I’ve wanted this one from the first time I saw it. The new tablet from Samsung called Galaxy Tab. While the device is certainly not stacking up favorably against the iPad in various reviews, I still see allot of great utility in this – and possibly the device that makes me ditch my phone – and converge book reading, phone (*) and email among other things. The Galaxy Tab is the first real major Android tablet. If, however, you are a WIND Mobile user – there are a number of things you need to watch out for right now if you want one of these.

Yes, I know that you’ll have to hack your Galaxy Tab to make phone calls (thanks to XDA) – but you still want one right?. Well, I do too – here’s what we’ll have to do to get this wonderful tablet in our hands and usable on the WIND Mobile network. If you do get the Galaxy Tab, here’s how you go about unlocking it.

Not all Galaxy Tabs are the same
The wireless network WIND Mobile uses is the AWS (Advanced Wireless Services) and this uses the 1700/2100 MHZ frequencies.

Bell offers the Galaxy Tab, but this will be only on the following frequencies (Not AWS):

2.5G (GSM/ GPRS/ EDGE) : 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 MHz
3G (HSUPA 5.76Mbps) : 900 / 1900 / 2100 MHz

Rogers also offers the same tablet with exactly the same above frequencies.

So, you are going to need to get the US-Based T-Mobile version of the Galaxy Tab and unlock it to run this on WIND Mobile.

Getting the Galaxy Tab
If you live in the Toronto Area, your best bet is to find a retail T-Mobile location in Niagara Falls, NY and do some cross-border shopping. At the time of this writing, the Tablet is being sold (off-contract, and locked) for  $599.99 US. The conversion of currencies should be negligible (credit card may be the best way to purchase for a lower conversion rate).  In Niagara Falls, the local sales taxes are 8.25% for a total of $649.48 US.

You’ll have to factor in stock levels – so call ahead to the store an make sure they have the unit. Also, be sure to consider travel time, gas and Canada Customs in this process. I think you can expect to get this tablet for less than $700 to $750 CDN if you plan ahead. Want more thought about Cross-Border shopping? Take a look at what I say about this phenomenon.

Once you get it back, place this on your unlimited plan with WIND Mobile and enjoy the tablet (with service) for around $75 a month. For more on the different Galaxy Tab versions, take a look at GSMArena. What do you think? Is it worth it?

(*) For some reason North American models of this tablet do not allow phone calls. Bizarre? Yes. But, fixable.