We have our first details of pricing plans for the Samsung Galaxy Tab today, with UK network Three pricing up the 7″ Android tablet through a range of monthly contracts.

The network is offering three voice calling packages, and two data-only deals, with the latter coming priced by the GB. 5GB of data for £15 seems like a decent enough deal. Here’s the list of tariff options for Three’s Tab offering:

Three voice packages:

- SIM10: £10 a month including 100 any network minutes, 2000 Three-to-Three minutes, 3000 texts and 1GB data

- SIM15: £15 a month including 300 any network minutes, 2000 Three-to-Three minutes, 3000 texts and 1GB data

Monthly data only packages:

- 1GB data for £7.50

- 5GB data for £15

Data customers are able to make calls and send text with their data SIM at 10p per text, 10p to call Three mobile or landlines and 25p to other networks.

No mention is made of a price for the Galaxy Tab hardware itself, though – which surely won’t be subsidised at all on these rather cheap tariffs.

Here’s the full press release, hot from Three. It’s reassuring to see the network specifically singles out the Tab and Android 2.2′s wi-fi tethering and hotspot options – so those features won’t be getting the chop. Hooray.

Coming soon to Three – Samsung GALAXY Tab

Three has confirmed it will be ranging the Samsung GALAXY Tab (GT-P1000). Samsung’s Android flagship Tablet.

A network built for mobile Internet, Three will provide fast and reliable 3G connectivity for the Samsung GALAXY Tab, making the most of product features such as phone functionality, front and rear facing cameras for video calls, downloading e-books, using GPS and searching the Internet with full Flash capability.

Nigel Field, Director of Devices at Three said, “With both the Android and tablet markets going from strength to strength, we’re proud to be ranging the Samsung GALAXY Tab. More than 97% of Three traffic over the network is data, so more than ever consumers need to make sure they’re on a network that can cope with the demand when buying mobile Internet devices like tablets. With both SIM and Wi-Fi connectivity, Samsung GALAXY Tab users on Three can get the most out of the product knowing they’re with the UK’s number one mobile broadband provider.”

Perfectly suited to Three’s high speed 3G network, the Samsung GALAXY Tab’s super fast 1.2GHz processor makes browsing the internet, watching YouTube videos and sharing social media updates a breeze.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab also features Internet tethering, so you to connect up to eight Wi-Fi enabled devices any one time, using Three’s fast 3G connection.

The Samsung GALAXY Tab will be available on SIM only one month rolling voice and data contracts.

Three voice packages:

- SIM10: £10 a month including 100 any network minutes, 2000 Three-to-Three minutes, 3000 texts and 1GB data

- SIM15: £15 a month including 300 any network minutes, 2000 Three-to-Three minutes, 3000 texts and 1GB data

Monthly data only packages:

- 1GB data for £7.50

- 5GB data for £15

Data customers are able to make calls and send text with their data SIM at 10p per text, 10p to call Three mobile or landlines and 25p to other networks.

Samsung Samsung GALAXY Tab P1000 Key Features

Android 2.2 (Froyo)
1.2 GHz processor
7” WSVGA TFT
Full HD (1080p) playback
Full Flash support
PC & TV compatibility via DLNA
Wi-Fi Hotspot for up to eight devices
Bluetooth 3.0
Phone/ SMS enabled
HSDPA/ HSUPA

It looks like Dell Streak owners are suffering the latest firmware update mess, with users connected through O2 reporting all sorts of problems with the Android 2.1 over-the-air update that started appearing for download last week.

The problems caused by the 2.1 Streak update are mainly to do with updated Streaks refusing to connect with the PCs of their owners, rendering phone data backups useless. Also, the update seems to REVERSE the function of the volume buttons!

A bit of a problem all round, according to one very angry O2 forum poster.

Hooray! Finally there’s a bit of new Android hardware up on Vodafone’s Coming Soon page, with the recently revealed Samsung Galaxy Tab now confirmed for the network – and there’s a full holding page up for it on the site now.

And that’s about all the news there is, as Vodafone doesn’t offer any more of an explanation about dates than its previous Vodafone announcement contained. And there are no prices or tariff deals. But it’s up. We’ll be refreshing every 30 minutes until pricing plans appear.

Surely, as this is likely to be a second mobile device for most people in addition to their phones, the data tariffs are going to have to be pretty cheap? No one’s going to commit to £35 a month just to keep their fancy tablet online, are they?

The Galaxy Tab will be hitting Europe next month courtesy of Vodafone, which says the Android tablet will arrive in the “majority” of its European markets on (presumably subsidised) data tariffs. There’s no mention of prices or suchlike as of yet. Here’s one of the Galaxy Tab photos from that monster gallery:

Hope he has her permission to take that photo. Here’s Vodafone’s announcement:

Vodafone and Samsung launch the Android-Powered Tablet, GALAXY Tab

Samsung GALAXY Tab provides a galaxy of possibilities on the go

Berlin, Germany, September 2nd, 2010 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in mobile technology, and Vodafone, one of the world’s largest mobile communications companies by revenue, today announced the launch of the Samsung GALAXY Tab (Model: GT-P1000). Powered by Android Operating System 2.2, the GALAXY Tab is the first tablet, ‘smart media device’ by Samsung.

The GALAXY Tab will start selling in October in the majority of Vodafone’s European markets and through several partner networks, as well as in a number of other Vodafone markets worldwide.

