$408 outright: Telcos discount Galaxy Tab

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Telstra, Vodafone and other mobile retailers have dramatically chopped their list price for the 7″ version of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet line by more than half in some cases, with the device now costing as little as $408 outright — compared to $999 when it first launched in the closing months of 2010.

Telstra’s website now lists the 7″ Galaxy Tab tablet as being available for $408 outright or for an additional $7 per month on a $49 monthly plan for 24 months. That plan comes with a 7GB monthly data allowance. Telstra also offers similar $29 and $79 monthly plans for the Galaxy Tab. The news represents a dramatic price cut for the tablet of more than 50 percent.

However, Vodafone has also dramatically cut the price of the 7″ Galaxy Tab. It appears the Telstra pricing change was first reported by Gizmodo Australia.

When the company first launched the Galaxy Tab in late 2010, customers were forced to pay either an upfront charge of $999 for the device, or between $26 and $30 per month over a 24 month period for the handset, in addition to a normal mobile data plan. Now, however, Vodafone is listing the Galaxy Tab as costing between zero and $20 per month on a 24 month plan.

Vodafone is still, however, selling the 7″ Galaxy Tab for $999 upfront, despite the fact that online retailer Mobicity is also selling the device for the heavily discounted price of $529.

The price changes mean that the 7″ Galaxy Tab can be bought dramatically cheaper through both Telstra and Vodafone than it can through Optus, which does not appear to have changed the pricing on its 7″ Galaxy Tab plans.

The news comes as most of Australia’s mobile telcos are believed to be planning substantial tablet launches over the next few months. Vodafone will shortly launch the 10.1v version of Samsung’s Galaxy Tab line, while Telstra on Friday declined to comment on a report that it is in talks with Motorola to launch the company’s highly anticipated Xoom tablet in the next month or so.

Late on Thursday local Android blog Ausdroid — which has been correct in its reports of a number of other Android handset launches on Australian shores — reported Telstra would launch the Xoom and Atrix in mid-May, alongside a slew of other handsets from manufacturers like Samsung and Sony Ericsson, some of which are already known about.

Telstra, Optus and Vodafone also sell 3G connectivity options for Apple’s iPad tablet, although they don’t sell the device directly. In addition, both Telstra and Optus sell their own self-branded tablets, manufactured respectively by Chinese vendors Huawei and ZTE.

Internationally, the Galaxy Tab and the Motorola Xoom, alongside HTC’s Flyer tablet and Research in Motion’s PlayBook device (which is not based on the Android platform) have attracted a high degree of interest, as they are seen as the chief competitors to Apple’s iPad, which has achieved strong sales figures internationally and currently dominates the Australian market for tablets.

Image credits: Samsung

23 COMMENTS

  1. Well good on them for trying but the iPad pretty much owns the tablet market at this time.

    • The iPad owns the tablet market because so many people have/had iPhones and wanted a tablet, apple released there tablet at the right time and caught everyone off guard by it.

      The tablets coming out now/soon are excellent compared to what has trickled out so far. The only issue is pricing because they are more feature packed than what the iPad offers.

      • That may well be the case in regards to new Android tablets being packed with more features than the iPad, but the iPad2 owns all other tablets (including Tegra2) when it comes to graphics power thanks to it’s PowerVR SGX543 chipset.

        However the main advantage that the iPad2 has over ANY other tablet either out now or on the way is availability of software. How many native 1024×600 apps are there specifically designed for the Galaxy Tab? Apart from the native apps it ships with, and a handful from the Android market there are next to none. So as far as Android apps on the Galaxy Tab go, for the most part you’re simply looking at up-scaled 848×480 apps designed for 4″ phones blown up to 7″.

        The same goes with native 1280×800 apps designed for all the new 10″ Tegra 2 tablets coming out like the Motorola Xoom. Don’t get me wrong, Honeycomb itself is awesome and way ahead of the boring icon grid layout of the iPad, however it’s the apps that matter to me, and there are only a handful that are designed specifically for 1280×800. Hopefully that situation will improve over the next 12 months.

        Apple were very smart with the iPad. Not only by getting a great tablet to market way before their competitors, but they made sure they had a ton of devs on-board, and launched the tablet with thousands of apps designed specifically for it’s 1024×768 resolution and 9.7″ form factor. 12 months on and there are now tens of thousands of high quality iPad apps available.

