Samsung's Galaxy Tab is Going to be Pricey. Or Cheap. Or Maybe Both.
By Harry McCracken | Monday, September 6, 2010 at 11:13 am
How much will Samsung’s Galaxy Tab tablet (which I tried at IFA last week) cost? One report says it could go for around $1000, or twice as much as the cheapest iPad. But others quote less alarming estimates of $200 to $400.
Actually, all the figures could be correct: They involve multiple countries, and some are full price while others are what you’d pay after signing up for a 3G contract. (Samsung plans to sell the tablet exclusively through carriers, so most or all of the folks who buy one will presumably get a subsidized price.)
It’s obvious that a Galaxy Tab which cost a lot more than an iPad would be a non-starter, and that one which was appreciably cheaper could do quite well. But with Apple able to turn a healthy profit on a 9.7″ iPad with 3G that sells for $629 with no subsidy, I don’t understand why Samsung couldn’t sell a 7″ 3G Galaxy Tab for an even lower unsubsidized price.
(The Korea Times quotes a Samsung executive as saying that the phone will sell for slightly more than a Galaxy S smartphone. That doesn’t narrow things down much. For instance, T-Mobile’s standard subsidized price for the Galaxy S-based Vibrant is $199.99, but a friend of mine just bought two of ’em from Amazon–for a penny apiece.)
I don’t know how much it costs Samsung to manufacture a Tab, but given the price of smartphones and the price of iTabs, $350 or so feels like a reasonable two-year-contract price to me. Which raises another question: How much will the monthly bill run, and will carriers make you sign up for voice service (the Tab can act as a phone) or let you go for a cheaper, data-only plan?
4 Comments
Read more:
4 Comments For This Post
September 6th, 2010 at 9:39 am
The unsubsidized prices from most of the $200 sub'd smartphones is usually about $300 higher. If Samsung wants this to be at all competitive with the iPad, and considering it's smaller and cheaper to make, it should be at least $100 cheaper than the iPad. So, basically $550 unsub'd, and $250 sub'd.
They'll NEVER price it that low, i.e. lower than the Samsung Epic 4G. And that's why this thing's going to fail. I'd probably consider a Wi-Fi only version for $300, but Google's restrictions REQUIRE a 3G radio in all devices that have access to the Android Market.
So, at a minimum, to not uncut they're own phone prices, the Tab is going to be the same price or MORE than an iPad. You'd have to REALLY hate Apple and iTunes to choose a Tab. The software for the iPad is so much better than Android that I couldn't really recommend this device to anyone, certainly not without any cost savings.
September 6th, 2010 at 4:44 pm
It would have to be cheap to compete with the ipad.
September 6th, 2010 at 11:21 pm
I think Galaxy Tab it'll be a real iPad competitor. iPad is Apple, and it is a mystic thing behind buy an Apple product. iPad has it's own market supported for Apple products' funs.
Regards.
February 22nd, 2012 at 12:41 pm
I would like to personally thank you for taking the time to write, in depth, on the process of creating an article efficiently and effectively for blog readers.