Samsung Instinct vs. Apple iPhone – Round 1
By Will Park on Sunday, June 8th, 2008 at 12:40 PM PST In Samsung, Sprint, Videos, iPhone
We all know that handset manufacturers (and their partner carriers) that aren’t the iPhone are gunning for the all touchscreen form-factor that’s proved to be so popular among smartphone fans. But, this newest advertisement from No. 3 US wireless carrier Sprint (NYSE: S) may be the first case of a carrier overtly going for the iPhone’s jugular.
Here we see the Sprint Instinct going heads-up with the iPhone in a battle to the death. Well, actually, it’s more a battle to see which can record video, and the end result a bit anti-climactic, but hey, who are we to judge the marketing team that dreamed up this clip?
Sure, the iPhone doesn’t do video. That sucks. But, is the Samsung Instinct really going to be able to hold it’s own against the 3G iPhone? If Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) keeps video recording off the next-generation iPhone, we’ll all be sorely disappointed – but not enough to keep us from buying the 3G iPhone.
all that you have listed I already have except for the TV stations with flickering framerates which can freeze while the audio keeps going. I would much rather be able to carry about 10 full length DVD movies at a time with my 16 gig model, free after ripping the movie with the right software which I have. Hahaheehohoohoo who’s the loser now. Plus thousands of photos free games and apps. Can your instinct do that I didn’t thinkso booyah! And aready turn by turn GPS is in the works, not that I would die without it. For me instinct would have me kicking myself for not getting the iPhone.
That seems to be the consensus…
Stay Tuned for my iPhone 3G vs. Instinct review!
Will it blend?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLxq90xmYUs
I have the insticnt and my friend has the iphone i’ve use it a couple of times. In my opinion the instisct is better. The iphone screen breaks easily and you can’t put insurance you have to pay the full price again. Taking pictures is hard when you taking one of yourself because you cannot see the button. Also you can’t send picture text unless you use your email. I rather stick to my instinct instead of the iphone. but i do have an 32gig itouch.
I don’t take photos of myself and e-mail photos is very easy but I’m sure some folks appreciate your post as it may matter to them. I personally would trade those few points for a browser that you can size larger or smaller with two fingers to what size I need, and the 3G iPhone does that easily. I am sure the Instinct would have me pulling my hair out without that feature. The screen easily breaking is pure nonsense though. I’ve had a iPod touch as well as the iPhone 3G and the screens are rock solid as long as you don’t take a sledge hammer to them or abuse them beyond what you expect would be normal use.
That claim is completely or you are using a lemon iPhone as an example and lemons happen in any product line usually, except maybe sledge hammers…
I don’t get the continual taking self portrait thing. Why can’t you just take one photo and use it; are people that much into themselves that they must do it every day or every week? That is a total non issue with me.
I’ve never insured any piece of hardware except for a house or a car and have gotten along just fine with extended warranties. Maybe some folk are just klutzes and drop things; guess then insurance would make sense.
The iPhone has more screen real estate and let’s face it for devices as small as a cell phone bigger screens are better and in that regard the iPhone has it over the Instinct. Besides, once everyone realizes the iPhone is not going anywhere and wannabees like the “Instinct” may indeed possibly be called “Extinct” in 5 or 6 months it will be harder and harder to deny the all out winner as Apple keeps improving its iPhone product line, and Sprint’s fancy movie advertisement hype will be long forgotten.
I can plug my iPhone or iPod touch into a TV and watch REAL movies such as Disney’s Ratatouille, full length with DVD quality.
I can keep books such as the KJV bible on my iPhone.
I am alerted anytime I get an e-mail or Myspace message.
I have a dedicated Myspace and Youtube icon button.
I have a dedicated AOL and Pandora radio station icon button.
I’ve got more games than I would care to play on my iPhone.
And with 3rd party software upgrades coming it just keeps getting better. Won’t be surprised to see a 3rd party camcorder function very soon like it was done on the first version iPhone.
