Samsung Instinct flies off Sprint's shelves at record pace

Looks like Sprint's gargantuan marketing blitz for the Instinct is in the process of paying off, because the carrier has announced that the Samsung device has become its best-selling EV-DO device ever in the first week of availability. Long-term popularity will depend largely on word of mouth as early adopters decide whether they made the right purchase, of course, but it's a promising sign for a company that hasn't had a ton of good news to report lately. They're reporting that the overwhelming popularity has led to shortages in some areas, but go on to assure us that "Samsung has increased efforts to deliver new supplies of Instinct on a daily basis and manufacturing plants are operating at full capacity to keep up with the demand." Here's our question, though: Sprint makes a point of saying that it's their best-selling EV-DO device, so what's their best-selling device regardless of technology -- the Sony Z-100, perhaps, also known as the baddest cellphone of all time?

[Nunuv Yurbiz @ Jun 26th 2008 12:05PM]

Samsung Instink?

[michas_pi @ Jun 26th 2008 1:13PM]

I have analyzed clak's post and confirmed it does not mention, hint at, or make a forlorn glance at Apple or its products.

Could this be a first?

[michas_pi @ Jun 26th 2008 2:01PM]

*sigh*

Never mind...

[Osiris @ Jun 26th 2008 10:19PM]

I'm not even going to consider a phone now days unless it has wifi.
What a waste of the huge display if you're not going to use it for browsing.

[Brent @ Jun 26th 2008 12:07PM]

I thought about picking one of these up, but they force you to get a more expensive phone plan. I went with the Centro instead.

[holycow @ Jun 26th 2008 12:09PM]

good for sprint and samsung...

[MikeSWelch @ Jun 26th 2008 12:09PM]

Sprint's best selling device ever, eh? Sooo like 8 of them?

[PS3guy @ Jun 26th 2008 12:11PM]

Look nice until I see the Sprint logo on it, why do they have to put the Sprint logo on the phone for lol

[Totally @ Jun 26th 2008 5:19PM]

Same reason At&t, Verizon, T-Mobile and other Carriers put their logo on their phones.

Bah! The records sales just show how starved their customers are for a decent phone.

[ByronGman @ Jun 26th 2008 3:28PM]

Because it's a Sprint phone? :-P


J/K, I get what you're saying here, although I personally would find the Verizon logo a lot more tasteless as far as design (I am a Verizon customer).

At least Sprint has that kinda cool swishy thing going on, versus having a big check mark on your phone. :-/

[riggs @ Jun 26th 2008 12:16PM]

if only they had it available to SERO loyalists....then it would reallly sell out.

[EnJaNir @ Jun 26th 2008 12:22PM]

They do have it avail for Sero Plans - they updated the 3rd Tier Plan to be the $99 everything plan

[Veraxus @ Jun 26th 2008 3:24PM]

I don't care what Sprint says. The $99 Simple Everything plan hardly qualifies as a Sero plan. When people think Sero, they think of the $30 or $50 plans. For $100 / month, I'd rather go with the iPhone. AT&T's data network may not be as good as Sprints, but the phone is way better and the plan options are comparable.

The Instinct really was Sprint's last chance to stop disgruntled existing customers from defecting - and with plan requirements like that, I can't imagine them drawing in many new customers, let alone keeping many disgruntled existing ones. What good is the best data network in the states if your phones are crap and the web browsers are garbage?

I don't doubt their ad campaign has made the product launch a success, but once comparisons start flying and word of mouth gets out, I doubt sales will stay so healthy.

[Mitch @ Jun 26th 2008 12:20PM]

Until I see sales figures (not, Gee, they're flying off store shelves) then I assume this is a non-story.

Makes me think of the Kindle - no sales figures means there is nothing impressive going on.

[Nathan @ Jun 26th 2008 6:47PM]

Mitch,

No sales figures means they can't report the figures under Sarbanes-Oxley since they aren't going to do that and get fined...you'll have to wait till the 2Q Earning Results to get the numbers

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 26th 2008 3:21PM]

From June 19th to June 23rd 200,000 units were sold from corporate store locations. Web, telephone or 3rd party counts were not known.