        My current opinion of Android is that it’s got a ton of potential, some very strong advantages over iOS, and it can certainly catch up to iOS in terms of market share. However just as Google are finally starting to do now, they need to lock the system down more, start filtering out some of the shit in the Android market, and have a set of minimum hardware requirements for Honeycomb. That way devs dont have to code their app for so any different form factors, resolutions, varying amounts of ram, graphics chipsets etc.

        Personally I wouldn’t mind the Galaxy Tab, just as a device that makes a great E-Reader and for surfing the net, excellent Gmail (there’s still no decent Gmail client for iOS) and all the native apps it ships with, but given it’s not even running Honeycomb, it’s not powerful and versatile enough to be my primary tablet. 1024×600 is actually a really nice res for a 7″ device too, but again only if apps are being rendered natively and there will never be many of those for that resolution. There just isn’t the developer support there for such a niche product.

        I’m waiting to see what type of price the Xoom is offered for when it’s officially launched in Australia, but at this stage as imperfect as it is, I’m leaning heavily towards an iPad2 as my first tablet.

      • Sorry for such a large rant btw. That started out as one paragraph but I got carried away :)

        • Your rant was also pointless because Android HoneyComb/IceCream has an API extensions specifically for large devices in the exact same way that Apple has an API extension for large devices

          The exacts same thing that iPhone developers did to port their applications to tablets, Android developers will do to tablet devices.

          iPhone applications were all designed with a certain static resolution at a point in time as well

          Android will overtake the iPad, just like it did with the iphone, its just a question of when,

          • LOL. I might have guess you be an illogical Fandroid. I always love the way you speak in absolutes. Notice the way that I covered both pros and cons of iOS and Android? I..e. recognising the strengths of both? Where as you just speak in absolutes, like you have been given the power to see the future. Just like your visionary insights into the future of the NBN.

            There might be an API in existence, but devs still have to take an interest in Android and actually use it and at this stage compared to the massive amount of iPad devs, they simply aren’t. There are bugger all native tablet apps in the Android market. Are you seriously going to try to dispute this too? I went to the trouble of saying it may not always be this way and that Honeycomb is heading in the right direction (and that I really liked it) but of course you just ignored all that.

            “Android will overtake iOS”.

            So you’ve seen the future, you know this for sure do you? I even agree it’s a possibility, but just that, nothing more. And at this stage it’s Apple’s game and everyone knows it. Remind me how are Android tablet sales going compared the iPad again? And how many native Android tablets are there compared to iOS? That’s rhetorical by the way so don’t bother answering. Everyone knows iOS is whipping Android’s arse. Posting the numbers would just make your absolute statement seem even more ridiculous than it already does. I won’t put you through that :)

          • No its because of a bigger market share and economies of scale, the Android market has already exploded and is the size of apples market store, so the only thing developers that are already on Android need to do is to add some extra size for the tablets

            Android will do to iOS what Microsoft did to Apple in the 95’s. Due to a massive range of hardware and penetration and Apples draconian pricing schemes and lockdowned ecosystem, they will be overtaken. And Google has the manpower to do it

          • There are over 65,000 native iPad apps available. Apps that are designed specifically for 1024×768 resolution and the iPad’s form factor. At the time the iPad launched there were around 100 native Honeycomb apps available. That number may have even crept up to 200 by now! Woah! :)

            But Detegoo has a crystal ball that allows him to see the future. So we’ll just take his word for it, that customers don’t want iPads and their incredible range of apps. They obviously want Android tablets with a tiny selection of native apps.

            “only thing developers that are already on Android need to do is to add some extra size for the tablets”

            Yep, sure detegoo. You mean re-render an existing app at the native resolution of the tablet without making any other changes? Or make it “resolution independent” (like universal apps on iOS have been doing since day one). Simply scaling an app up to 1280×800 doesn’t make it a good app. A good app is one that has been designed specifically designed for the form factor, hardware specs (which vary wildly on Android hardware) and maximises every last pixel with a good UI. Like Honeycomb’s UI for example which is very nice indeed. This requires developers to actually take an interest in the platform and design specific software that they know will make a return. The reality is that Android has a tiny amount of of developers compared to iOS, because they can make so much more money, and deliver a much more consistent and stable application for the iPad.

            Android also hasn’t attracted any good game designers to the platform either. Want to know why? How-about we let Mark Rein from Epic (developers of the awesome looking & widely used Unreal engine) tell us:

            “In an interview with Develop, Rein said Epic is keenly watching all mobile device developments – including that of new entrant Microsoft – yet isn’t completely sold on Android just yet.
            “I think [Google] still has a long way to go,” he said.

