14 DAY TRIAL // Sprint's mega-hot touchscreen phone, the "iPhone killer" and award-wining Samsung Instinct, will have a price tag lower than the one of Apple's iPhone 3G. The Instinct will cost $129.99, after a $100 mail-in rebate and the signing of a contract agreement with Sprint for two years.
This price is 70 bucks lower than the one initially rumored, namely $199.99, so I guess Sprint's customers should be pretty happy about the new deal their carrier is coming up with. The Instinct will be available in two days from now, on June 20, and will only be sold to subscribers who also opt for an unlimited Sprint data plan. The cheapest unlimited data plan from the third largest US carrier is $69.99 per month (450 voice minutes included)
When showcased for the first time, back in April, Samsung Instinct was awarded with the "Most Innovative Product at CTIA Wireless 2008" title, and since then lots of users have seen the device as the best to ever be offered by Sprint. Well, this is no wonder, as the Instinct packs lots of nice features into a cool and slim case (4.57 x 2.17 x 0.49 inches). The highlights of the handset are: a 3.1 inch TFT touchscreen display, EV-DO Rev A. connectivity (comparable with the 3G one when it comes to data transfer speeds), GPS, Visual Voicemail, full HTML browser, Music and Video players, a 3.5mm audio jack, a 2 Megapixel camera with video recording and so on.
Sprint has been presenting the Instinct, from the beginning, as a handset that outsmarts the iPhone. Now, on Instinct's new website, there's no reference to Apple's handset, but there's a funny "trailer" that offers Instinct the main role of an action movie. You can check the website for yourself, at this address.
In the battle with Apple's iPhone 3G, Samsung Instinct might have the advantage of being released earlier. AT&T will offer the new iPhone starting July 11, hence 21 days later than when Sprint is launching the Instinct. The iPhone 3G is priced at $199, but also only with a two-year contract and an expensive data plan.
All in all, if Sprint manages to sell lots of Instincts until the iPhone 3G is released, Apple should really worry about the presence of this Samsung handset on the US market.