Overland Park, Kan. – Sprint plans Nov. 11 availability of its first 4G LTE tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 at $549.
T-Mobile and AT&T also plan cellular-equipped versions of the tablet, with T-Mobile having announced Nov. 14 availability and pricing for a version with 4G HSPA+42 technology. AT&T’s version, like Sprint’s, features LTE.
The Android 4.0 tablet with 10.1-inch screen and 1.5GHz dual-core processor can be activated on one of Sprint’s new month-to-month LTE tablet plans, which start at $14.99 for 300MB of 3G/4G LTE data, $34.99 for 3GB, $49.99 for 6GB and $79.99 for 12GB. Sprint contends its $14.99 and $49.99 LTE tablet plans offer 20 percent more data than AT&T plans at the same price.
Sprint smartphone customers can also add the Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 to their postpaid account with a specially discounted rate plan that includes 1GB of data for $15 per month or 100MB at $10 per month on the Sprint network. For a limited time, Sprint is waiving the activation fee on all 3G/4G LTE tablets.
Sprint also offers Mobile Broadband Passes for tablets, enabling users to bill a credit card for occasional use. These plans start at $14.99 for 300MB of 3G/4G LTE data, $34.99 for 3GB of data, $49.99 for 6GB and $79.99 for 12GB. The $49.99 and $79.99 plans are said to offer 20 percent more data than the same-price Verizon plans.
Sprint launched LTE in July and has expanded it to 32 cities, with 115 more launching in the coming months.
The Galaxy Tab 2 10.1 features on-device encryption and VPN access for business use, 7,000 mAh battery, and 3G/4G LTE mobile hot spot capability to share a web connection with up to 10 Wi-Fi-enabled devices simultaneously. Other features include rear-facing 3-megapixel camera/camcorder, front-facing VGA camera for Face Unlock and video chats, built-in IR blaster for use as a universal smart remote that helps users find TV shows, and Wi-Fi-based AllShare, which lets users share photo albums, videos and other user-generated content with other DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) certified devices.