Wow, Apple just put up Nullriver’s Netshare App (a second time) at the iTunes store. Now I can tether my laptop(s) wirelessly thanks to Apple and take off my jailbreak tethering, which works pretty good by the way…better to do things legally though so…
You iphone freaks kill me with all your talk about apples 3g grandness. strip away all the glamor and features from both phones and sprint still kicks iphones as…
Besides the fact that sprint is a cell phone company that has perfected its tech with its latest release of the instinct. It has done something that at&t would never do. and that is to finally give the consumer a chance to have full mobile capabilities with its simply everything plan; plus the style and capabilities to make anyone look good. Now at&t and all other mobile company’s have to jump on the band wagon or get left behind. But no, and mark my words at&t will milk this cash cow until their customer start jumping ship…. and most already have
INstinct vs Iphone Are you Crazy?
My wife and Kids have Iphones…I have an Instinct..
The only thing I thought the instinct had over the Iphone was sprint radio..well hell, I see now Iphone has the Aol Radio app which IMO is better than sprint radio. Now, I have no reason for this intinct Iphone wanna be. I’m giving it to my mother and getting me a fricken iphone… IPHONE has SmartStart where you can Start your Car with a Viper Alarm system by your Iphone.. Whaaaat?
Iphone is from another Galaxy..
NOT TO MENTION OUR ECONOMY IS GOING TO SHIT AND ISTEAD OF U MORONS REALIZING THAT CHEAPER IS BETTER U. YOU THINK UHHM THE WATS ANOTHER 200 DOLLARS FOR THE IPHONE. JUST U IDIOTS WAIT AND C WEN THE GAS PRICES GO UP TO EIGHT DOLLARS A GALLON, UL WISH U HAVE GOTTEN THE SYMPLY EVERYTHING WHILE ITS STILL AVAILABLE
OMG…I shudda…got the…ssssimply eeeveryhing plan! I’m sooo scared! The ecomony is ccccollapsing!
Wow what side of the bed did you get up on? OK chief you win! Obama all the way! LOL!
I Just switched from the iphone to the Instinct last week, although i had to wait a week for the back ordered phone, i am very happy that i did. The Instinct is a much better phone and AT&T does not even come close to the sprint network. though there are a couple minor features i liked better with my iphone, overall the instinct is a better phone.
Look
I have the Instinct and I have had sprint for about 10 years. Pay your bill on time and who gives a @#$% about customer service. For less than $200.00 (Not to mention the Mail-in Rebate for $100.00) so for less than $150.00 its a damn good phone.
I love my I phone!! I never looked at the instinct but from what I heard the I phone has all the same stuff there just all in applications. What caught my eye was voice command and the live tv. That was tight! Ian a big fan of football! If anyone knows how to watch live football from the I phone 3g let me know thanks.
i am w8tin for my instinct to come and was debating on canceling my order but i have read most of the blogs here i feel like sprint is the way to go coverage, price, features, and plan.
Its 6 or Half a Dozen the same. I still beleive that you are getting a Hell of a phone for less than $200.00 If the Instinct would have come out before the I-phone all these I-Phone comments would be reversed. I’ve been with Sprint for over 10 Years and never had a problem with Service, Coverage etc…etc… (Lets be real, every cell phone carrier has dropped calls) and to get everything for $99.00 a month, You can’t beat that!!!
If anyone claims to have smooth streaming video on their Instinct video clips, they are full of $hit. One out of 10 are smooth. The videos are choppy as hell and often freeze at times, if you can even get them to load. Try loading MTV videos and you will see. I constantly got kicked out of the screen trying to load simple news clips yesterday.
I loaded up a small mp4 clip and the bottom half of the video was missing. It was all pixelated and chopped up!
The best thing Instinct has going for it are the GPS and NOT being AT&T/NSA spies.
From what I am reading both phones have issues to be worked out.
Hopefully the freeze frame issue, which is one reason I chose the iPhone, will be corrected in the August updates. iPhone has reported problems too such as slow starting applications; but I can tolerate most of what to me seem like nitpick complaints. I still love my 3G iphone just as much as the Instinct users love their phone. No major problems yet even though its jailbroken and tethering laptops and now has the ability to stream video onto the internet thanks to two new applications. No regrets here. Hope Instinct users are just as satisfied as I am.
YO pg .. INSTINCT = lapTop bi*cH beat tht
I hate the instinct. I went to the sprint store to test one out. Knock aint even the word I can describe that thing by. ALL this talk about live tv. Yeah only basic channels. Why in the hell would I want to watch channel 5 news on my expensive phone and not to mention the video quality is horrible. It looks like Dish TV when theres a storm outside. Also you have to tap the screen several times before you get it to respond. The Web browser does not even compare to the safari on Iphone. The only thing good about the instinct is the everything plan for $99 but if everything your getting on the phone performs badly then not not geting anything at all.
