Review of Samsung Instinct - Sprint’s iPhone
I have been with Sprint for 4 years. I have grandfathered my $50 plan (which was great even back then, but is after a 20% discount I got from a previous job) all this time which comes with 1000 anytime minutes, unlimited night and weekends at 7:00 PM, and unlimited text. Not a bad price and something worth sticking around Sprint for. I’ve tried lots of their phones and all-in-all, their options basically just suck right now. Especially when I have kind of had the iPhone itch for a while.
I was reassured that no matter what I can always keep my plan if I re-sign. Since nothings satisfied my needy/picky desire, I was encouraged to wait for the Samsung Instinct. Since my biggest problems so far with other phones Sprint offers has been operating system related (and a few times hardware as well), Samsung was releasing their own OS on this ‘great hardware’ to boot. It’s my last attempt to stay with Sprint before I leave for greener pastures (which really might not exist… I know)
Over all features (and if you know the iPhone 3G’s capabilities, you’ll see lots of the same thing): Touchscreen, Large Icons, Expandable memory (up to 8 gig’s micro-HDSD), multiple e-mail accounts, GPS navigation, FULL HTML WEB-BROWSING, extra battery and charging kit, ( each with almost 6 hrs talk time, how awesome it is that they did that? ), customizable features/menu, high-speed data (thought it was 3g, doesn’t feel like it though), blah blah blah.
First ‘con’ I encountered. I was mislead by the original Sprint store employee in Orem, UT who told me I can keep my plan when I inquired about the Instinct. You HAVE to buy one of their data plans, exactly like the iPhone does. Since I don’t like any of sprint’s other phones right now, I had to weigh my options and if I am going to leave Sprint if it doesn’t work out anyway, screw it: Drop my plan and temporarily get an Instinct plan. How much? ……….. $90 bucks a month just to get 900 minutes and unlimited data plan! I might feel it’s ridiculous because I was on the plan that I was. . . But if this is an ‘iPhone Killer’ it sure as hell better be something more than the iphone in at least some area’s and a lot of people are concerned about phone and plan pricing. Well… at least this one was only $130.
Okay okay.. the real review after messing around with it all day.
Over-all I’d say it’s 3.5 stars “IF” the iPhone 3G would be the 5-star standard. It’s won’t hurt the iPhones sales, and it’s not a great solution just offering it to Sprint customers because of the forced data/voice plans you have to get with this phone. What I’m going to end up doing is seeing if I can re-activate my old Sprint phone and get my old plan back. (this… really may be impossible) in which case if it is, I’ll just drop down to a cheap plan to get by with my old phone (thank heavens there is a 30 day return policy), not renew my contract and wait to see what else comes out this year . . . . or just break down and lock myself into an iphone contract. If I am as picky as I suppose I sound, I might be better off just not getting a PDA/Smartphone for a few years.
Update:
I actually do like the phone a lot more after two days of use. For those searching for applications specifically for the Sprint Samsung Instinct: There is nothing really special available. The e-mail is rather nice and get this: Someone from work sent me a word doc which my Samsung Instinct was able to open and view. I didn’t have the ability to edit and send back, but it is likely it did convert it to a .txt format (as no styling from the original document was viewable).
The keyboard is still annoying unless you are using it in the horizontal view. The big one.. no, the internet isn’t any faster than from day one. I like the phone, but it’s probably just prepping me to go get an iphone. I have not been able to successfully pair this with my laptop though the ability is there: ( I hope it’s not an additional massive fee )
Also - if you have a Sprint Instinct- I wanna hear what you think- leave a comment!
Good review, I was eager to see some real world feedback on this phone. Thanks for letting me play with it, too. I kinda dig that haptic feedback.
Hello, good review and write-up. I’ve now had the Instinct for about 9 days. I switched from t-mobile (had a blackberry pearl) over to Sprint because of their simply everything plan which quite frankly with as much as I use my phone (voice & data), you simply can’t beat it. I decided it was enough to put up with Sprint’s crappy customer service and since their coverage can’t suck any worse than t-mobile… why not give it a shot.
