iphone-rivals.com

2008-06-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

LG Voyager Forum
Samsung Omnia Forum
Sony-Ericsson XPERIA X1 Forum
HTC Touch Diamond Forum
BlackBerry Bold Forum
Samsung Instinct Forum
LG Vu Forum
Samsung Glyde Forum
LG Dare Forum
LG Shine Forum
BlackBerry Thunder

Samsung "Announces" Omnia Cellphone

It's not that the Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional-based 3G Samsung Omnia is not a good phone. In fact, we already knew that it looks very good. It's just that today, dear Samsung people, today is just not the right day to announce any cellphone, even if you think that telling us official details of an already-leaked model—like the face and smile detection on its 5 megapixel camera, or the DivX, XviD, H.264, WMV and MP4 video support, or the nice-looking GPS—is going to make any difference. But still, we like the new pictures of the interface and the full feature list.

Network: HSDPA (7.2 Mbps), EDGE / GPRS 850/900/1800/1900
OS: Microsoft Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
Display: 3.2” WQVGA TFT LCD (240 x 400)
Camera: 5 Megapixel CMOS, Auto Focus, Image Stabilizer, Geo-tagging, Auto-Panorama Shot,
Wide Dynamic Range (WDR), Face Detection, Smile Detection
Video: DivX / XviD / H.263 / H.264 / WMV / MP4
Video recording: Video Editing: Trim video, Audio dubbing, Live dubbing, Add subtitle, Image capture
Audio: FM Radio with RDS, MP3/ AAC / AAC+ / WMA / OGG / AMR
Bluetooth Stereo Headset (A2DP)
Value-added Features: GPS, TouchWiz UI, MS Office Document Viewer, Advanced PIM Apps, Push Email, Auto Rotation, TV Out, Connectivity, Bluetooth 2.0 / USB 2.0 / Wi-Fi
Memory: 8GB / 16GB Flash + External Memory slot : microSDHC™
Size: 112 x 56.9 x 12.5
Battery: 1440 mAh

Technical Specifications
Network:	GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 / HSDPA 850 / 1900
Form Factor:	PDA / Windows Mobile 6.1
Dimensions:	112 x 57 x 13 mm
Weight:	128 g
Antenna:	Internal
Navigation:	Touch Screen / TouchWhiz / QWERTY Keyboard
Battery Type:	1440 mAh Li-Ion
Talk Time:
Standby Time:
Memory:	8GB or 16GB
Expandable Memory:	microSD / TransFlash

Imaging
Main Screen:	65000 colors (TFT) 240 x 400 px
External Screen:
Camera:	5.0 MP / Zoom / Face Detection / Auto-Focus / Geo-Tagging / Image Stabilizer / Video Recorder / Video Calling

Audio
MP3 Player:	AT&T Music / MP3 / AAC / AAC+ / WMA / WAV / Windows Media Player
FM Radio:
Speakerphone:
Push-To-Talk:

Multimedia
Wallpapers:	240 x 400 px
Screen Savers:	240 x 400 px
Ring Tones:	MP3
Themes:
Games:	J2ME
Streaming Multimedia:	AT&T Mobile TV / AT&T Video / Windows Media Player

Messaging
SMS:
EMS:
MMS:
Email:	POP3 / IMAP4 / SMTP / Exchange / Outlook
Chat:	AOL / ICQ / Windows Live / Yahoo!
Predictive Text:	T9


Applications
Phonebook Capacity:
Calendar:	Pocket Outlook
To-Do List:
WAP:	2.0 (Opera 9.5)
Voice Commands:
Calculator:

Connectivity
Bluetooth:	2.0 (A2DP / AVRC / DUN / HFP / HSP / OPP)
Infrared Port:
High-Speed Data:	HSDPA
Wi-Fi:	802.11 b/g
GPS:	AT&T Navigator
PC Sync:	USB 2.0 / ActiveSync

2008-06-06T03:52:00.000-07:00

LG Voyager Forum
Sony-Ericsson XPERIA X1 Forum
HTC Touch Diamond Forum
BlackBerry Bold Forum
Samsung Instinct Forum
LG Vu Forum
Samsung Glyde Forum
LG Dare Forum
LG Shine Forum
BlackBerry Thunder

At an event in London today, HTC announced the Touch Diamond, the company's new flagship phone for 2008. The Touch Diamond has impressive specs and hardware, although the new user interface - TouchFlo 3D - might be the most important feature.

