Tucked away inside last nights midnight press release for the Galaxy Tab 7.0 Plus was the news that the T-Mobile Springboard would arrive on November 16th for $179.99 after a $50 mail-in-rebate. Remember that extra little pricing catch though:

Beginning Nov. 16, customers can purchase the T-Mobile SpringBoard for a $179.99 down payment at T-Mobile retail stores. The Springboard requires a $50 mail-in rebate, with a T-Mobile Value Mobile Broadband plan, two-year service agreement, and 20 interest free monthly payments of $10 on approved credit. Overage-free Mobile Broadband Value plans start at $29.99 per month, and T-Mobile postpaid voice customers enjoy $10 off their monthly mobile broadband service. For more information, visit http://mobile-broadband.t-mobile.com/tablets.

Editors note: In other words, the $179.99 is a “down payment” with the 20 monthly $10 payments making your final cost of $380 which includes T-Mobile’s $50 mail-in-rebate.

So the Tablet is cheap, cheap, cheap. What exactly do you get for a tablet priced at $179.99? Let’s check some reviews across the web and find out:

PCWorld:

The T-Mobile SpringBoard provides a terrific high-resolution screen, and it’s a good choice if you want a connected 7-inch Android tablet. That said, I could more easily recommend this product at its $380 (with rebate) all-in price if it didn’t have a two-year commitment behind it, or a convoluted payment scheme (even if you can upgrade sooner, you’d have to finish paying the device’s monthly installments).

CNET:

Of course, you’ll end up paying more than $180 in the long run if under contract, but that initial price does make it appealing. The high-quality screen, 16GB of storage, great build quality, and the inclusion of the latest version of Honeycomb sweetens the deal. The SpringBoard is one of the best 7-inch tablets out there, and if you have the money to go in with no contract, rest assured that you’re getting a quality product. If you don’t have the funds, I still can’t recommend committing to two years, however.

Engadget:

The Huawei MediaPad — make that the T-Mobile Springboard — is a very nice tablet. Before unleashing the world’s umpteenth Honeycomb tablet, Huawei made sure it was speedy, well-built and longevous, with a high-quality IPS display and halfway decent camera thrown in for good measure. T-Mobile’s reliable HSPA+ network is also a pleasant surprise, though we probably would have liked this tab even without that added perk. If it were us, we’d buy it for $430 off contract and avail ourselves of the pay-as-you-go plans on the rare occasion we planned on traveling and didn’t think our smartphones would suffice for web surfing, checking email and a little movie watching.

Slashgear:

I’ve had plenty of time to toy around with this tablet and so far I’m pretty confident that most users will appreciate what it has to offer. If a larger 10? tablet isn’t ideal or portable enough for you, but you need the 4G data connectivity — consider the T-Mobile Springboard. With a small and portable 7? form factor that also manages to pack plenty of punch with a dual-core processor you wont be disappointed. Compared to other 7? tablets on the market this is by far one of the best choices.

LaptopMag:

The T-Mobile Springboard provides a full Android Honeycomb experience with tons of apps and speedy 4G data in a lightweight 7-inch package. Just don’t be fooled by the $179 up-front price, which at first seems cheaper than the $199 Kindle Fire. Over time you’ll be paying $379 for this tablet, plus at least $19.99 per month for data. Another drawback is this tablet’s less-than-stellar battery life. Overall, the T-Mobile Springboard is a solid choice for shoppers who want an attractive and portable multimedia Android slate, but you’ll want to make sure you really need 4G connectivity before signing up.