U.S. Cellular Selling Galaxy Tab for $199 With 5GB Data Plan

U.S. Cellular is not playing around. The nation’s 6th largest carrier announced back in October that they would be selling the Samsung Galaxy Tab just like their for biggest competitors. However, the company obviously felt that if they were going to stand out in the crowded field of Tab sellers they’d have to do something drastic. The solution is, apparently, to offer it for way less: $199.

When first announced, U.S. Cellular said they would sell the Tab for $399 subsidized, just like Sprint and T-Mobile. However, they later restructured the pricing, creating different cost tiers based on the data plan purchased. Customers can snag the Tab for $199 if they sign up for a 2-year, 5GB/mo data plan. If you want the less expensive 200MB/mo plan, the Tab costs $399.

U.S. Cellular’s 5GB plan costs $54.99/mo and includes mobile hotspot capability. If you want unlimited messaging on top of this, the plan costs $74.99 (or you can just pay 25 cents a message). The 200MB plan costs $14.99/mo and does not include mobile hotspot, but is otherwise the same. Again, customers can add unlimited messaging for $20 more a month.

Which is the better deal? On the 5GB plan (sans unlimited messaging) you’ll pay $199 + $1319.76 in contract fees over 2 years for a total of $1518.76. On the 200MB plan (sans unlimited messaging) you’ll pay $399 + 359.76 in contract fees over 2 years for a total of $758.76. That is $561 less over two years. So the question for consumers is whether it’s better to save $200 now or $500+ over 2 years?

Compared to the other subsidized Tabs, U.S. Cellular is the least expensive on the lowest data plan available, but also offers the least amount of data per month. For the 5GB plan, T-Mobile is less expensive by almost $200, while Sprint is more expensive by over $300.

Of course, all of these numbers aren’t in front of consumers when they see the Tab in stores or in a commercial. How many will be enticed into buying the $199 model not realizing that, in the long run, they’ll pay more?

Hat Tip: Mobile Burn via The Droid Guy