Instinct -- Engadget

Instinct posts

How would you change Samsung's Instinct s30?

by Darren Murph, posted May 30th 2009 at 4:38AM

Ah, Samsung's Instinct s30. One step forward, three steps back -- or something like that. Of course, we're not out to remind you of what we thought of the next-gen Instinct, we're here to find out what you think of it. If you plunked down the coin in order to grab yourself the Sprint-locked featurephone, have you been fully satisfied? Is life going alright without EV-DO Rev. A? How's that web browser treating you? Are you wishing you would've held off for the Pre? Feel free to voice your opinion below, and remember, this chance won't ever, ever come around again. Ever.

Samsung Instinct s30 review

by Chris Ziegler, posted Apr 28th 2009 at 2:52PM

Once assumed to be a physically smaller version of the original Instinct (affectionately referred to as the Instinct Mini), the Instinct s30 is actually not an Instinct Nano. Sure, it's trimmed up and a bit more curvaceous, but those accustomed to the original won't notice a great deal of weight loss here. Unlike the original, Sprint's (smartly) not pushing this handset as an iPhone killer; instead, it's letting it be exactly what is it, which is a decent featurephone with a few unique niceties and nothing whatsoever that's mind-blowing. So, is the second iteration of the Instinct worth your time (and by extension, money)? Head on over to Engadget Mobile to find out!

Samsung Instinct S30 now on sale at Sprint: $129.99 on contract

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 19th 2009 at 11:42AM

Right on cue, Samsung's retooled Instinct (that'd be the Instinct S30, if you had any doubts) has gone on sale at Sprint. You'll also notice that the $129.99 on-contract price we heard about is completely in tact, despite the fact that Best Buy Mobile could be selling this same handset in stores later this week for $80 less. At any rate, those champing at the bit to get one headed their way can now do so after choosing between Cobalt Metal and Touch of Copper hues, and if you're looking to snag one with no strings attached, you'll be paying $449.99 in order to do so.

[Thanks, Mike]

Gallery: Samsung Instinct S30 now at sale at Sprint: $129.99 on contract

Samsung Instinct S30 coming to Best Buy at $49.99

by Darren Murph, posted Apr 16th 2009 at 9:48AM

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

Sprint's Samsung Instinct S30 hands-on with video

by Sean Cooper, posted Apr 1st 2009 at 10:02AM

We had a few minutes with Sprint's Samsung Instinct S30 at CTIA this evening and while we couldn't dive in to find its deepest darkest secrets, we did get in a quick tour. This handset is well balanced in hand, perhaps even a tad on the light and "plasticky" side for our taste, but hey, we only had scant minutes to tour before the mob descended. The touch screen seems up to Samsung's "Please Touch" theme for this year's CTIA, the haptic feedback adding nice, ah, feedback when in use by reassuring the lab mice in us that our input was doing something. Follow on for a gallery and a quick video tour of the UI and a 360 view of the set proper.

Gallery: Sprint's Samsung Instinct S30 hands-on with video

Continue reading Sprint's Samsung Instinct S30 hands-on with video

Samsung Instinct S30 now official, coming to Sprint on April 19th

by Ross Miller, posted Mar 31st 2009 at 9:31PM

That didn't take long. After Samsung showed off its Instinct S30 (a.k.a. Instinct Mini) last night with some official imagery -- and less than an hour after we spotted it in the wild at CTIA -- Sprint's gone ahead and made it official with a press release. The carrier-exclusive touchscreen phone features a 2.0 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth 2.0, and virtual QWERTY keypad, along with Opera Mini 4.2, Sprint TV, and Sprint Music Store. It's also got a Speech to Action function for controlling the phone by voice and alllegedly more access to the core Java API for development. Color options include Cobalt Metal or Touch of Copper. Launch date is April 19th, which is exactly what we saw in that leaked Sprint playbook, and price is $129.99 with a two-year contract.

[Via Gadget Review]

Samsung M810, red LG Lotus found in Sprint's playbook?

by Ross Miller, posted Mar 20th 2009 at 2:53AM

We can't really be sure this is really a page from Sprint's playbook or something craftier, but according to the above screengrab, the carrier's set to launch the Samsung M810 / Instinct Mini in Graphite and Bronze colors on April 15th for partner Brightpoint and then 19th for everyone else for $450, which matches up quite nicely with some earlier reports from Boy Genius Report. For those wanting something more familiar, the document also notes the LG Lotus is getting a new red paintjob and will be happy to show us on the 15th / 19th of next month, respectively. Fans of the rojo phone'll be glad to know it'll reportedly be keeping the current $300 price tag.

Samsung Instinct Mini spotted by Mr. Blurrycam

by Nilay Patel, posted Mar 5th 2009 at 4:01PM

Samsung may be cranking out all manner of new TouchWiz phones and Sprint might be Pre-occupied*, but nothing can stop the Instinct... from getting smaller. Yep, images of what's claimed to be an Instinct Mini have popped up on the SprintUsers forum, and while there are no hard details available, we're guessing Boy Genius Report's April 19th date is close -- we just saw a handset labeled SPH-M810 hit the FCC, and the original Instinct is the SPH-M800. Next up: Instinct Nano rumors. More photos at the read link!

