Verizon Launching 4G LTE Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 This Week

Verizon will sell two Galaxy Tab models with two-year, 4G, Long Term Evolution (LTE) contracts, the company said Tuesday. Before monthly data charges, the 16-GB model costs $529.99 and the 32-GB model is $629.99. Data plan options include a 2-GB monthly allowance for $30, 5 GB monthly for $50 and 10 GB for $80. A 16-GB Wi-Fi only version of the tablet, which will also be available through Verizon on July 28, costs $499.99.

4G LTE promises wireless broadband speeds of up to five times faster than 3G networks. The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 boasts download speeds of 5 to 12 Mbps and upload speeds of 2 to 5 Mbps in 4G coverage areas, Verizon said Tuesday.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 runs on Nvidia’s Dual-Core Tegra 2 processor and Android’s Honeycomb 3.1 operating system. The tablet's screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, the native format for wide screen and HD programming, and a 1280 x 800 HD pixel display.

Additional features include a 2-megapixel camera on the front of the tablet, for video chatting capability, and a 3-megapixel camera on the back of the tablet which can also record 1080p video. There are onboard ports for USB or HDMI, and a USB connection kit is available as an accessory.

Samsung plans to add its proprietary user interface to the standard Android tablet OS as it does with its Android smartphones. This interface, called Samsung TouchWiz UX, includes a custom widget layout, navigation tools for commonly used apps, advanced cut and paste features as well as a custom panel for notifications and hardware settings. TouchWiz is "coming soon" to the Galaxy Tab according to Samsung's Web site