U.S. Cellular, AT&T Mobility round out Galaxy Tab launch plans

Samsung Telecommunications Americas’ Galaxy Tab device finally received launch details from the two remaining carriers that said they would offer the device before the holiday shopping season. Regional wireless operator U.S. Cellular Corp. (USM) said it would begin offering the device on Nov. 19, while AT&T Mobility (T) said it would begin offering the device on Nov. 21.
U.S. Cellular said it would offer its CDMA-based version of the tablet device for $400 with a two-year contract or $600 without a contract. Both purchase options will require a data package beginning at $15 per month for 200 megabytes of data transmission over the carrier’s cellular network or $55 per month for 5 gigabytes of cellular data transmission.
AT&T Mobility said it would offer the device for $650 without a contract with data packages priced at $15 per month for 250 MB of data transmission or $25 per month for 2 GB of data transmission. The plans are similar to the tiered offering the carrier launched earlier this year for its smart phones, though the $15 plan includes an additional 50 MB of data for the Galaxy Tab device.
T-Mobile USA Inc. (DTEGY) was the first carrier to offer the device with the Nov. 10 launch. The carrier is selling the Galaxy Tab for $600 without a contract or $400 with a contract and rate plans priced at $25 per month for 200 MB of cellular transmission or 5 GB for $50. The carrier does not charge overages, but instead throttles network speeds if a customer goes over their plan allotment.
Verizon Wireless (VZ) began offering the device on Nov. 11 at a no-contract price of $600 with rate plans prices at $20 per month for 1 GB of data and $35 per month for 3 GB of cellular data transmission.
Sprint Nextel Corp. (S) began offering the device on Nov. 14 at a contract price of $400. Data packages from the carrier begin at 2 GB per month for $30 or 5 GB for $60, with both plans including unlimited messaging.