LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 Arriving on Thursday

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is about to become the first tablet to run on Verizon’s LTE network. Launching this Thursday, July 28, the LTE Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be waiting in Verizon stores.

The prices, however, may make you think twice about jumping on board. While the WiFi-only version of the Tab 10.1 is rung up at a competitive $500 (it will also be available at Verizon), you’ll have to pay either $530 (16GB model) or $630(for 32GB) in addition to a two-year contract for the LTE model.

The monthly plans are set to give you 2GB for $30/month, 5GB for $50/mo., or 10GB for $80/mo.

Unless you really want an LTE-enabled slate right now, we can’t recommend this 4G tablet at these prices. Paying more for a 3G/4G version of a tablet off-contract makes perfect sense. Paying more and having to take on a new two-year contract isn’t something we think would be a good idea for most people. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be obsolete halfway through that contract. Two years from now, it will be an ancient relic.

Not likely a coincidence, it was also announced today that the Motorola XOOM’s long-promised LTE upgrade will be available in  September. Despite Verizon and Motorola heavily marketing its “LTE-upgrade-ability” during the XOOM’s February launch, a tablet that released months later is beating it to the punch on LTE-powered slates.

So would any of you pay $30 more and sign over two years of payments just to get LTE on an Android tablet? You can check out the full press release below, and then let us know what you think in the comments.

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — Verizon Wireless and Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung Mobile) today announced that the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 with 4G LTE will be available July 28 in either Metallic Gray or Glossy White in Verizon Wireless Communications Stores and online at www.verizonwireless.com/SamsungTab4GLTE.

Key features:

• 4G LTE – customers can expect download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G Mobile Broadband coverage areas
• Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g/n
• Android™ 3.1 Honeycomb platform – supports Google^™ Mobile Services including Gmail™, YouTube™, Google Talk^™, Google Search^™, Google Maps^™, Google Movies^™, Google Books^™ and Android Market™
• Adobe^® Flash^® 10.3 technology
• NVIDIA^® Tegra2 dual-core 1 GHz application processor
• 10.1-inch HD touchscreen display with WXGA 1280 x 800 resolution
• 3-megapixel rear-facing camera and 2-megapixel front-facing camera for video chat capabilities
• 1080p HD video playback on a HD TV or other 1080p HD device
• Samsung Media Hub – offers a vast lineup of critically acclaimed films and TV programs for rent or purchase.  Media Hub has been redesigned, allowing customers to playback Media Hub content on their TV through an HDMI adapter (sold separately).  Purchased content can be shared with up to five devices enabled with Media Hub at no extra cost.

Pricing and data plans:

• Verizon Wireless will offer two 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 models both priced with two-year customer agreements: $529.99 for the 16GB model and $629.99 for the 32GB model.
• Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 customers will have the option to choose one of the following mobile broadband data plans:
  • $30 monthly access for 2GB monthly allowance
  • $50 monthly access for 5GB monthly allowance
  • $80 monthly access for 10GB monthly allowance
• A 16GB Wi-Fi-only Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will also be available online at www.verizonwireless.com on July 28 for $499.99.  The Wi-Fi-only model will be available in Metallic Grey.

Samsung Media Hub Credit:

• For a limited time, Verizon Wireless customers will get a free $25 Media Hub credit from Samsung with their Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 purchase, good towards TV program purchases. Restrictions apply, see inbox insert for additional details or visit www.samsung.com/VerizonTabPromo.