The hardware starts with a flat black slab that's quite thin, but houses impressive features such as HSDPA 7.2, HSUPA, and a VGA display. It's hard not to compare it to the iPhone. The iPhone lacks such fast data, but of course that's rumored to be changing soon. The form factor is roughly the same, though, and it's designed to be used the same way: with your fingers. The screen even rotates automatically just like the iPhone.

The software is where it gets really interesting. It's based on Windows Mobile 6.1, but that's not obvious at first. You can run Windows Mobile applications, of course, but for the most part HTC has gone to great lengths to replace the Windows Mobile menus with their own interface that's both prettier and easier to use.

The HTC Touch Diamond is no longer just a rumor; the successor to the original HTC Touch has been officially unveiled at an event in London.

This confirmed the earlier reports on this Windows Mobile smartphone, which seems calculated to go head-to-head with the iPhone.

Peter Chou, president and CEO, HTC Corp says, "Today we mark a new era in mobile phone evolution, an era where beauty and size integrate with uncompromising innovation at broadband speed. The HTC Touch Diamond will make browsing the Web and using Web-enabled applications just as practical and easy to use as making calls."

More About the HTC Touch Diamond

This smartphone will an upgraded version of the very popular HTC Touch, and like its predecessor it won't have a hardware keyboard but instead be focused on its touchscreen.

It will run Windows Mobile 6.1 Pro, but include an updated version of HTC's overlay for this operating system that makes the device easier to control with a fingertip, rather than a stylus. Called TouchFLO 3D, this will provide animated access to contacts, email, photos, music, weather and more.

HTC will also add a web browser it has developed that's based on Opera. This has been modified to be easier to use one handed, and (like the iPhone) rotating the device will turn the display from portrait to landscape mode.

A special version of YouTube will be included, and version of Google Maps will work with this smartphone's GPS receiver.

The Diamond will have a VGA display, which is a much higher resolution than its predecessor (or the iPhone), and a better 3.2-megapixel camera as well.

It will have 4 GB of internal storage, but not a memory card slot.

Despite the extra features, the upcoming model will be slimmer than its predecessor. Overall it will be 3.9 inches tall, 2.0 inches wide, and 0.42 inches thick (99mm x 51mm × 10.7mm).

HTC unveiled the tri-band GSM version today with UMTS/HSDPA, but its expected there will eventually be quad-band and CDMA versions with 3G too, and many of these will include Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 2.0.

Coming this Summer

The HTC Touch Diamond will be available from all major European carriers in June. It will be available later this quarter in Asia and the Middle East.

HTC is somewhat vague about when it will be available in N. America and Latin America, only saying that it will be released in these regions in the second half of the year.

Between five and ten wireless carriers around the world have reportedly already placed orders for this smartphone, and analysts predict 4 million of them will eventually be sold.

This will build on the strength of the original Touch, of which HTC has sold 3 million so far.

Video Preview

Specifications

Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional
528 MHz Qualcomm processor
192 MB SDRAM, 256 MB ROM, 4 GB internal storage
2.8-inch touchscreen with VGA resolution
GPS and A-GPS ready
Tri-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (900/1800/1900 MHz) HSDPA (900/2100 MHz)
Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 b/g), Bluetooth 2.0 with EDR
3.2 megapixel camera with auto focus, VGA videoconferencing camera
FM radio
3.9 inches by 2.0 inches by 0.42 inches (99mm x 51mm × 10.7mm)
900 mAh Battery

Sony-Ericsson intros XPERIA X1 'iPhone killer'

2008-05-22T18:51:00.000-07:00

LG Voyager Forum
Sony-Ericsson XPERIA X1 Forum
HTC Touch Diamond Forum
BlackBerry Bold Forum
Samsung Instinct Forum
LG Vu Forum
Samsung Glyde Forum
LG Dare Forum
LG Shine Forum
BlackBerry Thunder