*We're sorry. It won't happen again.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

Video: 3D Eye Tracking from TAT, the guys behind the T-Mobile G1 UI

by Thomas Ricker, posted Feb 24th 2009 at 8:50AM

Ever notice the word "Malmo" emblazoned across the face of Android's analog clock widget? That's a subtle nod to the city where the Swedish design team called TAT (The Astonishing Tribe) is headquartered -- a group of nerds responsible for finessing the look and feel of the T-Mobile G1's user interface including such innovations as the window shade menu and 9-point visual key-lock. In fact, TAT's software prowess can be seen on the Samsung Instinct, S60 handsets from Nokia, and a variety of devices from Motorola and Sony Ericsson. So when TAT releases a new "3Deyetracking UI" concept that lets you see behind on-screen objects, well, you can bet that the entire cellphone industry is paying attention. Check the video after the break.

Read -- TAT's industry influence

Continue reading Video: 3D Eye Tracking from TAT, the guys behind the T-Mobile G1 UI

Sprint's pink Instinct shows up on Best Buy's site for outrageous price

by Chris Ziegler, posted Dec 31st 2008 at 3:31AM

We'd pegged early January for the release of a pink Samsung Instinct on Sprint's airwaves, and Best Buy's doing everything it can to help us hold the line on that with a new "Coming Soon" page advertising just such a product. Unfortunately, they're asking a whopping $599.99 for the pleasure of being the first kid on your block with this thing, but the off-contract pricing in Best Buy's system is usually way out of whack -- we wouldn't worry about paying anything close to $200 on contract by the time you actually step into the store.

[Thanks, Emilio]

Samsung's Android phone hitting Sprint and T-Mobile by June

by Thomas Ricker, posted Dec 19th 2008 at 5:21AM

Without a doubt, 2009 is destined to be the year of The Android. Samsung just announced its ticket to the party with a Q2 launch of its Android phones on both Sprint Nextel and T-Mobile in the US. Apparently, the touch-screen device will be an adaptation of the Omnia (Korea's 800 x 480 pixel version please) and Instinct. In other words, a rectangle with a full-screen display and minimal set of buttons just like every other touchscreen device out there. In case you missed it, this game is no longer about the hardware.

[Via ModMyGphone, thanks Neerhaj]

Samsung Instinct firmware changes confirmed: it's the browser

by Chris Ziegler, posted Oct 6th 2008 at 4:55AM

We've been holding off on running this until we got confirmation from Samsung on just what was going on, and now we have it; it's official, folks -- the Instinct's latest firmware update is all about the browser. To quote Sammy, "most of the traits of this upgrade focus on improving the Web browser experience," and the word on the street seems to be in line with that with faster page loading and generally fewer crashes being reported across the board. As best we can tell, it doesn't solve every last issue in the book, but it's awesome to see that Sprint and Samsung seem to be staying on top of this stuff. Have an Instinct? Sound off on comments with your update experiences.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Screen Grabs: Nathan Petrelli gets heroic with Samsung Instinct

by Darren Murph, posted Oct 1st 2008 at 5:52AM

Screen grabs chronicles the uses (and misuses) of real-world gadgets in today's movies and TV. Send in your sightings (with screen grab!) to screengrabs at engadget dt com.

For those who haven't already overloaded their DVR with the plethora of fall dramas, Heroes is looking to be a pretty solid bet. For one Nathan Petrelli, this season's about more than just discovering who he really is. It's about more than just being there for his baby bro. It's about strategically placing the phone that supposedly needs no product placement smack dab into one of NBC's hottest shows. Oh, and is it just us, or is he pretty perturbed about the lack of updates available for this thing too?

Samsung Instinct gets its first firmware update: too little, too late

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 30th 2008 at 2:30PM

Quite a few Instinct owners were giving Samsung / Sprint one option: crank out a firmware update to show that they cared before the 30-day test period expired, or deal with all that messy RMA paperwork. Unfortunately for the aforesaid firms, the handset's first update is coming ten days after that date (at least for the earliest of adopters), and initial reports suggest that glaring problems still exist. Some users are suggesting that Sprint TV is less pixelated than before and that overall snappiness is improved, but the patently awful browser still remains at 1.0 (and thus just as awful). Look, when the change that gets most people jazzed is the battery meter's newfound ability to hit 100% (and not just 90% as in the past), something is seriously wrong. Anyone else find any nuggets of goodness in the new update?

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Update: A bigger, more life-changing update looks to be planned -- hang tight, Instinct owners!

How would you change the Samsung Instinct?

by Darren Murph, posted Jul 18th 2008 at 6:30PM

Samsung sure managed to move a lot of these Instincts, but the real question is: how many are on their way back tomorrow? With the 30-day trial period quickly closing in on the earliest of adopters, we've seen a myriad complaints about Sprint's iPhone slayer (its words, not ours), and the first official software update isn't rumored to occur for at least another week or so. For those folks who plan on sticking with it (or those who've already said their final goodbyes), what would you have Sprint include in the next firmware? Better still, what would you change about the design? Are you sick and tired of the inexplicable reception fluctuations? Are you fed up with holding down a button to unlock the display? Aggravated with lockups twice a day, everyday? Enraged by the omission of a "force roam" option? And really, could Sprint have made the battery door any more impossible to remove? Rant on, ranters!