Sprint hits back with the Samsung Instinct

See that? That's the Samsung Instinct, due to hit Sprint in June. Better get used to it, because Sprint's about to start hyping it with the biggest marketing push in its history -- it's going to drop some $100M on this lil' guy. Of course, there's no escaping the comparison to a certain other touchscreen candybar phone, and Sprint's not backing down from a fight -- it's just being willfully obtuse, saying that while the Instinct wasn't developed in response to the iPhone, the company recognized that it needed "a product from a usability standpoint that can compete." Um, sure. Samsung and Sprint worked together to simplify the UI, which features a reconfigurable home screen, music, and TV features, but we're going to hold off judgment until we get a look at the browser in person a little later. One more shot after the break.

[Thanks, Billytickets]

Sprint hits back with the Samsung Instinct

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 15th 2008 3:20PM]

WILL IT BE ABLE TO PLAY VIDEOS! LIKE YOUTUBE.COM OR SOMETHING??????????????????

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 16th 2008 10:17AM]

Looks like Sprint in finally on the right track! As for you Apple Haters all I can say is...NUTZ!!! Apple is the most innovative computer company on the planet! They have single handedly changed the way we think about electronics! Hate them all you want, but if it wasn't for Apple..you wouldn't have yer nifty i-Pod!

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 18th 2008 10:05AM]

Hey, I gots ya all beat - I got a Fisher-Price cell phone, and it's THE BEST!

[(Unverified) Posted May 10th 2008 9:24AM]

I read a lot of comments on how this is better faster and cheaper than the iphone. Load of crap. First off there is no Samsung instinct yet. Won't be out till next month. Iphone 3g will probably be out by then. Smaller screen, smaller hard drive. If there is room for a card it would cost a fortune just for 8 gb. 16 gb, 32 gb, can't see it. The os doesn't even compare to iphone. Once the app store opens apps will be endless for iphone.

[(Unverified) Posted May 15th 2008 11:55AM]

The conversation you are having about phones is all pointless, everything launching the US is a knock off of a Korean or Japanese phone launched overseas years ago. Sorry to inform you all, but US phones are crap nothing against your love for apple or Samsung, but the phones seen in the US years behind the technology available else where. Look at the Iphones sales in Europe, they suck. The device may be innovative here but it heavily outdated elsewhere. The only thing original you can design in America is the interface, but the touch screen bar phone was around way before Apple. The make one phone on one carrier, this makes them like the 20th biggest phone company. Big Deal!

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 20th 2008 9:49AM]

THANK YOU!!
THIS IS WHAT I'VE BEEN SAYING TO APPLE IPHONE SHEEP THAT FLOCK TO STEVE JOBS
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU !!!

[(Unverified) Posted May 17th 2008 9:18AM]

Anyone have any idea as to what the new Samsung Instinct will cost? I hope Sprint doesn't do what Apple did - sell it at one price for a few months, then drop the cost later. Sprint should learn from that marketing fiasco.

[(Unverified) Posted May 17th 2008 9:21AM]

Let's wait and judge this thing when we can actually see it and use it. Okay?

[(Unverified) Posted May 18th 2008 6:32PM]

I found a great forum dedicated to everything about the Samsung Instinct. Have comments or questions- go here!

http://www.SprintInstinctForum.com

Laura
xoxo

[(Unverified) Posted May 27th 2008 4:46PM]

no, first of all it not going to be a crap phone, as i have one.... i work for sprint and was one of the first to see it, before the apple iphone came out, the blueprints have been out for a while aswell... it is not going to be a slider, completly touch screen, awsome sleek feel with it, and i love the phone, the way it works, the weight of it is remarkable, i love the phone and i cant wait to start selling it in june...

and btw america doesnt make bad phones, the companies make bad phones, a$$wipe

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 4th 2008 2:55AM]

this phone is pretty solid and amazing. i work for sprint, carry a treo 755p and got to play with this phone just the other day. amazing! simply amazing, full touch screen display w/ qwerty, very easy to use. touch sensitivity is adjustable which, depending on the user, makes for faster response time. if u got to txt while driving, no problem, u can swith from landscape to portrait and txt away while on the go. screen resolution is crystal clear, simply phenomenal. samsung did an amazing job w/ the ui. its amazingly easy to use, just put it in your hand and you are off, no need to mess w/ instruction books or any of that crap. its almost instinctive, guess that accounts for the phones name. their are a lot of people here complaining that this phone is simply merely mirroring the iphone, that its a copy cat if you will. i have played w/ the iphone, and i've played w/ the samsung instinct, and all i can say is that on june 20, when the instinct comes out at last, the iphone will finally have met its match, for this phone is truly an iphone killer. it has taken what was an already an incredible device (iphone), has now been fed steroids and perfected, it has evolved into something much better. let the iphone rest now in peace. let it die a dignified death.