Sony-Ericsson intros XPERIA X1 'iPhone killer'

Sony-Ericsson opened the Mobile World Congress today by unveiling the XPERIA X1, its first true touchscreen-focused cellphone. Following a deal with Microsoft, the handset is Sony-Ericsson's first device to use Windows Mobile for its OS but also uses a custom interface of "XPERIA panels" rather than the default Microsoft front-end: users simply tap panels with their fingers to access calling, media, and other functions, according to the phone designer. Though dominated by its 3-inch, 800x480 touchscreen, the device also includes both optical and physical navigation pads at the bottom as well as a unique arc-slider QWERTY keyboard that tilts outward for more comfortable typing.

The X1 is also the most Internet-connected Sony-Ericsson device in history, the company boasts: unlike even most advanced 3G phones, it offers HSUPA (High Speed Upload Packet Access) that sends video and other media almost as quickly as it comes downstream. Wi-Fi is onboard for short-range networking and is backed by assisted GPS for route finding. A 3.2-megapixel camera with autofocus and a microSD slot (versus Sony-Ericsson's favorite Memory Stick Micro format) round out its key features.

The first XPERIA phone is expected sometime in the second half of 2008; with quad-band GSM and an unprecedented five-band HSPA/UMTS connection, the device should be available both in North America as well as Europe and includes the key 1,700MHz band needed for T-Mobile USA's upcoming 3G service.

Versus: iPhone and the Samsung Instinct

2008-04-20T12:19:00.001-07:00

LG Voyager Fans Website
Samsung Instinct Fans Website
LG Vu Fans Website
Samsung Glyde Fans Website
LG Dare Fans Website
LG Shine Fans Website

The juicy phone from CTIA that’s getting all the hot press so far today is the Samsung Instinct for Sprint, the phone our own John Biggs said could rival the iPhone itself. That’s tough talk, but what do the numbers show?

Let’s break down what we know about each phone and lay the specs side by side and see if the feature-rich Instinct is any match for the game-changing iPhone.

Feature	iPhone	Instinct
Virtual QWERTY	x	x
Visual voicemail	x	x
Video recording		x
Camera	x	x
Web browser	x	x
Voice navigation		x
3G		x
WiFi	x
Bluetooth	x	x
Expandable memory		x
Streaming multimedia		x
Email	x	x
SMS	x	x
MMS		x
True GPS		x
Music	x	x
Maps	x	x
Mobile TV		x
YouTube	x
Live home view		x

Conclusion

Features-wise, the Instinct is the clear winner. That being said, the Safari browser, iPod, and other features the iPhone matches the Instinct with are supperior, and we also know a 3G version is coming, and likely updates will add support for video. When that’s taking into consideration, they’re fairly well matched handsets. We’ll have to see how both sides work it out, but the Instinct could indeed challenge the iPhone.

Sprint Instinct: Could this thing beat the iPhone?

2008-04-20T12:16:00.000-07:00

LG Voyager Fans Website
Samsung Instinct Fans Website
LG Vu Fans Website
Samsung Glyde Fans Website
LG Dare Fans Website
LG Shine Fans Website

When I first saw the Instinct a few weeks ago I said “Finally.” Finally, someone, somewhere, has created an interface and a device that follows the spirit and ease-of-use of the iPhone without resorting to wholesale mimicry. Samsung built the UI from the ground up with data convergence in mind and their focus and efforts paid off. Everything in this phone — all of the contact data and information — can be used in almost all of the applications. It has built-in GPS and Sprint TV as well as Microsoft Live Search. But, thankfully, it doesn’t run Windows Mobile.

We’ll be sing more on the Instinct in the next few weeks but in the brief period we had with it both Peter and I came away impressed. Rather than slapping gestures over a wonky UI or flopping the same old menus onto a haptic touchscreen, Samsung and Sprint have created an impressive phone that will stand on its own when its finally released. We’re excited. We think you should be, too.

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.

