook gadget ) is way to much for what it is. Ã,£399 with no contract and I'd be tempted. It's possible that a price like that would be impossible for Samsung or Apple to offer. They may well be selling at a loss. But then two years ago a Kindle was Ã,£300+ and now a far better version is just over Ã,£100 (plus those bits and bobs again )

Maybe in a few years when there is real competition and when Google has made Android into a proper tablet OS rather than Samsung's phone OS with bells on.