Verizon Galaxy Tab for $500? Retail Stores Say No

Online rumors claim Verizon is dropping the price of the Samsung Galaxy Tab by $100 from $600 to $500. The promotion also reportedly includes $60 worth of free movie rentals for viewing on the tablet device from either the Blockbuster mobile app or Samsung's Media Hub. Based on calls to several Verizon retail stores across the country, however, the Samsung Galaxy Tab's price will not drop and still costs $600 at most locations.   Verizon's Website also lists the Samsung Galaxy Tab at $600.

One retail location in Brooklyn claim it's selling the Galaxy Tab for $500 as a limited-time promotion. But that same store denies that you will get any free movie rentals when you purchase the Galaxy Tab at the sale price. Verizon has not announced a new price for the Galaxy Tab, and a Verizon spokesperson declined to comment on the rumored price drop.

In early December, Samsung said it had sold one million Galaxy Tabs worldwide just two months after the device hit store shelves. If sales are as strong as Samsung claims, dropping prices for the Galaxy Tab doesn't seem likely. But with a slew of new tablets set to debut at the Consumer Electronics Show starting Thursday, a price cut for the Samsung Galaxy Tab makes a lot of sense to maintain interest in the months old device. Manufacturers including Toshiba, Lenovo and Vizio are expected to unveil tablets before the end of the week, and many will be running Google's Android software just like the Galaxy Tab. Motorola is working on a slate running a tablet-optimized version of the Android OS, dubbed Honeycomb.   Apple is also expected to debut a refreshed version of the iPad in the coming weeks.

About That Price Drop...

The strange thing about the purported Verizon Wireless price drop is that Droid Life, the source of the rumor, has the pictures to prove it. Well, sort of. The included photo was purportedly taken of in-store promotional signage for the Verizon Galaxy Tab, but the photograph shows no Verizon branding whatsoever. Droid Life also fails to mention whether this photo is from a Verizon retail store or a third party retail location.

If the image is the real thing, one possibility could be that Verizon will announce the new price tag for its tablet device during CES. Verizon CEO and Board Chairman Ivan Seidenberg is scheduled to give a keynote address Thursday morning. So perhaps a Galaxy Tab price drop is in the works later this week.

But if you're looking to get a cheaper Galaxy Tab from Verizon before Thursday, you will probably be disappointed. The Galaxy Tab is sold by all four major carriers, including T-Mobile for $350 with a two-year contract; contract-free from AT&T for $650; Sprint for $400 with a two-year contract; and Verizon for $600 with no contract.

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