            “I’m also worried that every Android phone vendor seems to have a different user interface than the other. It is unclear whether Google will step in and straighten it out or continue to let it grow out of control.
            “Another problem with Android is the carriers run wild with the OS and are adding all kinds of bloatware and not-so-great custom user interfaces.

            “Some companies are taking the open nature of OS to an extreme – can you imagine how happy Google was to see Verizon replace all Google Search with Bing on one of their Android phones? Hopefully that kind of shenanigans will wake Google up a bit.

            “I couldn’t imagine Apple letting any carrier hijack the customer experience to that sort of extreme. Apple is out there fighting the good fight on behalf of its end users and delivering a pretty consistent, and great, user experience around the world.”

            Or if that isn’t enough for you, how about legendary ID developer John Carmack’s view (creator of Doom, Quake and Rage on iOS)

            “Apparently, the Marketplace “doesn’t even let you download more than 20 or 30MB” which can be stifling to triple-A titles like Rage, weighing in at 743MB- “you have to end up setting up your own server and doing your own transfer for all of that. Dealing with the user interface of managing space… there’s a lot of things that happen automagically for us on iOS that we’ll have to deal with particularly on the Android space.”

            Additionally, Carmack notes “the iOS platform has really been a pleasure to work on[…] Half of the reason for us ditching the old feature phones was that it was so much more pleasant to develop for iOS. And I fear that we would be slipping back into some of that quagmire on the Android side of things. But there’s no doubt that the installed user base is huge, and is getting larger all the time.”

            I interpret the interview not as a condemnation of the Android platform outright, but simply a confirmation of what many developers have been saying for a while- the Android SDK is simply not as robust or well-documented as the iOS SDK and the Marketplace is not ready for triple-A game titles just yet.”

            Whether you care about games or not deteego, the fact is that many people buying tablets do, particularly now that they are incorporating such powerful graphics chipsets and cool new control methods like gyroscopes.

            As I said previously I’m not even saying definitely that Android won’t catch up to iOS at some stage. But to suggest that it definitely will, or to suggest its even close at this stage, is nothing short of hilarious fantasy.

          • There are over 65,000 native iPad apps available. Apps that are designed specifically for 1024×768 resolution and the iPad’s form factor. At the time the iPad launched there were around 100 native Honeycomb apps available. That number may have even crept up to 200 by now! Woah! :)

            Could have said the exact same thing about Android with phones, turned it it was bullshit. The Android market jumped from 30000 apps to 200000k + in the span of a year, its now on par with iPhones market

            Yep, sure detegoo. You mean re-render an existing app at the native resolution of the tablet without making any other changes? Or make it “resolution independent” (like universal apps on iOS have been doing since day one). Simply scaling an app up to 1280×800 doesn’t make it a good app. A good app is one that has been designed specifically designed for the form factor, hardware specs (which vary wildly on Android hardware) and maximises every last pixel with a good UI. Like Honeycomb’s UI for example which is very nice indeed. This requires developers to actually take an interest in the platform and design specific software that they know will make a return. The reality is that Android has a tiny amount of of developers compared to iOS, because they can make so much more money, and deliver a much more consistent and stable application for the iPad.
            You are making it sound like this was never done in iPad (hint: it was, iPhone developers also had to deal with the new resolution on the iPad tablet). In fact, Android developers are already aware of the need to cater to different resolution sizes, there is even a handy development platform on Eclipse to cater for it. You are making it sound like this is something new, or developers are incapable of doing this.

            Android does not have a tiny amount of developers compared to iPhone, thats a fallacy

            Android also hasn’t attracted any good game designers to the platform either. Want to know why? How-about we let Mark Rein from Epic (developers of the awesome looking & widely used Unreal engine) tell us:

            Which is why EA, Amazon and Sony are going to be releasing app stores on Android. Heard of the Sony XPeria play?

            More bullshit

            If you are going to provide articles, at least don’t provide all the biased ones that support your point of view

          • Deteego. I’m going to end my discussion with you now. The reason being that you continuously prove to us in every thread you contribute to, that you have a single track mind incapable of accepting anyone’s point unless it’s exactly in line with your own views. Once you believe something in your mind it becomes a FACT that you feel the whole world must know about. You’re one of those painful guys that is “always right” , can magically see the future, and your biased views never allow you to paint a balanced picture of anything.

            And any link I provide that isn’t exactly in line with your view is “biased” ? That”s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. People provide links to back up their claims and I provided links and direct quotes from two of the world’s leading software developers. But that’s biased? Get a grip mate.