“Vodafone’s aim is to offer all customers new and attractive ways to enjoy mobile data, on the move, across a variety of devices,” said Patrick Chomet, Group Director of Terminals at Vodafone. “Adding tablets as part of our device range is a natural next step that gives customers an alternative way to enjoy great content and internet services. The GALAXY Tab is another showcase for Samsung’s innovation capabilities and we’re pleased to be introducing this across a number of our markets”.

DJ Lee, Senior Vice President and Head of Sales & Marketing Team of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics, said “I am very excited to introduce Samsung GALAXY Tab with Vodafone. Thanks to Vodafone’s strong promotion and co-marketing with us, Samsung GALAXY Tab can be an outstanding smart media device to lead a new media revolution. With GALAXY Tab, users enjoy full web browsing with flash 10.1 support, reading eBooks, newspapers, or magazines, and watching HD videos on the large enough 7-inch display while on the move. Furthermore, it is still compact enough to carry everywhere.”

Uh-oh! Orange’s official representative on Twitter has just issued a little bit of bad news for HTC Desire owners who bought their phones through the network – the Android 2.2 update for the popular Android phone has been pushed back until mid-September.

Apparently there’s been a delay in getting the update from HTC, whatever that may mean. Someone didn’t check their emails? Here’s the little announcement:

“Android fans there has been a delay in receiving the 2.2 Froyo update from HTC, & we now expect it to be available mid-Sep. Apologies”

And as a quick follow up:

“would like to point out the delay on 2.2 Froyo is not related to Orange services on the device”

Here’s a picture of something orange and not very happy:

Bad luck, Orange users. Perhaps spend the weekend reading up on the “debranding” process?

If you like the HTC Wildfire but HTC’s oppressive all-black design ethic is getting you down, Three UK has the answer – that red edition of the HTC Wildfire first revealed alongside the phone is now on sale through the site.

We’ve no idea how long the HTC Wildfire Red’s been up on Three’s online shop, to be honest, as it’s been a good few weeks since we last did a good trawl of the UK operators.

But it’s up there now, and you can get it for “free” on tariffs starting at £19 per month, or on Three’s ludicrously high-spec One Plan for £30. Plus there’s a free Spotify Premium account, to help you sail through your data allowance.

The weird ongoing status of the Android 2.1 update for the T-Mobile Pulse continues to confound all rational thought. The update was first released in Hungary, then took a few months to hit the UK – and has now been pulled due to unspecified “feedback”. And T-Mobile is suggesting users experiencing problems reinstall Android 1.5!

Here’s the announcement of the suspension of the 2.1 Pulse upgrade from earlier today, courtesy of the T-Mobile forums:

We want to give all of our customers a great experience when they use our products and services. After receiving feedback on the recent T-Mobile Pulse Android 2.1 software update we’ve decided to suspend it temporarily. We’re working with the phone’s makers on an updated version which is expected in October.

Any customer experiencing issues with the Android 2.1 update on the T-Mobile Pulse should reinstall the December 2009 Android 1.5 software offered on our help and support website here.

So if you took your time over getting it, you’re now stuck until October. What an odd move. With thanks to reader Simon for the spot.

Another piece of the Android 2.1 update jigsaw has fallen into place this evening, with numerous reports from Three users popping up to tell the world that Three has started pushing out the 2.1 update for its branded HTC Hero.

Commenters on the Three Blog (and, er, EuroDroid!) are reporting success in downloading the first part of that oddly split Android 2.1 Hero update, with the equally odd set-the-phone-clock-forward-a-few-weeks trick triggering checks for the long awaited download.

At this rate, everyone’s going to be on an Android version starting with the number 2 by the end of the summer, apart from a few Samsung Galaxy users and Motorola stragglers.

UPDATE:
It looks like Three has rolled Part One and Part Two together into one single update, so this is the entire 2.1 upgrade.

This just in from an ENRAGED customer of Orange UK, who has been bravely badgering the network for a date for its over-the-air update for the Orange (black) HTC Desire sold through the network. The result – August 27 has been given out as a date. Here is his tale:

“I’ve called Orange several times now and until now have been given the usual “this update usually takes up to four weeks” that is until now. I just got off the phone with Orange customer service and the call operator and I had a quick chat, he popped me on hold for about a minute then came back and told me they now have on their systems a release date of August 27th . He confirmed that I will receive a text message telling me to download the update”

So there you go. A date for you Orange users to get excited about. Although we wouldn’t put too much importance on the words of a call center operative, as they do have a nasty habit of telling people what they want to hear in order to get them off the line…

With thanks to reader Tito for doing the groundwork and sending it in.

Hooray! The Samsung Galaxy Portal, which is a very nice if slightly bland 3.2″ Android phone, launched with Android 2.1 as its OS on the Three network – but the T-Mobile version of the phone has been literally LANGUISHING with Android 1.5 since it appeared in March of this year.

But that’s about to change. While the rest of the world bangs on about Android 2.2, Galaxy Portal owners will be glad to hear they’ll get 2.1 very soon. Here’s a man from T-Mobile UK confirming the arrival of 2.1 for the Portal:

Can you read that OK? It says “We will be releasing a software update for the Samsung Galaxy Portal within the next month. This will update your Samsung Galaxy Portal to Android 2.1″ – and it’s taken from here, if you haven’t got your glasses to hand.

That polite and gentlemanly petition may now be laid to rest.