I like Verizon vanilla cell phone service just fine. They've got good coverage where I need it, and their customer service and rates meet my needs.
However, I bought my Samsung Galaxy Tab (running Froyo) from Verizon expecting a similar experience compared to buying a PC from, say, Best Buy. I expected that I would be able to uninstall any crapware that Samsung or Verizon preinstalled, and most importantly, that there would be no critical defects in the product.
Unfortunately the Verizon GT is littered with non-removable crapware, and most importantly email service--when using an account on an ISP--is unreliable. Email arrives in one's Inbox, and then after a few seconds disappears without any action by the user. When only one or two emails arrive they are deleted before the user has a chance to view the Inbox, giving the impression of a "phantom email notification". A popular alternative to the stock Android email client, K-9, deletes all email existing in the Inbox each time it polls for new incoming email. Again, this behavior occurs when using an email account on an ISP, such as Cox Communications or CenturyLink. All my attempts to resolve this issue with Verizon, Samsung and my ISP yielded no solution other than resorting to some form of webmail. Now, every other OS can retrieve email reliably from a POP server--why can't Android??
In view of this defect I tried to get my money back and have my 3G contract cancelled without penalty. Verizon stonewalled me because I had had the device for longer than the 14 day return period. This period is for a "no questions asked" return, and being unable to return a device due to a software defect means there is essentially no warranty at all that the product will perform as advertised. During my conversation with the store manager, he acknowledged that he had been aware of this issue for some time, and stated that the Android email client "does not coordinate correctly with an ISP email server".
The Verizon tech rep disclaimed responsibility and refused to accept a bug report. The Samsung tech rep stated that "Samsung takes no responsibility for the software".
In summary:
1) The device has non-removable crapware.
2) It has a critical software defect.
3) There is neither warranty nor technical support for Android defects.
4) Verizon will give no slack on the 14 day return even if you've spent all this time and
more trying to get a critical function like email to work.
5) Samsung disclaims responsibility, essentially stating that it's Google's problem.
6) There is no prospect of a fix, in the foreseeable future, from anyone including Google.
As a postscript, the GT can be used as a cell phone in Europe and Canada. In the US Verizon and the other carriers want you to buy a cell phone and contract, plus pay additionally for a tablet and its contract.