They need to change that from the Simply nothing plan for $99 because thats about all your going to get out of that copycat phone.
They are both ok phones (although expensive for the plans no matter which one you buy) and they both must love that you guys act as though you own the company and have to fight tooth and nail when in reality you are padding their CEO’s pockets with millions.
I am on my iTouch so I can’t type long it’s a pain in the ass….. Should have do this on my instinct….. Hahaha.. Best mp3 player .. Itouch. Best phone…. Instinct. Oh hey bill. I have 32gigs loser. Haha
Very wise post goindy.
Unlike some other pointless ones here.
Hold, time out lol. I am deaf also so I know both have touch screen keyboard so which one is has good keyboard for fast typing???
bill your some dumbass so stop posting the fact is that the iphone looks way better and is layed out better aswell but the sprint is way cheper and has more features than the iphone 3g having an apple product like a ipod is like a fashion statement its the most recognized mp3/mp4 in the world the only resonably priced ipod are the videos and the touch the rest is stupidly over priced ”why would you pay $55 for a 1gb mp3 player”thats reffering to the 1gb shuffle and another thing is that the samsung instinct is not going to sell more then the iphone because samsung is nothing compared to apple it needs to merge with another major mobiling company to compete with apple then itll get the credit it deserves
Wow, new iPhone Camcorder function works great in jailbreak!
Wow! I can wirelessly tether my laptop using Netshare!
Wow! new jailbreak MXTube application allows me to watch hi-res wifi quality streaming UTube videos in 3G, no more flakey looking YouTube videos. I can even download and save them hi quality! WOO-Hoooooo!
Keep that software comming! I’m lovin’ it!
I mean crystal clear, smooth, streaming YouTube on my iPhone 3G, not stuttering, freezing video. This MXTube app is totally AWSOME.
Did I say totally? Looks just as good as the 7 DVD movies I have stored on my iPhone.
Yeahhhh baby!
Apple and Sprint are both sitting back laughing at all of you. There is no need to pay for advertisements with all of you going back and forth. If you like the IPhone Great!!!! If you like the Instinct Great!!!! Lets stop maling them money. What are they doing for us? Anyone getting free service or free phone for bragging about how much better your phone is? I THINK NOT!!!!! Lets end this petty bickering. (Even though it is fun to read some of these postings!)
I have the instinct its a good phone but it is missing some key features such as an Aim app..but it also has features that come in handy like the navi and live search..the i-phone is also a very good..we should all just be happy that technology is allowing us to have a choice of two very good phones..lets be serious though sprint had to come out with a phone to compete with the i-phone seeing that apple only caters to at&t
I think the Instinct has some features that are better, and on the other-hand the I-Phone 3G has some features that the Instinct doesn’t. They’re both great phones. Choose the one that suits your needs.
I have an Instinct. I’m happy with it. I know people who have iPhones, and they only use the text, call, and music features, because they claim the other features are useless to them personally. I’ve never used one, so I don’t know. the thing to remember is, both Instinct and iPhone are NOT, by any means, smart phones. These phones weren’t designed to replace your laptop, period. If you need that kind of computing power, get a Palm, or a BlackBerry, or something running an actual OS. So many of the people bitching about these phones seem to not understand that these are PHONES, not MAINFRAMES. Anyone doing “real” business isn’t using there phone to generate cost/profit analysis. And most of the arguments boil down to nothing more than brand-loyalty pissing contests. I prefer Ford trucks to Chevy trucks, or I prefer Coke to Pepsi. Who cares? My phone hasn’t failed me, my Sprint service hasn’t failed me, so for what it’s worth, I love my Instinct. If you bought an iPhone, hooray for you. Both of these phones were designed for college kids, which I am one. There meant to be flashy, fun, and somewhat useful for ordinary tasks. Personally, I don’t care which one has the best browser, since I don’t enjoy browsing 2 inch tall web pages – I have a computer for surfing.
