Verizon Galaxy Tablet Pricing Questioned

By Lucy Mitchell
Oct 21 2010

Yesterday it was announced that Verizon would be the first of the four major mobile carriers to release the Samsung Galaxy tablet device.

Today Verizon and Samsung are trying to justify the lofty selling price. The price, $600, is the same as the larger and more powerful iPad from Apple which has created some buzz in the market.

The Galaxy tab was the most anticipated mobile device release this year. Promoted as a direct competitor to the iPad, the device seems to have fallen short. The Galaxy is a smaller version of the tablet device, with only a 7” screen, that currently runs a free operating system provided by Google.

Some carriers have promised a cut in price if the user agrees to a full contract with the device. However, Verizon has said that they will not offer any such price break. The Galaxy tablet is available on a month-to-month contract system and users will need to pay at least $20 a month more for the data plan.

This new pricing issue has many disappointed in the market. The general public was expecting a competitor for the iPad that would be reasonably priced. Early expectations suggested that the Galaxy tablet would be priced in the $400 range.

There has been no official word as to when the new device will be available on the other three major mobile carriers. All eyes will be on the carriers to create a reasonable pricing system for the new tablet device.