Just bought the Samsung Galaxy

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by HarryT

As a matter of interest, why won't it work as a phone in the US? Is voice functionality disabled by the carrier?

Yup, you hit the Nail on the Head Harry. Voice has been disabled on the locked models carried by all 4 of the Major carriers. (Though IT can be hacked on at least the GSM carriers, but it is not for the faint at heart)

I suspect it has to do with what kind of Price plan they want to put on it, and unlike Europe and elsewhere you can, as Far as I know not but a unlocked, unbranded version there which supports the 3G frequency's there.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by robertc88

The NC offers a great bang for buck product but I don't think I'll be happy with it as I wasn't planning on rooting. It is way too early to know whether it would be good for the long haul so nullifying the warranty is too risky for me personally.

Do you have to activate 3G on the Tab? That just adds to the cost and I'd be willing to throw down $499 without it at BB and forego any cheaper price to avoid being locked into a two year agreement.

And if you get it at a B&M store, you get a 30 day return policy!

I was able to purchase mine at Costco and was required to purchase one month of data. It's a month to month contract and can be canceled anytime after the first month. Costco also offered a rebate for the activation fee so the total for my Tab was:

$499.99 sales price
25.00 sales tax
30.00 one month of data (3G) no contract

$554.99 actual price for the Tab

I know that Sprint is offering $299.99 with a two year contract.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

As a matter of interest, why won't it work as a phone in the US? Is voice functionality disabled by the carrier?

Correct. But the Tmobile one is the less bloated with third party software and the only one with Bluetooth access. The Tmobile one can act as a Hot Spot or do tethering without paying extra, which is kind of cool.

I've read some stuff online about how to hack it, but like I said, I did not buy or get it with a cellphone in mind; I was looking for a small tablet with full android market, something that I can use as an ereader for short sessions, browse internet "on the go", calendar, bank account access, etc.

Without a Bluetooth head set or similar, this thing is ridiculously big as a cellphone.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

Yup, you hit the Nail on the Head Harry. Voice has been disabled on the locked models carried by all 4 of the Major carriers. (Though IT can be hacked on at least the GSM carriers, but it is not for the faint at heart)

I suspect it has to do with what kind of Price plan they want to put on it, and unlike Europe and elsewhere you can, as Far as I know not but a unlocked, unbranded version there which supports the 3G frequency's there.

Thank you - that's interesting to know.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by robertc88

The NC offers a great bang for buck product but I don't think I'll be happy with it as I wasn't planning on rooting. It is way too early to know whether it would be good for the long haul so nullifying the warranty is too risky for me personally.

Do you have to activate 3G on the Tab? That just adds to the cost and I'd be willing to throw down $499 without it at BB and forego any cheaper price to avoid being locked into a two year agreement.

And if you get it at a B&M store, you get a 30 day return policy!

I bought a NC couple of months ago and did not like it. There is no landscape mode or ability to enlarge embedded pictures inside epub books. There is no Android Market either, is locked and it is heavy, even heavier than Galaxy Tab. Of course, there are people that would like it "as is", but I personally would not pay for a tablet device that has Linux but is locked. If you root it, you get access to Android Market but it is not an original device anymore. For the one who buy it with that in mind, would be a good choice.

You don't have to pay or get a contract in order to use a Galaxy Tab, at least not in Tmobile (here in USA) The tablet will cost you more initially but you won't be tied up to any contract, just a month to month plan and with unlimited data access (internet plus texting) and you will save around 1 thousand dollars; do the math, that's what average the cost of the plan at the end of the contract.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jocampo

You don't have to pay or get a contract in order to use a Galaxy Tab, at least not in Tmobile (here in USA) The tablet will cost you more initially but you won't be tied up to any contract, just a month to month plan and with unlimited data access (internet plus texting) and you will save around 1 thousand dollars; do the math, that's what average the cost of the plan at the end of the contract.

How much does that sort of contract cost? For comparison, a 1GB/month month-by-month contract (and I've never used more than about 300MB in a month, so 1GB is all I need) contract for my iPad here in the UK costs me £10/month - that's about $16. Are the prices comparable?

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by HarryT

How much does that sort of contract cost? For comparison, a 1GB/month month-by-month contract (and I've never used more than about 300MB in a month, so 1GB is all I need) contract for my iPad here in the UK costs me £10/month - that's about $16. Are the prices comparable?

Hi Harry,

Mine is like TallMomof2, a month to month no-contract plan: 30 US dollars. Unlimited data and text messaging with ability to do tethering and act as a Hot Spot.

3G speed is about 5Mb/s, faster than my office's (I work for a big, big IT company, lol)

[Care]

Here in Canada they are $649 plus taxes. If you get the longest signed contract it goes down to $499 plus taxes. I would pay $499 with no contract or $299 with one. That is a sweet deal compared to what we have offered.

I have a question. When you do read on it, do you have to flip around between different apps to see all of your library? And if you have a lot of side loaded books (books from all over with DRM stripped off), what app do you use to read them? I wouldn't want to be filpping back and forth between 3 different apps just to browse my books.

[HarryT]

Sounds as though prices are pretty similar - that's more or less what we'd pay for a comparable plan here.

I know what you mean about IT companies. I work for one of the largest IT companies in the world, and our internet network speeds are truly awful. If ever I want to download anything from the internet at work, I do it via my tethered iPhone .

[SCION]

The Tab would definitely capture my interest if it could be used as a phone at that price.

[Care]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Sounds as though prices are pretty similar - that's more or less what we'd pay for a comparable plan here.

Somebody else posted they are $299 with a 2 year contract. That is $200 more than our cheapest price with a contract. I don't consider that similar. I hope the prices come down that much up here as well. At Costco right now they are $649, but I think that is a monthly plan.

[wodin]

Originally Posted by HarryT

As a matter of interest, why won't it work as a phone in the US? Is voice functionality disabled by the carrier?

Yes, it appears to be a collusion between the various service providers. For some reason they want to limit Tab use to data only, no voice.

Personally I don’t see the logic in this, as their data networks are much more overloaded than their voice networks. But who’s to fathom the decisions made in the boardrooms.

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

I was able to purchase mine at Costco and was required to purchase one month of data. It's a month to month contract and can be canceled anytime after the first month. Costco also offered a rebate for the activation fee so the total for my Tab was:

Which carrier is that data through?

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by SCION

The Tab would definitely capture my interest if it could be used as a phone at that price.

The Tab would capture my interest if it were available in a WiFi only model for $300 and no contract.

[boswd]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The Tab would capture my interest if it were available in a WiFi only model for $300 and no contract.

I'm keeping my eye on what Vizio is going to offer. They could shake up the tablet industry as they did the HDTV industry.

If they offer a nice solid performing tablet at a great "Vizio type of Price" and with an 8 inch form factor? This could be something.