So anyway, my opinion of the instinct… The first 3-4 days I absolutely hated it… mostly due to the horrible e-mail capability. Yes, it was easy to set up my emails however there is no push capability so you have to automatically refresh each email account which takes a ridiculous amount of time and locks up the phone while its refreshing keeping you from doing anything else. I honestly miss my Blackberry very much when it comes to email use. Also, the calendar functionality is horrible and I have not yet figured out how (if even possible) to physically connect and sync with my outlook calendar.
I love the web browing, navigation, and sprintTV featurs. Watching TV is not perfect and there is some pixelation at times, however considering that I’m streaming live TV on my phone, I can’t fault it for this… I’m simply enamored by the fact that I can watch live TV on my phone… so cool!
Overall, its a cool phone from a multi-media standpoint but is horrible at the most basic functionality that I need it for… EMAIL.
I’m staying with sprint because of the Simply Everything plan however will probably switch back to a Blackberry Curve or another Pearl.
Thanks again for your write-up and let me now if you’ve learned something I haven’t and can help me like this phone better before I return it. Maybe there are settings I don’t know about it which will fix some of my issues.
Clint
Great write-up! I have had mine for a week or so now and really do enjoy the phone. I am a real estate agent and use my phone to talk all the time. The GPS feature is amazing! I live in Northern Michigan and I let it take me to my favorite backpacking parking lot on Lk Michigan… it was set to “shortest route” and accurately took me down seasonal roads and 2 tracks and got me there perfectly. A+ on the GPS, which is the main reason I got the phone. I have the Simply Everything Plan and recommend that to be used with this phone. I compared AT&T, Verizon, and Alltell and this is by far the best deal and one of the only unlimited plans that is truly “unlimited”. I had a bad gor ’round with Sprint 10yr ago, but so far the past 2yrs have been ok. The service coverage with this phone is way better than my Treo 650 in the same areas. I don’t use the web much on my phone, to be honest. I have not been able to set up email with my work pop3 server, but I need to go to the Sprint store to get that worked out. The voice functions are great. You can search for something, have the phone navigate you there, and search for gas stations on the way sorted by price/gallon… how neat is that (oh yeah, and it actually works very well even in the rural areas that I travel for work). I don’t use the media player or the camera either. I still prefer my ipod and digital camera for these functions (mainly because of synching with itunes and the fact that I need high resolution pics for work). I’m sure that the iphone is still the “hip” thing to do, but AT&T’s plans are silly and this phone, along with the Simply Everything Plan is a great match! Anyone with questions or ways for me to make this phone even cooler, let me know at steventerry@rocketmail.com.
I’ve had my instinct of over a month and really like it. I agree with the past reviews and wanted to add about the roaming features. I had a problem trying to get information on the long distanct charges I would have while in Mexico. I was told the phone didn’t have any capabilities for international use. I couldn’t belive that because the past two years I used my old phone when I traveled abroad. So I went to the store and was told I may be able to get a loaner but I would have to have someone at customer service Ok it. This was becoming a hassle. The day before I left I decided to call customer service again and see if it would be possible to get the loaner, the rep told me all I had to do was make sure that roaming was check to on in the settings link. (I am shaking my head at how little these people know)
Now I find answers on my own or online - how I found this website- My original question is do you know if there is a light function for the camera on the instinct? My old camera had it so I was hoping this one did. I took 186 pictures while in Mexico and never had to change the battery, only charge it (it last a very long time)
thanks, I will be keeping this phone it is perfect for me.
great phone…once you figure everything out… you will be alright…remember…every cell phone service doesnt work some place, before you buy, go to sprint.com and see how well they cover your area!! the instinct works as well as the i phone in as many places, plus the price to get EVERYTHING is rediculously cheaper than the i phone….