While Samsung's much anticipated 7-incher is still yet to arrive on a carrier in the USA, availability is spreading throughout Europe. Today, Vodafone Germany posted its prices for the Galaxy Tab, and they're looking pretty steep. For the proposed €729.90 ($1015), you could get not one but two nicely-specced dualcore netbooks (from Samsung!), which makes me question whether this is simply Samsung exploiting a naïve and nascent market; a price bubble which is set to burst shortly.

The on-contract price of €299.90 is also difficult to justify. The €35 "Notebook" tariff does not appear to include any voice minutes, despite the European Galaxy Tab's phone capabilities. Many Android users would prefer to simply use their phone's WiFi hotspot for on-the-go data on the Tab, without having to sign up for another contract with it.

All-in-all, neither are very compelling propositions, regardless of how positive the reviews of the Tab have been so far. Samsung and the carriers are going to have to be much more aggressive with pricing to entice customers away from the iPad, particularly since it is available on plenty of networks in Europe.

Source: Vodafone.de via @chippy