T-Mobile said it will begin selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus tablet Nov. 16 for $249.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate and a two-year mobile data contract.
The carrier is calling the Plus at that price a “down payment” because consumers who buy the tablet must also agree to pay 20 interest free monthly payments of $10, putting the total cost of hardware ownership at $449. The company’s mobile broadband plans start at $29.99 per month.
A refinement over the bulkier original Galaxy Tab 7.0 from last year, the 7.0 Plus has a 7-inch,WSVGA (1024×600) PLS LCD display powered by a 1.2GHz dual-core processor. The slate, which weighs only 12.2 ounces, is .39 inches thin and runs Google’s (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android 3.2 Honeycomb operating system.
Android 3.2 includes the Google Movies application. Users may also access apps built for smartphones on this 7.0 Plus, thanks to the screen-compatibility mode.
The 7.0 Plus also features Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, which allows seven applications to be easily managed from a bottom tray on the main screen. Users can also customize their home screens using Samsung’s Live Panel.
T-Mobile is launching the device pre-installed with Samsung’s Media Hub to allow customers to rent or purchase movies and purchase TV programs and share that content on up to five compatible devices on the same account.
The Plus also comes with WildTangent to enable customers to play free games, or rent or purchase additional titles.
The Zinio Reader app offers consumers access to more than 5,000 color magazines, tailored for easy reading on the tablet form factor, and the Blio e-reader app displays books. The tablet has 16GB of internal memory and a microSD card that supports up to 32GB of additional memory for storage.
The Plus has a 3 megapixel camera in the rear for modest-photo taking, as well as video capture in 720p HD and Playback in 1080p HD, along with a 2 megapixel front shutter for video chat.
T-Mobile is pitching the Plus as its most portable media consumption device to date, along with the launch of its new T-Mobile Springboard tablet for a $179.99 “down payment” with a $50 rebate and two-year data deal, plus 20 monthly $10 payments.
The company also offers the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 and the 8.9-inch T-Mobile G-Slate with Google, which means the company’s tablets run the range of tablet sizes from 7 to 10 inches.