What makes a good iPhone killer? Is it a big touch screen, a built-in camera with a huge megapixel count. Is it connectivity options like 3G and HSDPA? Is it the added GPS capability? The Samsung Instinct, whch is exclusive to Sprint, the U.S.’s fourth largest mobile carrier, boasts a feature set that includes built-in GPS, Sprint TV and Microsoft Live Search navigated by a fascinatingly user-friendly UI. This UI resembles the iPhone’s UI closer than all other iPhone competitors. On top of that is a Haptic technology that gives tactile feedback to the virtual buttons.

The 2.0 megapixel camera will not wow anybody and being a CDMA/Ev-Do phone, it doesn’t have half a chance to beat iPhone outside the U.S. Pending the price announcement, I’d say this is the best iPhone competitor yet in the U.S.

Update: Instinct will go for $129.99 after rebate, $70 less than iPhone 3G.!

Read the press release after the break.

[via crunchgear]

SAMSUNG INSTINCT™, EXCLUSIVELY FROM SPRINT,
BRINGS SPEED, SIMPLICITY AND A FULLY-INTEGRATED
TOUCH SCREEN EXPERIENCE TO WIRELESS MARKETPLACE

Providing instant access to Sprint’s fast network speeds,
GPS navigation and Sprint TV, Samsung Instinct offers a
true HTML Web browsing experience and one-touch access to favorites

Customers can go to www.nowisgood.com today and register to be among the
first to own Sprint’s first consumer EV-DO Rev A device; available in June

LAS VEGAS – April 1, 2008 – Sprint (NYSE: S) and Samsung Mobile today announced the
upcoming availability of a new wireless device, Samsung Instinct, which offers consumers an
industry-leading user experience by combining full touch screen functionality with fast speeds
available on the nation’s largest mobile broadband network. This revolutionary device speeds up
the user experience like no other touch screen phone and brings the customer’s most-used
applications and contacts within a single finger tap.

Samsung Instinct, exclusively available from Sprint, has a high-tech look with large, vibrant touch
screen featuring localized tactile feedback, called haptics, which allow the virtual QWERTY keypad
and other operations to become a sensory experience. The device also offers a Voice to Action
button providing many functions using voice activation including call, text, picture messaging,
traffic, movie, sports, news and search.

As Sprint’s first EV-DO Rev A consumer-centric device, Samsung Instinct provides the ability to
quickly browse the Web, access business or personal e-mail, share pictures, listen to commercial-
free radio and more at broadband speeds. Samsung Instinct also provides access to Sprint
exclusive services and multimedia content, including:
• Sprint Navigation, powered by Telenav, with GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn
driving directions, one-click traffic rerouting and more than 10 million local listings
• Live Search for Sprint, powered by Microsoft, provides easy access to directory information
on-the-go, GPS-enabled directions, interactive maps and one-touch click to call access
• Sprint TV® with an extensive selection of live and on-demand programming
• Sprint Exclusive Entertainment (SEE), the industry’s only made-for-mobile sports and
entertainment video programming network
• Sprint Music Store allowing users to browse and wirelessly download full-length songs
directly to their phone for just 99 cents each
• Pocket Express® with up-to-date information on sports, weather, news, movie showtimes
and other options customized to the user’s zip code

The vast majority of Sprint’s Mobile Broadband Network has been upgraded to EV-DO Rev. A
technology, providing Samsung Instinct users blazing fast speeds on the nation’s largest mobile
broadband network (based on covered square miles). The Sprint Mobile Broadband Network
(inclusive of data roaming) reaches more than 242 million people, 15,325 cities and 1,452 airports
and brings customers instant gratification so they can work fast and on-the-go. With EV-DO Rev. A,
peak download data rates increase to 3.1 Mbps and peak upload data rates increase to 1.8 Mbps;
average download speeds improve to 600 kbps to1.4 mbps and average uplink speeds increase to
350 – 500 kpbs.

“Instinct brings customers what they want with the immediacy they want. Every decision during
the development process focused on simplifying the user experience,” said John Garcia, senior vice
president of Product Development and chief marketing officer for Sprint. “The end result is a great-
looking phone that makes the value of Sprint’s fast NOW Network come to life, but most
importantly, it is fun and easy to use.”

The sleek and stylish device offers three dedicated keys on the lower portion of the device to make
operation of the device very straightforward and easy to navigate – phone, back and home. The
phone key always takes the user back to essential voice calling and features including speed dial,
visual voicemail, contacts and the dial pad. The back key is a consistent way to take a step back in
the operation.

The home key on the Samsung Instinct provides quick access to the four menus of functionality
included in this ground-breaking user interface:
• Favorites provides one-touch access to the things you do most making customization and
personalization extremely simple. Web sites, TV channels, Text messaging friends and much
more can be saved in the Favorites menu so the items used most are always at the user’s
fingertips.
• Main includes applications such as Messaging, Voicemail, GPS Navigation and more.
• Fun takes you to Music, TV, photos, games and more.
• Web provides a fast, real Internet experience and all things Web-related including weather
and news.

“Samsung designed the Instinct after spending years developing innovative touch screen
technology,” said Bill Ogle, Chief Marketing Officer for Samsung Mobile. “What really sets the
Instinct apart is the ability to access users’ favorite features with just one touch of the device. The
three navigation keys that Samsung positioned at the bottom of Instinct are instrumental in
making the user experience quick and easy. Samsung feels the Instinct will increase our status as
the fastest growing mobile phone manufacturer in the U.S.”

Samsung Instinct boasts many advanced features including Visual Voicemail allowing users to
listen to messages in their order of preference and manage them with a simple tap of the screen.
This device also provides support for corporate and consumer (POP3) email, multitasking
capabilities that allow the user to play music in background mode while surfing the Internet,
texting or playing games, a 2.0 megapixel camera with camcorder and expandable microSD
memory of up to 8GB. Additional features include advanced stereo Bluetooth® 2.0, integrated world
clock, SMS voice and text messaging with threaded text, Phone as Modem, picture caller ID and
Sprint Mobile Sync.

Samsung Instinct comes with everything the user needs to enjoy the device’s full capabilities right
out of the box. Contents include a 2GB microSD™ card that holds approximately 2,000 songs from
Sprint Music Store, two standard 1,000 mAmp batteries offering up to 5.75 hours of continuous
talk time each, battery charging sleeve, travel charger, USB cable, 3.5mm headphones with built-in
microphone, and leather case with stylus.

Pricing for Samsung Instinct has not yet been determined. In order for customers to experience the
full capabilities of the device, Samsung Instinct requires activation on a Sprint Everything pricing
plan offering unlimited data starting at just $69.99 per month.

Customers can go to www.nowisgood.com today to register to be among the first to own this
innovative device. It will be available in June in all Sprint retail channels including www.sprint.com
and 1-800-SPRINT1. Samsung Instinct measures 2.17 x 4.57 x 0.49 inches and weighs less than
4.5 ounces.