I already pay Sprint $79.99 for my HTC EVO 4G and another $29.99 per month for the WiFi hotspot feature and I wish there was just a WiFi only option. However, I do see that the Samsung Galaxy Tab does include support for acting as a mobile hotspot to share connectivity via WiFi for up to five devices. This would be through a 3G connection rather than the 4G connection I can get with my EVO 4G. The problem is that you have to pay yet another $29.99 just to enable this feature so there is no way I am personally going to get a Samsung Tab and pay all of these additional monthly fees. I will wait for the WiFi only model to consider this since I rarely use my iPad outside of a WiFi area and just do not see the need for a tablet sized device where smartphones meet on the go needs.
Specifications for the Sprint Samsung Galaxy Tab include:
- Samsung 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application Processor, supporting 3D graphics and smooth Web browsing
- 7-inch enhanced TFT touchscreen display with pinch-to-zoom
- Android 2.2, with access to more than 80,000 apps on Android Market
- 4,000 mAh Lithium-ion battery
- 2GB onboard memory, 16GB microSD card included, with support for up to a 32GB microSD card
- ThinkFree Office to open and make changes to Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or PDF documents
- Sprint Mobile Hotspot capability connects up to five Wi-Fi enabled devices
- Integrated GPS with Sprint Navigation
- 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi
- Dual camera: 3-megapixel camera with camcorder and flash, and front-facing, 1.3-megapixel camera enabling video chat
- Samsung’s exclusive AllShare service to wirelessly connect via DLNA
- printers and more
- Stereo speakers
- Bluetooth® 3.0 with A2DP Stereo and EDR
- Dimensions: 7.48 x 4.74 x 0.47 inches and 13.58 ounces
The Galaxy Tab does have support for the Android Market and enhanced applications for the larger tablet form factor. Does the 3G-enabled Galaxy Tab appeal to you? Would you use it in place of your smartphone?