            I spelt out very clearly that I like Honeycomb, and that even I believe it’s entirely possible that Android will overtake iOS sales. However as it stands today there a ton more iPad apps available, and Android has far less interest from developers for the reasons that Mark Rein and John Carmack mentioned (among many others). If you can’t even accept that ID or Epic (two of the most cutting edge and respected gaming companies on Earth) may just know a bit more about the industry than you, then you are obviously completely blinded by your own single minded point of view. But hey I’m the “biased” one right. Oh and The Xperia Play is a phone by the way (and a very ordinary underpowered one at that). We’re talking about tablets remember?

            I look forward to to the day where you evolve to the point where you can acknowledge both sides of a story, or concede you may be wrong on something, or take seriously the points that someone else is making. Somehow I doubt I’ll see that kind of mature behaviour from you, so why should I bother arguing with you?

          • Uh, my statement was that Android will overtake iOS, its just a question of when. Obviously right now the iPad is ahead, due to the fact that it was released earlier and has a head start (and the only real carrier with the tablet at the time was galaxy tab). However its just that, a head start. If you read here (http://www.engadget.com/2011/04/11/gartner-apple-will-dominate-tablet-space-for-years-android-won/), Gartner states that it will be around 5 years that the iPad will have more marketshare, and then Android will overtake it, just as it did with phones

            Maybe you should learn to read my statements properly before creating a strawman to dismiss my points. Your criticism about the specific details regarding developers having to account for tablet sized resolutions is what was blatantly incorrect.

            My comment about XPeria play was in response to your offtopic article that you provided regarding gaming on Android platforms

          • Wow Simon,I’m sure learning stuff about developers and operating systems from you.
            Obviously deteego doesn’t know a thing about the subject-he just seems to hate Apple!
            Where as you on the other hand have informed us fairly covering both sides of the coin.
            It never fails to amaze me how uninformed people like deteego rant and rave but at the end of the day don’t contribute anything to the discussion.
            I have 2 friends who have recently sold their Galaxy Tabs for a huge loss and jumped on the iPad juggernaut for the exact reasons you mentioned.
            Anyway,thanks for the information Simon and as I said before,I don’t dislike Android,I just prefer Apple products for my current requirements.

  2. No probs Simon,it was a very informed and well written piece and just confirmed what I was saying.
    If I thought there was something better out there that suited my needs I’d go for it but at this stage iPad 2 is the only one on my horizon!

  3. Deteego you should remember that Android is used by a number of phone makers(very common) so if you generically group all their sales together you can say that Android has overtaken iPhone,however that’s not the way to look at!
    When you tally individual makers ala Samsung,HTC and the rest of the bunch individually iPhone globally is STILL number 1.
    Why are you so paranoid?
    You like Android-great,enjoy using it,I like Apple so that’s great too,just relax Max!

    • Deteego you should remember that Android is used by a number of phone makers(very common) so if you generically group all their sales together you can say that Android has overtaken iPhone,however that’s not the way to look at!

      Why, because you said so?

      When you tally individual makers ala Samsung,HTC and the rest of the bunch individually iPhone globally is STILL number 1.

      We are making a comparison between Android and iOS (iphone,iPad) and not Android vs Motorola or Android vs Samsung. The whole point of Android is that its used by multiple hardware companies, thats the apples locked ecosystem and thats what Apple has to deal with

      Your comparison with individual carriers is illogical

      Wouldn’t expect more from an obvious Apple fanboy though

      Why are you so paranoid?
      I am paranoid now?

      You like Android-great,enjoy using it,I like Apple so that’s great too,just relax Max!
      I think you are the one that needs to relax, you just spammed 5 posts attacking me every single time Simon replied as if you took criticism of Apple personally

      My issue with Simon was his false statement about resolutions (and other things) regarding phone development

  4. Once again Simon,you make perfect sense and yes,you did give both sides of the story which he deteego obviously ignored! Anyway,as I said before we all use what best suits us individually.
    Some of these Android fans seem very close minded.

    • Thanks for all your supportive comments Gary. Always nice to have someone who understands common sense and can see through the FUD, exaggerations, lies, absolute certainties when predicting the future and general “I am right. You are wrong” mentality (of a certain person who will remain nameless :) )

  5. I just bought a Xoom while in the U.S. and it’s great… I’m loving it :-) Perhaps my only complaint is that the battery doesn’t quite last as long as I would have hoped, but maybe it just needs to be worn in a bit.

    • Motorola is going to address an update to improve battery life on Xoom (amongst many other things)

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