[kjb434 @ Jun 26th 2008 12:20PM]

For Sprint, I hope these are new customers and not existing ones.

They need all the customers they can get.

[badqat @ Jun 26th 2008 2:00PM]

My guess is that these are selling to existing Sprint customers starved for a modern handset.

I don't think there are many people who see this and think - "hey, I'll switch to Sprint for this phone!"

[mkhall @ Jun 26th 2008 4:09PM]

Two of my co-workers have switched to Sprint specifically because of this phone, after using mine for a few minutes. It is quirky, and the browser is hardly stellar, but I really, really like it.

[Number_41 @ Jun 26th 2008 12:22PM]

Regardless of what you say or feel, it is a really good move on Sprint's part.
Releasing a phone that is like the iphone on another network, The Now Network, allows the customers to be locked in for another 2 years. Thereby retaining their customers and not losing them, like the Big Pink/Purple/Fuscha one will in the US.
Customers want a touch phone similiar to the iphone and i cant tell you how many people on verizon i know come to me and say this is the iphone killer!! [hahaha, i love it when they say that].

Regardless, good move on their part.

[FreeRange @ Jun 26th 2008 12:22PM]

When you say "baddest" do you mean the worst or are you use "bad" like in the 80s sense where it's actually good? I'm not familiar with Sprint phones and sarcasm doesn't transfer well in print.

[Chris Ziegler @ Jun 26th 2008 12:25PM]

Well, if I'd meant "baddest" as in actually bad, I would've used "worst" instead. I mean "baddest" as in Michael Jackson in "I'm Bad."

Yeah, it's *that* bad (good).

[FreeRange @ Jun 26th 2008 12:50PM]

Awesome. Thanks for replying. I was seriously asking by the way and not aiming for sarcasm (because it doesn't transfer well in print). I realize in hindsight my post may have seemed that way so all the better you responded.

[RootAg @ Jun 26th 2008 12:58PM]

My very first cellphone was a Z-100, and it was awesome (at the time).

[Will @ Jun 26th 2008 12:59PM]

Yes, what do you mean? Is that a good thing or bad. Seeing how Sprint is not "luv'd" here I assume it meant "worst".

[phanbouy @ Jun 26th 2008 1:15PM]

Who says "baddest" to mean worst unless they're 5 years old?

[letstakeawalk @ Jun 26th 2008 2:38PM]

@ phanbuoy

Jim Croce, for one...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ru5exYqe5_M

[John @ Jun 26th 2008 6:15PM]

I still have my Z-100!!!

[EnJaNir @ Jun 26th 2008 12:23PM]

They do have it avail for Sero Plans - they updated the 3rd Tier Plan to be the $99 everything plan

[Thomas Anderson @ Jun 26th 2008 12:31PM]

This would be a very promising outlook for Sprint if only they would have released the phone prior to June 9, closing that 30 day return window prior to July 11th. I purchased one of these day one just to tide me over until iday, when it will most certainly be going back.

[dan @ Jun 26th 2008 1:01PM]

I'm not a lover of sprint (I hate them actually), and I am a fan of the iphone, but what your doing is very low. Its immoral and illegal.

[grull27 @ Jun 26th 2008 1:06PM]

It's been said but I'll say it again, when the iPhone 3G iPhone comes out, nobody is going to care about the Instinct. In fact, barely anybody knows about the Instinct.

[matt @ Jun 26th 2008 1:50PM]

In the UK barely anyone cares about the iphone. Only people with more money than sense.

[Craig @ Jun 26th 2008 5:21PM]

@dan

I agree that what Mr. Anderson is doing is ethically questionable, but is it really illegal? Serious question - I'm really curious.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 26th 2008 8:54PM]

@grull27

Yeah, no one really cares about it, yet the Instinct broke records before it even aired on national TV.

[DP @ Jun 26th 2008 9:54PM]

Get off your high horse Dan.

[KilgoreTrout @ Jun 26th 2008 12:36PM]

I kinda digg it.
It's main selling points seem to be that it is'nt an iPhone and that the camera is probably decent.
I would like to know how it's GPS is, coz I'm seriously thinking of adopting this baby instead of my trusty N95 8Gb.
Would that be a smart move?

