Verizon Wireless will begin shipping the first 4G version of the Android 3.1-powered Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 July 28. Meanwhile, Samsung says its Galaxy S II phone has now sold five million units in 85 days, and a slider version heading for AT&T has peeked out.

In late June, Verizon Wireless opened pre-orders for the 4G LTE version of Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1, promising a ship-date four to six weeks subsequently. It turns out Verizon has achieved its best-case scenario — the 4G-powered tablet is available July 28 priced at $530 for the 16GB version and $630 with 32GB, in metallic gray or glossy white.

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 with Android 3.1

Verizon will also launch a 16GB Wi-Fi-only Tab 10.1 July 28, priced at $500 in metallic gray only. T-Mobile already sells two Wi-Fi Galaxy Tab 10.1 models that run $500 for the 16GB version and $600 for the 32GB version. The pricing for both the 4G and Wi-Fi Verizon models is contingent on two-year contracts.

The modest $30 difference in pricing between the Wi-Fi and 4G models becomes clear when one examines the 4G data plans required for the latter model. Users have a choice of paying $30 a month for up to 2GB, $50 a month for 5GB, or $80 a month for 10GB.

Verizon is also offering buyers of either version of the Galaxy Tab 10.1 a free $25 Samsung Media Hub credit for TV program purchases. The Media Hub lets customers play back TV and movies on their TV through an HDMI adapter. Other pricing and bundled software details may be found in the Verizon announcement.

The Galaxy Tab 10.1 is notable for being slightly thinner and lighter than Apple's iPad 2 — or any other 10.1-inch Android tablet we know of — at 8.6 millimeters and 1.25 pounds. Like the now available Toshiba Thrive, it runs the bug-fixed, USB-enabled Android 3.1 ("Honeycomb").

The Samsung tablet is powered by a 1GHz, dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 processor, and supports 1080p HD video playback, says Verizon. The Tab 10.1 features a 10.1-inch, 1280 by 800 display, a two-megapixel front-facing camera for video chats, and a three-megapixel rear camera.

According to Verizon, its 4G LTE network is 10 times faster than its existing 3G network. The carrier claims download speeds of 5-12Mbps and upload speeds of 2-5Mbps in any of its 100-plus 4G coverage areas.

Galaxy S II hits five million mark

In other Samsung news, the company announced that global sales of the Galaxy S II (pictured) have passed the five million unit mark, beating its predecessor, the Galaxy S, to that milestone, reports AndroidCommunity.

Currently available in various European and Asian countries and due to hit the U.S. in August, the 4.3-inch, dual-core Android 2.3 phone has been on sale for 85 days. In early July, the company said the phone had reached the three million mark.

Meanwhile, a QWERTY slider version of the Samsung Galaxy S II will soon appear on AT&T, according to Boy Genius Report, which posted several images of the device. The images reveal the Galaxy S II model number, SGH-I927, along with additional details, including Android 2.3.4 and an eight-megapixel camera.

AT&T's slider version of Galaxy S II
Source: BGR

The BGR images also include one showing benchmark results that appear to reveal the device blowing away a series of 2010-era, high-end single-core phones like the Motorola Droid X and Samsung's Galaxy S. The keyboard-free Galaxy S II version that is now breaking sales marks globally runs on a new 1.2GHz, dual-core Samsung Exynos processor.

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