Like a stack of dominoes, one after one Apple's rivals are announcing pricing structures that predictably bring them in to line with the precedent set by iPad 2.

News that Samsung's Galaxy Tab 10.1 will be available from $499 is certainly no big shock, matching iPad 2, BlackBerry's PlayBook and, if chatter is to believed, HP's TouchPad.

Hedging its bets

Said price refers to the wi-fi only 16GB SKU, which – along with $599 32GB release – will launch in the US on June 8.

That puts it in the same window as TouchPad's likely debut, but several months behind iPad 2, PlayBook and the already released Motorola Xoom.

Nevertheless, despite what seems to be a pricing stalemate at the top end of the market, Samsung's smaller Galaxy Tab 8.9 will undercut almost all of its rivals, coming in at $469 for the 16GB release and $569 for the 32GB variant.

There's been no word on just when Galaxy Tab 8.9 will make an appearance, with Samsung only listing the device - in the US at least - for an 'early summer' debut.

[source: Engadget]