If you’re one of the first 1,000 people to feature a Samsung Instinct in your YouTube video, Sprint will pay for, well, about a third-tank of gas. Wow, thanks, guys.
I wonder if it would count if I featured it in a video explaining the thousand reasons why the iPhone’s UI is better than the Instinct’s? Visit site »
Short story: the Samsung Instinct on Sprint is the best “iPhone killer” made to date, and it also happens to b the cheapest (at just $129, after this week’s price reduction to compete with the iPhone 3G). Being from the Kansas City area (where Sprint is headquartered), I know a lot of people locked into Sprint contracts. While it’s still not an iPhone, the Instinct does seem like a solid buy for someone stuck on Sprint — especially at just $129.
All that having been said, I sort of suspect phones like the Nokia N95, Samsung Soul, and Garmin Nuviphone are more likely to take business away from the iPhone — even if they’re not as directly positioned to compete with it. Visit site »
Gizmodo has some walkthrough videos of the Sprint Instinct, the company’s “iPhone Killer.” In watching them, I definitely feel like this is probably the second-best thing to an iPhone out there, UI-wise. It doesn’t look quite as simple, elegant, and sexy as the iPhone, but it is a pretty well-done copycat. And, it does have a few features the iPhone doesn’t (3G, GPS, text-to-speech). I don’t think it’s an iPhone killer, but it’s probably the closest thing to one made thus far. I wouldn’t blame a Sprint customer for buying this guy instead of paying $200 to switch to AT&T. Visit site »
Nice stuff. I can’t figure out why the iPhone doesn’t use cell tower data for location-based services. It seems so simple, doesn’t require GPS hardware, and is good enough for 90% of the use cases. Visit site »
You mean all I have to do to get out of my Sprint contract (since I just got an iPhone and AT&T service) is harass the hell out of them? Easy!
Seriously, though — I think Sprint has every right to do this, and I say more power to them. To me, any service that lasts longer than the point-of-sale transaction ought to be a two-sided agreement and either party ought to be able to terminate it any time. Visit site »
I really do believe the the lack of IM, MMS, Song ID, and MP3s-as-ringtone will hurt the iPhone in some circles — especially the younger demographic which loves all this stuff. That is, if the consumers are smart enough to realize this stuff is missing before they plunk down their $600. Given that all of these features are pretty much a given on even the cheapest phones, it’s likely people will just assume they’re on the iPhone, as well — and be frustrated (after* their purchase.
All could possibly be added via a simple software update, but who knows whether Apple will do that or not. None of them bother me much personally, but I know a lot of people for whom the lack of these features would be a dealbreaker.
Sprint and Verizon would do well to exploit them. Visit site »