Samsung Galaxy Tab More Pricey Than iPad

The Samsung Galaxy Tab is going to be more expensive than the Apple iPad, after the UK pricing for the Android tablet was revealed.

While it has been recently announced that the Galaxy Tab will be available in the UK on all major networks from 1 November, the price of the device had remained a mystery.

Now DSG Group, the owner of Currys, Dixons and PC World – has confirmed the UK price at an eye watering £599.99.

Pricey Tablet

Unveiled on 2 September at the IFA 2010 consumer electronics show in Berlin, Samsung’s long-anticipated Galaxy Tab features a TFT-LCD 7-inch screen and a Cortex A8 1GHz processor, paired with Google’s Android 2.2 operating system. It comes with 16GB of internal memory as standard, scalable to 32GB of external memory, as well as Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity.

Apple on the other hand has been enjoying tremendous success with the iPad, which varies in price from as little £429 for the 16GB Wi-Fi-only version, to £699 for the 64GB, 3G and Wi-Fi version.

This means that the Galaxy Tab is going to be more expensive, to the tune of £70, than the equivalent 16GB, 3G and Wi-Fi Apple iPad (£529).

Admittedly, the Galaxy Tab does offer a camera, the ability to use it as a phone should you wish, and it can support Flash, but the decision to price it as a more expensive option than the iPad, which is already considered a ‘premium’ product, seems strange.

Other Competition

It seems even more strange when one considers how sales of the Amazon Kindle (admittedly only an e-reader) shot through the roof when its price was dropped.

And more and more low-cost Android-based tablets are now flooding the market, including a tablet from Next, the Disgo Tablet 6000 (£180), a number of tablets from Archos (£220 for the most expensive), and the Dell Streak (£350 – unlocked).

It remains to be whether the subsidised price for the Galaxy Tab from UK mobile operators will make the Samsung device better value.