RIMM's iPhone Killer: Just Like iPhone, But Crappier

2008-04-19T03:38:00.000-07:00

Research in Motion's iPhone killer, the Blackberry 9000, has finally been spotted in the wild. (AAPL) (RIMM) Engadget has pics. Some observations:

RIM ripped off the iPhone! Look at those picks and tell us RIM CEO Jim Balsillie didn't slap an iPhone down in front of his designers and say "Give me something exactly like this."

RIM is betting that corporate users will trade an inferior Internet browsing experience for a superior typing experience (keys vs. screen tap). They are probably right, at least for a while. We do love that keyboard.

Fortune says that RIM won't be using that sexy multi-touch screen, so even with more screen real-estate, the RIM browsing experience woblogsmithmediauld be weak relative to the iPhone's. The more corporate apps move to the web, the more critical the browsing experience will become, so we suspect the iPhone's multi-touch advantage will grow over time.

We're glad to see RIM respond to the iPhone, even if it means we may actually have a choice to make when we finally trade in our battered Curve. (Until we saw the 9000 pics, we were just nursing the Curve along until the 3G iPhone came out. Now, we'll at least take the 9000 for a test-drive. Who knows--we may even stick with the keyboard.) Given the rate at which business folks are setting aside keyboard concerns and snapping up iPhones, however, the days in which RIM had the corporate market to itself are gone.

LG Voyager from Verizon Wireless Reviewed (Verdict: Ambitious But Flawed)

2008-04-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

Like many people who live in Verizon country, I have eagerly awaited the carrier's latest—and definitely greatest—feature phone, the LG VX10000 Voyager. Yesterday UPS dropped it off, and I've been playing with it constantly ever since. It is a powerful thing, ambitious in that it combines much of what we like about both the iPhone and the BlackBerry into a single compact system. But it has flaws that make it hard for me to give the highest marks, especially with an after-rebate price tag of $300.

Because it's not truly a "smartphone" but rather one of the most overblown feature phones to date, I will review each feature in its arsenal:

Touchscreen: The Voyager's touchscreen isn't as responsive as the iPhone's, though it is a lot nicer than the TouchFLO experience on the HTC Touch (Sprint's, at least). The biggest innovation is force-feedback: when your finger lands in the right place, you get a bit of a vibration. Immersion's haptic technology is behind this, so it's got momentum, but still a ways from being useful in a blind-typing situation.

The touchscreen's fatal flaw—the dealbreaker—is that it can't be used to scroll through Verizon's own menus. The screen will show a slide-bar on the right side when there are more menu items to scroll down to, but it's next to impossible to grab the bar and scroll. On the rare occasions that I was able to move the slide-bar, I didn't have real control over it. Others that I showed the phone to have had the same problems. And yes, Virginia, I did calibrate the touchscreen. Three times. (I don't know who Virginia is either.)

UPDATE: I want to thank commenter Pikes for suggesting the counterintuitive scrolling technique. "Have you tried pulling the menu UP instead of using the scroll bar?" While it doesn't propel the phone directly into iPhone territory, it certainly does alleviate some of the annoyance I encountered during my testing.

E-Mail: As many who saw our Sizemodo yesterday pointed out, the Voyager is slightly chunkier than the iPhone because it also opens up into a screen-and-keyboard config, like the enV before it. Typing isn't so bad; it beats the Voyager's blatant iPhone-style touchscreen typing, though even that isn't too bad. It's nice to have a choice.When you work your way through the interface though, you see an envelope icon indicating messaging. It would make sense to have that icon represent both messaging and e-mail, but alas, it doesn't. The way Verizon handles e-mail is still half-baked at this point, though my guess this will improve over time. At the moment, it takes many clicks to get to it, even after it's installed: Menu>Get It Now>Tools on the Go>Mobile Email.

Once you're in, you can choose from multiple inboxes from different webmail accounts. I was happy to see how many webmail types were pre-configured; the only noticeable omission was Gmail, but you can always set it up manually. Using the e-mail program was relatively pleasant, but when I wasn't in it, I would only get new-mail notifications from one of my two accounts.

