CTIA Wireless 2008: Samsung Instinct, Sprint's Major Touchscreen Hit

Sprint might have just got its hands on one of the coolest touchscreen handsets to hit the US market this year, and we're talking about the new Samsung Instinct, which no one knew it exists until today, when it was unveiled at CTIA Wireless 2008 (Las Vegas, 1 – 3 April).

Released by Samsung exclusively via Sprint, the new Instinct comes with a design resembling the recently spotted Samsung AnyCall Haptic, hence it can be considered a direct competitor for Apple's iPhone.

Samsung Instinct measures 4.57 x 2.17 x 0.49 inches (116 x 55 x 12.4 millimeters), weighs 4.5 ounces (127 grams) and offers a 3.1 inch touchscreen display with an unusual 240 x 432 pixels resolution. The display features haptic feedback, giving users the sensation they actually feel the phone's virtual QWERTY keypad as well as its other virtual keys. The device has only three hardware (but flat) keys, which offer a quick and easy mode to navigate through its multitude of features.

Being the "first EV-DO Rev A consumer-centric device" to come from Sprint, Samsung Instinct is capable of offering data download speeds of up to 3.1 Mbps and upload speeds of up to 1.8 Mbps.

Furthermore, the new Samsung packs a wide range of goodies, including a Voice to Action key (to activate various functions using only your voice), GPS to be used with Sprint Navigator, Sprint Music Store, Sprint TV, stereo Bluetooth 2.0, Music player with support for most of the common formats, mobile email, multitasking capabilities, 2.0 Megapixel camera with video recording, 2GB memory card included and the ability to expand the memory up to 8GB. The handset also comes with 3.5mm headphones, a stylus, a leather case and two 1,000 mAmp batteries that can both provide a talk-time of up to 5.75 hours.

"Samsung designed the Instinct after spending years developing innovative touch-screen technology," declared 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 will be offered by Sprint starting June 2008, for a price that hasn't been revealed yet. However, it can't be an affordable one. More details about the new Instinct will be unveiled when available.



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