[(Unverified) Posted Jun 10th 2008 1:07AM]

@ jnoise, Your statement is dead on. Cell phones being dedicated to a sole service provider is crippling our technology. Not to mention our economy. You don't own your phone, you are renting it. (unless you are one the few with an unlocked phone that you can use on whatever provider you choose) I support neither Apple, Samsung or Microsoft. I support freedom of choice, and as far as cell phones are concerned..... well choices are becoming very limited here stateside. I have been using a Motorola E6 (unlocked and using a T-mobile sim chip stateside). I ought it while overseas nearly 3 years ago and still going strong.

[hostit1 Posted Jun 26th 2008 3:03PM]

My thoughts on the Instinct. I have had it for a few days now and would like to offer an honest "non-biased" opinion.

The Samsung Instinct is a very nice phone. I have had it for a few days now and would like to offer an honest "non-biased" opinion. I can't honestly compare this device to the IPhone since I have only seen the phone in action once. (I was very impressed from what I saw).

The pros:
1. Sleek and elegant design.
2. Seamless menu navigation
3. Fast Internet access when I have a strong signal.
4. Visual Voice Mail is convenient. Voice mails are downloaded to the device for playback.
5. Browser is very nice. While I doubt that it is better than the Safari on the IPhone, it is much better than the IE that is available today on ANY pocket PC device. The browser that ships with Instinct is similar to Opera for the mobile device.
6. Nice keyboard. I have noticed that I hit the "?" mark when I try to hit the space button.
7. Very easy to add contacts
8. Limited Corporate Exchange Support – Will only sync 100 messages at a time.
9. Nice voice dialing by Voice Signal. This software seems to operate better than Voice Command by Microsoft.
10. You can sync more than one Exchange account to your phone. I do not know of any device that allows you to do this. I am NOT talking about IMAP or POP3 accounts. . . actual exchange profiles.
11. Actual standard stereo headphone jack. Not the mini-usb that HTC uses.
12. Supports TeleNav with built in GPS receiver.

The cons:
1. OWA/OMA Microsoft Exchange integration is decent at best. Contacts from your exchange mailbox are not downloaded to the phone locally. They can be searched though.
2. Calendar is not synced to the device. Also the calendar has VERY MINIMAL storage space for each record. The calendar is limited to a "Title" field which only holds 32 characters. The calendar does NOT have a "Body" section.
3. Bluetooth stereo headsets work great when listening to music stored locally, but I was unable to get my stereo headset to work when listening to the streaming radio and video. I may not have figured out how to set this up, but it would be hard to believe that lack of usage was intentional.

* FOR THOSE INTERESTED IN CORPORATE EMAIL SYNCHRONIZATION:
Check with your IT department to make sure that they support Microsoft Synchronization with THIS device. I work at a company that offers OMA/OWA services to Microsoft Mobile platforms. While I can sync email with my personal Exchange Server and my brothers Exchange Server, I can't sync with my companies Exchange server. I can sync my companies email with a standard Windows device, but not with the Instinct.

My overall thoughts:
This is a very fun phone that has many bells and whistles. For me, it is not practical for the corporate users because calendar/appointments can't be synced from the exchange server and it has no "body" object and the subject or title is limited to less than 35 characters.

But I believe that this phone would be perfect for normal everyday user to the "Road Warrior"

About Me:
I currently have had the following PDA Phones – Yes I have spent thousands of dollars on phones, but I work with telecom and really love phones:
Kyocera 7135 on Verizon
Treo 600 - Verizon
Audiovox XV6600 (HTC) - Verizon
HTC 8125 – with IMATE ROM for MSFP usage with Cingular
Hermes 8525 – Cingular
HTC TILT – ATT
TMobile Dash
TMobile Wing
Tmobile Shadow
Sprint Mogul
Sprint Instinct