Prepare your pocketbooks. Electronics giant Samsung is gearing up to start selling its answer to Apple’s iPad, the Samsung Galaxy Tab, next month. Surprisingly, the much-anticipated device, which is half the size of the iPad, will be priced at $600 – more expensive than the cheapest Apple tablet.

Samsung and U.S. wireless carrier Verizon announced that the Galaxy Tab will go on sale in the United States on Nov. 11, and that Verizon Wireless will be offering a monthly Internet access plan for the Galaxy Tab beginning at $20 a month for one-gigabyte of data.

"This is an incredible time in mobile technology, and as a company we're excited to add the Samsung Galaxy Tab to our portfolio," Marni Walden, vice president and chief marketing officer for Verizon, said in a statement.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab includes some appealing features. Equipped with a 7-inch touchscreen and a 1GHz Cortex A8 Hummingbird Application processor, the Galaxy Tab runs on Google’s Android software. The tablet also has two cameras, which could be used for videoconferencing. The iPad, on the other hand, doesn’t have a camera and boasts a smaller 10-inch display. Verizon will also start selling the iPad on Oct. 28, starting at $499.

Apple chief executive Steve Jobs didn’t waste any time criticizing 7-inch tablets such as the Galaxy Tab. As part of its Q4 earning call earlier this week, Jobs stated: "We understand there are limits in terms of how users interact with touchscreens. The 10-inch screen size is the minimum. Seven inches isn't sufficient to create great tablet apps."

Jobs also said that, “7-inch tablets are going to be dead on arrival,” and that they are “tweeners, too big to compete with a smartphone and too small to compete with an iPad.” He also suggested makers of 7-inch screens "include sandpaper so users can sand down their fingers" to be able to tap tiny onscreen keys.