Bill, you’ve been ranting on since June 26th over the Iphone/Instinct issue. I was hoping there would be a general consensus on the issue myself, but it appears there are a select few users from both sides of the aisle trying to espouse their platform louder and faster than everyone else. While its important for consumers to be informed about what they will choose to fulfill their needs, I find it irritating that some self-appointed or even perhaps paid endorsee is lobbying one product over the other. My needs are simple, I need a phone, and a browser that works, it doesn’t have to compete withm my pc. I watch my DVD and movies and Basic TV on my 50″ at home. I don’t need to bundle up all my tech toys, apps and programs together so I can get online fix on the go. I also have a life, so I don’t need to post several replies a day for months on end regarding the matter. This is my first post, my next post on this issue will be my last…after I have made my choice and given my input on what worked out best for me. I like a lot of other folks appear to have stumbled into this Iphone 3g vs. Instinct issue by clicking on the wrong link. Was hoping to find unbiased, professional comparison.
kram63,
If you just need a (little more than basic) phone, I would personally go with a RAZR, or something like that. It is still a relevant phone (Motorola has upgraded it) and it is available on just about any network configuration (ATT, Sprint, Verizon.) Plus, there seem to be different versions of it, so you actually have some choice in how many features your phone will have. What you really need, is a good phone plan. I personally have the Instinct, and it is awesome, for me, but a lot of people get phones like these and never use half their features. I went with Sprint because of their network and their calling plans. I get unlimited EVERYTHING (calls, free roaming, long distance, text, MMS, web, navigation, etc…) for $99 a month, with no surprises. Naturally, I’d recommend Sprint to you, then, pick a phone that does what you need it to do, and they have plenty to choose from. As for the debate of Instinct/iPhone -look, they basically do the same thing. I found that my Instinct is comfortable in my hand, makes clear calls, has a spot on navigator, and is fun to use. I’m sure iPhones are too.
Only a few here are willing to accept the fact that each has it’s own strengths and weaknesses and it depends on what your needs really are. The rest of us are just beating a dead horse. Anyone who accepts the bull that they do the same thing deserves what they end up with. Do your research through better sources and make a well informed choice.
and as an example for the record I hate testing to I removed it. I don’t need unlimited cause I will never make that many calls. My bill comes to around $80 per month including tax and all fees. I love my iPhone especially since I am a mac user anyway. No interest in tv shows on a phone since I have a big tv at home that doesn’t flicker or freeze. I enjoy my personal self edited videosas well as full length DVD movies on my phone. Point is these are just a few of my needs and I have no regrets. I’m sure some instinct users feel just as happy cause they made an informed choice based on their needs. So I say again if you go in with the belief that these are devices with identical functions and buy like that….. There is always eBay.
Oops I meant texting not testing.
Still not seeing what the major differences between the devices are. And I did do my research.
iPhone gets push email – so does my phone
iPhone has a browser – so does my phone
iPhone gets near broadband speeds – so does my phone
iPhone plays music and videos – so does my phone
iPhone has navigation – so does my phone
iPhone has an app store – so does my phone
iPhone has widgets – so does my phone
iPhone makes phone calls – so does my phone
The differences,
My phone can serve as a broadband modem for my laptop
My phone’s keyboard has two different layouts, one of which is landscape qwerty
iPhone has a slightly more useful calendar app, if you need it
iPhone has a slightly larger screen
iPhone has an accelerometer
my phone has haptic feedback
my phone can receive multimedia SMS messages – not sure about iPhone
my phone had video built in – iPhone uses an additional app
my phone supports 8gb – iPhones can go to 16
iPhone has wifi – my phone does not
my phone supports stereo bluetoooth – iPhone does not
my phone has visual voice mail that allows me to listen to my messages in any order, pause them, rewind them, and delete them any way i want – not sure about the iPhone.
The point is, basically, they have the same features, with some differences that really come down to what the user really needs. But some people get blackberries and never use them for anything but making calls, so what’s the point of having the other features, except to brag to people who really don’t care. There really isn’t a better or worse here. All of my friends and colleagues who have Palms and BlackBerry’s think the iPhone AND the Instinct are pieces of shit, and they are, if you need an enterprise solution. But hey, the Razr was the best thing since sliced bread a few years ago…and look at it now…still not a bad phone, but people got over the hype pretty fast.
Well said, Mike. I love the way you ended this discussion on an objective, positive note. It’s good to see some sensible people on the internet. It gives me hope!