Navigation:

I am a big fan of portable GPS navigation devices, so the whole GPS-on-phone thing has escaped me, in spite of its lower cost. The screens are too small and the commands don't have enough detail for my Garmin- and TomTom-spoiled self. But the Voyager's big touchscreen brings easier and better navigation closer to reality. It's definitely the best example of VZ Navigator I've seen to date. That said, the screens are still too rudimentary to compete with the PNDs, and the menu system is a little clunky. But this is something I plan to fiddle with more, because for once I can actually see myself using a phone to navigate.

Music:
On the Voyager, the microSD slot is on the side, easily accessed without yanking the battery out or anything. (And it'll take cards up to 8GB, in case you are curious.) After inserting your microSD card and letting the phone build its file structure (my_pix, my_music, etc.) you can then stick that microSD into your computer's card reader and drag over your tunes. It's a primitive player—it won't look in folders and it won't always play compatible tracks. But the little speakers sound damn good, and you don't need all kinds of Verizon specialty software to load in your own MP3s.

Camera/Video: Just as you can take music from your PC and play it on the phone via the microSD card, you can also take pics and videos and save them to the card to take with you—rather than spending good money MMS-messaging your own pictures to yourself. Photo quality on the 2-megapixel camera is fine in decent light. And shooting with the large touchscreen works fine for both photo and video (files that come out are QuickTime-playable 3GPP2).

Browser: iPhone lovers will tell you that the iPhone has the best browser on any phone, and to date, I think they are right. While the Voyager does its best to capture the styles of a page, it easily misinterprets your finger gestures (are you scrolling or clicking?) and its lack of speed is surprising given the bandwidth advantage of EV-DO over EDGE. I was surprised to see such an advanced browser on an LG phone, but alas, it's still no match for browsers from Apple, RIM or Palm.

There are other aspects to this device that are sure to please some people: it is compatible with Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV service—provided it's available in your area. (When we try to tune in, we get an error saying "No V Cast Mobile TV Signal.") Chronic text-messagers will be excited about the easy-access messaging; call me old-fashioned but I only wish access to e-mail were as straightforward and integrated.

In the end you have a lot of powerful hardware working towards a not all-together clear objective. I like a lot of what I see, and to further the iPhone comparison, it would be nice to see Verizon and LG follow suit and update the Voyager software, but I am not sure that's in the cards. To be worth $300 and the large sums of money you will spend each month on service, this phone needs a smoother touchscreen, a more integrated e-mail system and a much smarter browser. [Verizon's Voyager page]

Samsung's Instinct

2008-04-18T03:15:00.000-07:00

Last year in Orlando, Samsung's UpStage was one of the biggest announcements of the CTIA show. And this year in Las Vegas, Samsung may have done it again. Today the company announced the Samsung Instinct SPH-M800, which will land at Sprint this summer. The Instinct looks a lot like a certain cell phone from Apple, but Sprint (thankfully) isn't positioning it as an iPhone killer. Rather, a Sprint spokeswoman called it just an iPhone competitor. We're not quite sure what to make of that, either.

But whatever you call it, the Instinct is undeniably eye-catching. (See our Samsung Instinct slide show.) The predominately touch-screen device sports a thin candy-bar design (4.57 inches by 2.17 inches by 0.49 inch; 4.4 ounces) in basic black. At first glance it resembles not only the iPhone, but also the LG FK700 and the Samsung SGH-F490. Indeed, its strong similarity to the latter is more than just a coincidence. Except for a feature changes and a unique interface, the Instinct is a recycled CDMA version of the SGH-F490, which we saw two months ago at the GSMA World Congress.

Yes, it's another thin phone.

(Credit: Sprint)

Features
The Instinct's feature set is well stocked with a host of goodies that should make any media phone fan proud. Inside the 3G handset, which is Sprint's first device to have EV-DO Rev. A at birth, you'll find a 2-megapixel camera, access to the Sprint Music Store for wireless downloads, stereo Bluetooth, audible caller ID, voice dialing and commands, a full HTML browser, a digital music player that shows album art, support for Sprint Radio and Sprint TV, phone as modem capability, Microsoft Live Search, and integrated GPS with Sprint navigation.

