T-Mobile reveals Samsung Galaxy Note 4's US availability and price

When it announced Galaxy Note 4 in early-September, Samsung revealed everything we wanted to know about its new phablet, except the date of availability and price. The two missing pieces of information would tell prospective buyers when to prepare for its arrival and how much they should expect to shell out for it, and help paint the full picture about how Galaxy Note 4 stacks up against its biggest rival, Apple's new iPhone 6 Plus, which goes on sale tomorrow.

Those who were hoping to find out what Samsung left out weeks ago are in luck, as US mobile operator T-Mobile has announced when Galaxy Note 4 will officially hit its store shelves, and, just as importantly, also at what price.

T-Mobile customers will be able to get their hands on Galaxy Note 4 starting October 17, when it will finally reach T-Mobile's online and brick and mortar stores. Pre-orders can be placed starting Wednesday, next week, -- that's September 24 -- at 9 am PDT. This, of course, does not mean that rival local mobile operators will also offer it starting on the same day as T-Mobile, but it gives us a more precise estimate for its US availability.

Now let's talk about how much Galaxy Note 4 will cost when it goes up for sale at T-Mobile. The US mobile operator says it will be available for $0 down with 24 monthly payments of $31.24 per month. That's just shy of $750 ($749.76), which matches my expectations regarding the off-contract price. But, what does that mean compared to iPhone 6 Plus?

Apple prices iPhone 6 Plus, off-contract, starting at $749, for the 16 GB version. The 64 GB and $128 GB versions add $100 and $200, respectively, to the base price -- they cost $849 and $949, respectively. T-Mobile does not specify whether its Galaxy Note 4 branded model will ship with 32 GB (as Samsung said Galaxy Note 4 will offer) of storage, but if it does that means Samsung's phablet will offer more available storage than the similarly-priced iPhone 6 Plus. Does that matter to potential buyers of either phablet? Well, I do not think so, but it is worth pointing out anyway.

For more information about Galaxy Note 4, read our coverage of the device.