[Neeko @ Jun 26th 2008 2:18PM]

I was at the Sprint store near Park ave and i played with the instinct for about 30min.

And the phone wasnt that bad. i use a Mogul for everything so i tried not to judge it against that.

1.The GPS was fast and accurate. they have a 3D view which would really help if i needed to find a location.

2. UI was very BLAH. Now BLAH is only bad when it looks likes like a 1st yr design student created it for his thesis..CMon guys you really need to pick a better focus group. Cause that UI was crap.. its slow, washed colors unresponsive at times and generally not very intuitive.

3.The little virbating responce given one you touch the screen was kinda cool but i imagine would get very annoying after a while. Plus wouldn't it drain battery more being turned on 24/7.

4.Web browser was HORRIBLE..I MEAN HORRIBLE.. Please replace that crap and put on Opera Mobile 9.5 or anything else. On such a small screen why would designers add icons on the sides. I hate to bring the APPLE into this but the simplistic Ui of safari is why i love my ipod touch. No unwanted icons cluttering the screen when browsing.

5.Make the screen bigger.

Now to the uninformed shopper who doesnt want AT&T cause they have the WORST DATA NETWORK and cell quality this phone seems really cool and iphon'ish i can see a lot of sprint customers switching phones.

[kccboy2004 @ Jun 27th 2008 4:00AM]

i though that your instinct was not to buy it. or were you just capitalizing on an opportunity to play on words. :-)

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jun 26th 2008 12:42PM]

The Samsung Extinct. That's a very appropriate name for this handset. As soon as the iPhone 3G is released, this Extinct will join the dinosaurs and dodo birds. Five thousand years from now when some future Indiana Jones unearths it, it'll be worth as much then as it is now. Absolutely nothing.

[JamesR @ Jun 26th 2008 12:54PM]

It would be so much easier to like the iPhone if 15 year old brats weren't all over the blogs making asses of themselves trying to get into iSteve's pants.

[Derek @ Jun 26th 2008 12:58PM]

Totally, that and with AT&T's AWESOME 3G coverage the Instinct will be gone in no time. People will be like OMG WTF I actually get widespread 3G coverage with Sprint, f that.

[Argot @ Jun 26th 2008 1:24PM]

LOL... The iPhone... That plastic piece of crap?

[Peep @ Jun 26th 2008 2:10PM]

Lol first time i see someone who's precenting iphone as a feature monster. Thanks for the try thought!
Iphone is good product, but there's reasons why it didn't sell that good in rest of the world compared to USA that lacks some of the biggest players and the biggest player in cell phone market.
Again iphone is best device on it's gategory, but some(most probally 10-15 years olds living in a state side) just think a bit too much about this Apple will win them all.
6 million sold isn't anything yet compared to even example one high end Nokia phone N95 plus the 30 other smart phone it sells.
How many units it sells dosen't of course tell how good the product is, but there's loooong way till Apple means anything globally in cell phone market.

[cj @ Jun 26th 2008 2:13PM]

@Clak,

If you memorized all that... you really need to get yourself a girl and get laid...

[Mobile Phone Diva @ Jun 26th 2008 4:56PM]

First, you need to see how many people will leave Sprint for the new iPhone before you make that call. There are people predicting that since the cost of the required Instinct plan is high, many WILL just go for the iPhone. But we don't really know that yet.

[Dcbalex @ Jun 26th 2008 5:31PM]

@Peep

What is wrong with your grammar? Try learning some English before you post.

[kccboy2004 @ Jun 26th 2008 6:44PM]

@Steffen,

Why would you care ??

Lets face it. If people like the iPhone, they have the choice to buy it. If they like another phone they will buy that.

But you, madam, are a bigot.

I will laugh so hard when Apple does not meet their targets, AGAIN !!!! LOL.

[applefan @ Jun 26th 2008 8:43PM]

Where'd claks comments go? I see replys to what he's said but I don't see any comments by him himself. Is he gone? If so, thank God!

[aaron @ Jun 26th 2008 12:43PM]

if its selling fast now just imagine how fast they are going to sell when the sero plan happens (if you are to believe the rumors... july 13).