Samsung Instinct S30 coming to Best Buy at $49.99

You never really know what to expect when fishing for a new phone at Best Buy Mobile. Go in one week, and you'll see a strikingly pink Instinct for a strikingly large amount; go in next week, and you'll see the miniaturized version of the original Instinct for under 50 bones. If a new flyer is to be believed, the Samsung Instinct S30 will be offered up for just $49.99 on contract at Best Buy, which is a whopping $80 less than what Sprint itself will supposedly ask for it on April 19th. Too good to be true? We're hoping not.

[Thanks, Kenny]

Gallery: Samsung Instinct S30 coming to Best Buy at $49.99

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[Schweppes @ Apr 16th 2009 9:52AM]

This POS should be free.

[MoodyNotMe @ Apr 16th 2009 11:48AM]

Just like your mom.

[mdscinto @ Apr 16th 2009 9:57AM]

Anything with a camera at Best Buy= Employee photos. Let the BB-Instinct pictures roll in.

[DarthVegas @ Apr 16th 2009 10:04AM]

Not so shocking when you consider that Radioshack is offering the original Instinct at the same $49.99, also $80 less than what Sprint is selling it at.

[crashcarstar @ Apr 16th 2009 10:02AM]

Why are these phones $600 regularly priced? I know carriers make their money on the plans, not the phones but $50 for a $600 phone...that's a year of a $50/month plan just to make back their money on the phone. Maybe I'm not getting how expensive it is to make little gadgets that can get on the Internet, text, take pictures and videos and make phone calls but I would think it'd be way cheaper than that.

[Schweppes @ Apr 16th 2009 10:07AM]

They are... inflated prices...

You actually think for every phone a company makes they re-design the wheel?

Nokla has been making cookie-cutter for years...

Motorol went down the crapper because they kept reusing the same dated UI in every RAZR...

These phones are crap.. if an iPhone costs $200 in parts how is it that this turd costs more?

[sweet greggo @ Apr 16th 2009 10:38AM]

Yes, the prices are severly inflated in order to force you into signing a contract. No way is this (or any device) worth $600.

The price on this thing should be around $180 max.

[Mike @ Apr 16th 2009 11:29AM]

You really think the iPhone is that well-built? And an iPhone costs $199 with a contract. It costs $599 off-contract. $699 for the 16GB. Make sure you're not comparing apples to oranges here.

But you're arguing that since the cost of an iPhone's parts is $200, phones that cost less than that in parts can't be as good. That's a false argument. The cost of the parts isn't all that make a phone great. How it is designed matters, too, as well as the software used in the device. The Samsung Instinct and the iPhone are two very different phones made by two very different companies for two very different carriers. Making your argument hinge solely on the cost of a device's parts makes it relatively weak.

The argument you *want* to make here is that when two phones costs $599 off-contract, then they should at least have similar functionality. The Instinct is not considered a smartphone, while the iPhone is. There's no real app store, unlike the iPhone. It has touch capabilities, but the original Instinct can't hold a candle to the iPhone's touch capability. The iPhone has a proper web browser like Safari which, whether you love it or hate it, is leaps beyond the Instinct's browser. And while the Instinct does support A2DP Bluetooth and voice dialing, the iPhone has a larger history of getting updates to expand its functionality. Your argument should have been "considering all these things, why on earth do the two phones cost the same off-contract?"

That's much more convincing.

[darthvegas @ Apr 16th 2009 11:45AM]

I'm pretty sure this phone is $400 unactivated through Sprint. As usual, Best Buy is jacking up the unactivated price because they don't make any money when they sell it that way.

[Jon @ Apr 16th 2009 10:04AM]

The S30 is not miniaturized. It's the same size as the original Instinct.

[ananimus3 @ Apr 16th 2009 12:54PM]

Was just coming to say the same thing. Although another article mentioned that the now-curved edges do make it feel smalller, as expected.

Could we get this fixed please, Darren? My OCD is twitching.

[drewU2 @ Apr 16th 2009 10:07AM]

LOOK! the number 1 is missing in front of $49...it is so obvious. Sprint is not going to undersell themselves by $100. Darren, did you look closely?