TO BE HONEST BOTH AT&T AND SPRINT SUCK…IMMA STICK TO CRICKET AND THEIR UNLIMITED PLANS…HOLLA!
apple computers and apple anythings runs super slow and wastes my time. plus they always crash. i wouldn’t be caught dead buying anything apple cause i don’t wanna waste my money. not to mention how everything they make breaks in like a week. its all a marketing scam. they’ll jack up the price of everything to make it look like good quality even though it sucks balls. anyone who has used an iphone knows how slow everything about it is. i tried checking my email on my friends 3G once and it took like 20 min just to load. they try to make everything look fancy when they don’t even have the technology. apple even forgot basic function on it. how retarded are they? to me their about as stupid as gay rights activists and liberals.
Instinct isz wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy better than Iphone. It isz a Iphone killah!
ok, so I have an instinct, because my wife has convinced me to “give it a shot”. I’ve had my eye on an iphone since they came out, but didn’t want to leave sprint (being a nextel customer for about 8 years). I have always wanted something that would link with my mac address book and calendar, and etc. but was turned off by the fact that i couldn’t get insurance for an iphone, nor does it have expandable memory capability (i mean seriously, apple can’t put an sdmicro port on the thing???!!!). but blah blah blah, can anyone tell me why the instinct is so much better? it can barely be customized to suit your personality (ie. ring tones set to silent and vibrate for messages while letting calls ring). If the only reason it’s better than the iphone is because of the network, then it doesn’t take a genius to see sprint is better, but I just need help learning how the instinct isn’t a hyped-up p.o.s. as far as being a phone.
All of you that dog out one cell phone over another just because you own that particular one are just idiots!! Bill you are at the top of that list. The Iphone and instinct are both good phones for their intents. I have a bias of my own which I admit, I HATE APPLE!!!!!! They are the definition of rip off. Think about it, they charge you $150. for a fricken mp3/mp4 player. Sony, (the inventors of portable music devices i.e. Walkman) $59 for the exact same thing. I know what your thinking, but ipod has all this nifty CRAP that you can buy for the ipod. ITS ALL EXPENSIVE CRAP CRAP AND MORE CRAP!! Buy an mp3 player and shut the hell up. Then theres the Iphone, again RIP FRICKIN OFF!! What was the original amount the first day iphone came out?? $599 or some shit, a month later it was $399 pissing off all those ppl that had just bought the iphone. So how much money does it take to actually make an ipod, would you believe $23.00, how about the iphone? $73.00!! Wow Steve jobs is a frickin genius!! Make a product sell it for a ridulous amount make a huge profit and wah lah GENIUS. Hes not a genius, example: Porsche expensive car right!! its a piece of overpriced crap go buy a volkswagen save $30k and shutup. Apple is sooo great to all you iheads, I will say this tho, apple did a wonderful job of brainwashing, they honestly made all you think that because it has and i in front its special Iphone is just a flippin phone. Ipod is just a flippin mp3 player. Itouch is just an mp4 player. I am going to get in my icar and go to the ibank and put all the imoney that isaved from not buying an ianything!!! They are just phones ppl in 10 yrs the instinct and iphone will be the startac phone if you all recall them. The point is who cares who is better? I see a person with an iphone, i see a materialist that cares more about image more than saving money. I see an instinct and I see someone who cant afford an Iphone. And you all are exactly like me unless you own either of them then you are protective of your decision. If you go down a hwy and see someone doing 85 and your doing 70 you bitch about it, if you see someone doing 55 10 seconds later you bitch about it but the car up in front of you doing the same speed as you, now hes a good driver!! have fun with you alls battle over whos best!! In 2 yrs, neither of them will be top dog and this fight will move on to the next generation of phones and this all will be a distant memory
I’m thinking of getting the instinct because I’m already on a sprint plan. Specs wise, it seems like the iPhone is better as in a direct comparison, on
http://www.clashem.com/phones.php?id1=2&id2=739
But I’m wondering what features are truly better after some people have used the instinct.
Heey, Instinct, waaaay better
iPhone also very good but, Instinct is much better 
Intsrict bad battery, but better phone
I am trying to decide what is best for me and my 12 year old. The fact that the iphone is not insurable is a BIG deterrent. All the press with the moisture issues are a concern. I am still checking out others. I found the instinct by accident but it looks good. Any others that compare, let me know. Wouldn’t a cheap phone and a laptop be better?? Aren’t we always wanting bigger tvs and gaming screens?