Cricket Announces Availability of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 for Friday, Dec. 16

Cricket is the latest carrier to receive the controversial (to Apple) Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, announcing the availability of the Android Honeycomb tablet for this Friday, December 16th. Bundled with Cricket’s Crosswave mobile hotspot, the WiFi-only version of the slate will be available with 16GB of internal storage for $594.99. Without the Crosswave, the Galaxy Tab 10.1 will retail for $499.99. The release marks Cricket’s first maneuvers into the tablet market, but we are left wondering why they opted for no 3G option. Full press release follows:

Cricket Enhances its Device Portfolio with the Launch of its First Tablet, the Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1

Popular Wi-Fi Enabled Tablet Available for $499.99 or Bundled with a Cricket Crosswave mobile broadband device for $594.99, ~ ~ Available Beginning Friday, December 16th at Cricket Company-Owned Stores,

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 14, 2011 — /PRNewswire/ — Cricket Communications, Inc., a leading provider of innovative and value-driven wireless services and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leap Wireless International, Inc. (NASDAQ: LEAP) today announced that the Wi-Fi enabled Samsung Galaxy Tab™ 10.1 will be available Friday, December 16, 2011 in Cricket company-owned stores. The slim and sleek Galaxy Tab 10.1 features Android™ 3.1 Honeycomb, 16GB of internal storage and will be available in Metallic Gray.

“We’re excited to introduce tablets to our Cricket customers,” said Matt Stoiber, senior vice president, devices for Cricket. “Our customers are finding new ways to incorporate devices into their active mobile lifestyle to stay connected, engaged and entertained and the Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 is a great device to help them do all those things.”

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Android 3.1 Honeycomb brings access to more than 250,000 apps through the Android Market™ and offers full support for Google™ Mobile Services, including Gmail™, YouTube™ and more. Customers will relish the 10.1-inch enhanced display with a 1280×800 resolution HD screen, 1 GHz dual core application processor, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and a 3-megapixel rear-facing camera. Both consumers and business customers will find a multitude of uses for the Galaxy Tab 10.1 that range from video chat to business tools, including those that allow for the opening and editing of documents, spreadsheets and presentations. The Galaxy Tab 10.1 features Adobe® Flash® Player to deliver an enhanced Internet browsing experience and access to content-rich Websites.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available from Cricket for $499.99 MSRP. Cricket is also offering the Galaxy Tab 10.1 as part of a special bundle which includes the Crosswave, Cricket’s dual mode DO/Wi-Fi device and a first month of Cricket broadband service, all for $594.99 The Cricket Crosswave creates an instant mobile hotspot so customers can get internet access on the go and support multiple Wi-Fi devices. The Crosswave is available on Cricket’s broadband plans that range from $45 to $65 per month per plan. The Cricket Crosswave and tethering-enabled Cricket Smartphones may be used to connect the Samsung Galaxy Tab to the internet over Cricket’s 3G network.

For more information about Cricket’s dynamic device lineup, please visit www.mycricket.com. To follow Cricket’s latest news and updates online, go to Facebook at www.facebook.com/cricketwireless and Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/cricketnation.