[Shank @ Apr 16th 2009 10:25AM]

dirt cheap, must blow hard.!

[Zach @ Apr 16th 2009 10:26AM]

It's not so much the price of the phones that are stopping me from buying a smart phone. It's more the price of the internet fees at the various carriers. If that was cheaper, I'd definitely hop on board. $30 is a bit too much for my wallet right now.

[Brandon @ Apr 16th 2009 10:59AM]

The Instinct is not a smartphone and Sprint is MUCH cheaper for data than the other guys...

[mark @ Apr 16th 2009 10:29AM]

Yes, this is correct. It is coming out and that is the right price. The rumor 2 is also going to be coming in around the same time for 29.99 with new 2 year.

[Matt Nicholson @ Apr 16th 2009 12:56PM]

Actually the rumor 2 is already in BBY, and can be had for 29 on new contract, 49 on upgrade. The new instinct should be in in the next day or so, just keep calling your local BBY.

[Best Buy Mobile Manager @ Apr 16th 2009 11:00AM]

I can confirm the $49.99 price point on a new line activation and $129.99 price point on a qualified upgrade.

Most stores already have these in stock and there is no hard street date so you could go in to your local Best Buy Mobile and pick this handset up today in either color.

[kim @ Apr 21st 2009 9:34PM]

to the best buy mobile manager i have a everythng plan over 100 dollars and i have a upgrade can i get it for 50.00

[Turd Ferguson @ Apr 16th 2009 11:16AM]

For the last time: IT IS THE SAME SIZE!!!!! IT IS NOT SMALLER THAN THE ORIGINAL!!

/sorry for caps
//it's the same size
///.......

[Jon @ Apr 16th 2009 12:05PM]

Engadget does seem to be the last site on the Net to figure this out.

Well, they will be. Assuming they ever do figure it out.

[BBY @ Apr 16th 2009 11:18AM]

Yes, these are already available at Best Buy Mobile. The price of $49.99 new / $129.99 upgrade is correct.

I played around with one last night during an activation. There are less goodies in the box with the S30; notably, no extra battery...

[Mike @ Apr 16th 2009 12:50PM]

ow wow, i never knew LG and Samsung made iphone-like phones too.. EXTREME AWESOMENESS!!

[Jonathan @ Apr 16th 2009 1:14PM]

That's a great price, the original Instinct is a great phone, especially with Opera Mini. I really like the copper S30 & $49 is a steal but no matter how satisfied I am with Instinct, Pre is up next.

[John Howard @ Apr 16th 2009 4:59PM]

There is no context in which the original Instinct can be considered a great phone. Or even a good one. Opera Mini makes it better, but that's a relative term. The phone is a joke and lacking many features common to phones that came before it. Hopefully, they learned something and this one will be better.

[Jonathan @ Apr 16th 2009 5:08PM]

Can you elaborate on why it's a joke and lacking many features? It has auto receive email, calender, movie app, news app, live tv, GPS navigation, mp3 player, two web browsers, voice cued Live Search, everything. I don't understand what features it's lacking, your comment seems like an exaggeration.

[iK4rt @ Apr 16th 2009 3:06PM]

A "me-too" company, Samsung, decides to copy the iPhone. . When will they ever learn?

[Jonathan @ Apr 16th 2009 5:10PM]

The original Instinct won awards and set sales records for Best Buy and Sprint, so it seems they learned that the Instinct is a gold mine and want to milk it further. I don't see why the S30 exists since it's the same phone but they're clearly just trying to make some more money with little work.

Looks nice, though.

[marco @ Apr 16th 2009 4:35PM]

People actually still shop at Best Buy. Oh wait, thats the only electronic store still open these days.

[Robin @ Apr 24th 2009 1:42PM]

RadioShack bishes! We carry this phone too, and we're still in business.

BTW, the phone doesn't cost $599 in parts, that's the manufacturer's sugested ratail price. I'm sure the phone costs more than $49 to make, but not $550 more. No one's selling phones at cost, that just wouldn't make any sense.

If you come to Radio Shack for your wireless contracts not only will you be getting a phone at a very compeditive price (no mail in rebate crap), you will also be getting excelent customer service.