Samsung Galaxy Note 4 Available on Oct 17

Samsung’s newest phablet, the Galaxy Note 4, will be available starting October 17, the company announced today. Moreover, pre-orders for the ginormous handset begin tomorrow, with availability coming from AT&T and T-Mobile to start.

While the iPhone 6 Plus offers users a 5.5-inch screen, the Galaxy Note 4 beats Apple’s first phablet by a whole two-tenths-of-an-inch, clocking in with a display measuring 5.7 inches. The device also comes with a stylus, if you’re into that sort of thing, along with a 2.7 GHz quad-core CPU, 3 GB of RAM, and a 16 megapixel rear camera. On specs alone, the Galaxy Note 4 beats the iPhone 6 Plus in every way. The downside, of course, is that it’s made by Samsung, and runs on its modified version of Android, TouchWiz, which kinda sucks, but what are you gonna do.

The cost for the Galaxy Note 4 will vary depending on the carrier you choose and the plan you go with. AT&T has a few different offerings: a Next 18 contract will set you back $34.43 a month, and a Next 12 contract will cost $41.30 per month for the phone, totaling about $826 after the respective 24 and 20 month periods end (confusing, ain’t it?). After 18 or 12 payments (depending on the plan you choose) you can upgrade to a new handset without paying the full price for the device you’re dropping, so you might get away with paying less overall for a Galaxy Note 4 this way. You could also simply buy a two-year contract and get the phone for $299.99, or buy the phone with no contract at all for $825.99.

T-Mobile’s offerings have less flexibility, but fewer restrictions as well. If you grab a Galaxy Note 4 from them, you’ll pay $31.24 a month over 24 months, a total of $749.76. If you want, you can pay the whole thing off all at once, equaling a lower overall price than what AT&T is offering.

Meanwhile, Samsung says the Galaxy Note 4 will also be coming from Verizon, Sprint, and US Cellular, though – to my knowledge – those carriers haven’t made their pricing schemes available just yet.

There’s also an interesting feature that the recent Galaxy Note 4 commercials have failed to mention: in addition to out-performing the iPhone 6 Plus in terms of specs, the Note 4 will also be a crucial component in the Gear VR, the virtual reality headset set to come out from Samsung later this year (pictured above, at right). That device will cost another $199, though perhaps carriers will throw it in for free or at a discount if you grab a Note 4. Either way, it’s an interesting wrinkle in the burgeoning phablet wars.

Is the Gear VR enticing enough to get you to buy one?

[Source: BGR]