I have made few posts recently about mobile computing options (Smart Phone Estimates Explode, Game Changers, New Additions to Mobile Options) and so when Robert provided me with this guest post, I was quick to post it here for your review:
Have a sense for working hard and having fun? It must be your (Samsung) Instinct!
This almost-year-old phone is still growing, but still has a long way to go to be the complete phone it could be.
By Robert Stanke
The Samsung Instinct is quickly approaching it’s one-year anniversary as the heavily reviewed “iPhone Killer”. Tough reputation for any phone to have, but especially one coming from Samsung and offered exclusively on the Sprint network – a network that has often received heavy criticism and falling customer base. I have been a Sprint customer for just about as long as I can remember, so naturally I was excited to finally have a phone hit my carrier that could offer everything. So, last July I went and picked oue up at my local Sprint store. Overall, I have been very happy with the phone, its coverage and signal strength, and variety of applications to fill my must-have needs. Except for one thing. What about the use for business professionals? Nothing there for us who need a good contact system, calendar, and office-type functionality, and it is a little disappointing that it looks like there is nothing in the pipeline from Samsung or Sprint to offer these things. Sure, there is a calendar and contact program on the phone, but they are worthless! Completely worthless! So bad that I have had to resort to going back to a FranklinCovey planner to manage my important information. So why did I stick with the Instinct? Well, in the end (while there were several times I thought about returning the phone) there is enough to keep the Instinct within my reach.
Purchase Plan, Setup and Customization
Right when you take the phone out of the box, you notice an awesome and slick looking shiny glass surface and smooth, soft black back. It is extremely thin and the width is narrow. Very slick looking phone that fits nicely in your hand. The screen image is clean and crisp, with images and icons coming through very clearly. Set up and customization is pretty straight forward as there is pretty much just one place to get at the setup and customization menus. Some individuals will be disappointed to find that you really can’t change much like screen color scheme, or add a theme to your phone – much like what you can do with a Blackberry or Windows Mobile device. There is an option to add a background picture or a stock image that is on the phone, but it is pretty limiting. You can change your volume settings, ring tones, configure bluetooth devices, set the Speech-to-Action options, and mobile sync options. On the other tabs of the phone you are able to set which icons show and configure the “Favorites” tab.
When you get this phone, Sprint forces you to get their “Everything for $99″ plan, which I had no problem with because I was just about paying the same amount for all the options I had on my HTC Mogul. Some people might not like this, but Sprint had the right idea – in order for you to get the most out of this phone, you want the unlimited data plan, texting, and minutes.
Touchscreen Functionality
Obviously one of the big sells of the Instinct was the full touchscreen capability. And the Instinct really stands up to its promise on this. The screen in smooth to the touch and reacts to motions with ease. The haptic feedback is also a huge plus. When composing emails and text messages, the phone flips to a landscape mode which gives the user a full QWERTY keyboard effect which can make even the average text typer a faster more dangerous texter!
Reliability
The phone is very stable. Perhaps because it is not running a version of Windows Mobile, I am not sure, but I have gone weeks (on occasion even months) without having the phone crash or be restarted. If I launch an application and it has an update waiting, it prompts first, and then runs. Every couple of weeks I shut if off and reboot it, but I doubt it would ever need to be done. And I consider myself a power user of the phone, so this reliability makes me very happy.
Software Features
There are plenty of good software and tools to use on this phone to make up for the lack of business applications. And because you have an unlimited data package and a nice big touch screen, there are plenty of mobile web applications to satisfy your business needs. For example, I use a lot of Google applications, like Calendar, Reader and Docs. Those are all available through Google Mobile. But as for what is on the phone out of the box, there is plenty to keep you busy.
It should go without saying that the Instinct has both email and text messaging applications, and they work very well. The email application comes pre-loaded with easy configurations for Hotmail, Gmail, and Yahoo. I use email from a private domain, so the phone also allows you IMAP and POP3 set up as well. Like the Apple iPhone, the Instinct offers visual voicemail. You get standard things like a calculator and clock with a stopwatch and countdown timer. Since you have an unlimited data package, the following applications really enhance your Instinct experience… Sprint Navigation which has all your typical GPS features like turn-by-turn directions and traffic reports. Microsoft Live Search which acts as a 411 directory search. A fully functional web browser. A weather application. A headline news and sports application. A movie listing and review application which can tell you exactly what movies are playing in your exact location. A set of fun games to play right over your phone. Access to online photo albums like PhotoBucket after you take photos or video with the phone’s built in 2.0 megapixel camera. Quick access to major online shopping sites like eBay and Amazon. The Instinct has a great MP3 player with a built in store so you can download music over the Sprint music store anytime, anywhere. One of the features I never thought I would use, but have really enjoyed is the live TV option. I am able to watch live TV right over my phone including channels like CNN, Comedy Central, Fox Sports and many more. In addition to TV, the phone also broadcasts Internet radio where you can choose to listen to a variety of different genres to suit just about anyone’s tastes.
I am just touching the surface with these software applications because within each of these tools there are a lot of options for customization and added features. A lot there to keep you busy as you wait for a meeting to begin or commute to work on public transportation!
Lack of Business Applications
Perhaps there are technical reasons for the lack of business applications on the Instinct, but as a power user of the phone, I still see where a simple document editor and spreadsheet application can fit in. Even a presentation viewer would be great so that I could review PowerPoint slides for example. There are a lot of ways to go, but they do not exist at this point. As I mentioned earlier, even something as simple as the built-in calendar is not user-friendly and not business-oriented. It would seem to me that if some great third-party developers could come in, I would even consider paying for downloadable applications like the ones I have mentioned because it would help keep me as an Instinct user instead of moving back to a Windows-based device sooner down the road.
Overall…
In the end, I think the Instinct has a lot to offer, and one would believe (and hope) that it has been built on an expandable platform. So I see a lot of potential in this device, as long as both Sprint and Samsung stick with it and support its growth equally.
Final Grade: B
Robert Stanke is a business and technology consultant specializing in the marketing, staffing, research and analytics industries. You can learn more about him at his website and blog, found at http://robertstanke.com.
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