Instant messaging is not onboard, but the Instinct will display the full thread of the text conversation. You'll also get multimedia messaging and access to personal and corporate e-mail. And in a surprising move, the Instinct will have some form of Visual Voicemail (yes, Sprint says it should be capitalized), which up until has been exclusive to the iPhone. In case you haven't heard (and really, you should have), Visual Voicemail allows you to pick and choose which messages you want to hear. It's quite a cool feature, but we we wonder if AT&T and Apple are calling their copyright lawyers.

The Instinct features a full alpahbetic keyboard

(Credit: Sprint)

Interface
As mentioned earlier, the Instinct relies heavily on a large (3.1-inch, 262,000 color) touch screen, which will be your interface for almost all of the phone's functions including placing and ending calls. Below the display are three separate touch controls: a back button, a Home key, and a shortcut control that will take you to the calling menu. In an improvement over the iPhone, the display gives localized tactile feedback, and the texting and e-mailing onscreen keyboard will display in a landscape orientation. The user-programmable Favorites menu looked pretty nifty, as well, and we like the multitasking capability, which allows you to move between different functions pretty handily.

But even with those features, the menu interface isn't quite as slick as the iPhone's. It's not that it doesn't have promise; it's just that it falls a bit short in both usability and beauty. That could be because we were using a beta version; we'll have to wait for a final model to give our firm assessment.

Performance
We were glad to see that the phone comes with a 2GB memory slot and two batteries, each of which promises 5.75 hours of talk time. The 3.5mm headset jack is another plus as it lets us use our own headphones without any kind of adapter. That's very cool indeed.

So on the whole the Instinct looks promising, but at this early stage it's too early to give it a thorough shakedown--it won't be available for purchase until June for a price of "under $300."

2008-04-17T18:24:00.000-07:00

Touchscreen? Check. Live TV? Check. Video and MP3 playback? Check. We got some new shots of the LG Vu/CU920 with its fancy-sexy UI and cool styling. It also includes a 2-megapixel camera, full HTML web browser, and should drop on AT&T this year. How does the TV work? As far as we can tell it’s streaming live from AT&T’s servers, so it’s not exactly like that old black and white portable my mom has in the kitchen. If it’s anything like the Voyager, however, expect a fairly strong phone. It supports quad-band GSM and HSDPA and contains 120MB of memory and a microSD slot and it also supports mobile email from AOL, Yahoo, Windows Live, and standard IM support. No price or release date.

Verizon's LG VX10000 Voyager Revealed and Groped (with Gallery)

2008-04-17T18:18:00.001-07:00

Though images have leaked here and there, not much was known about the LG VX10000 from Verizon Wireless. Sure, when open, it looks like the QWERTY-obsessed LG enV, but when closed, it's got way more of a Prada—or dare I say iPhone?—vibe. More details and full gallery after the jump.

I'm excited about this phone, which will probably land in the $250-$300 range when it hits in mid November. It's much more of an engaging piece of technology than the enV ever was (in part thanks to a bigger WQVGA screen). Also, as a touchscreen device, it's closer to iPhone than Chocolate, though it does incorporate some snazzy force feedback. Using flicks and drags, you can scroll through long lists of contacts with your thumb, tap on selected parts of HTML webpages using a thumbnail view and swipe through menus and media playlists easily. OK, it's not Apple—not yet near—but it's a good start.

Since it's a Verizon media powerhouse, it has V Cast Music and Video, plus the new MediaFLO streaming TV (where available). On the sideloading front, it will take MP3s, WMAs and non-DRM AACs. And it supports microSDHC cards up to 8GB.

Do I love it? Not sure yet, but I'm definitely interested in giving it a try.

From the fact sheet:

The Voyager™ by LG from Verizon Wireless
The LG Voyager* is the first phone from Verizon Wireless that features a large external touch screen. Packaged in a lateral-clamshell design that hides a full QWERTY keypad, The LG Voyager is exclusive to Verizon Wireless and comes packed with a number of cool features, including a HTML browser for enhanced Internet browsing, full V CAST-capabilities - including V CAST Mobile TV, V CAST Music and the ability to play .mp3, .wma and unprotected .aac files, and V CAST Video. These capabilities, coupled with Verizon Wireless' high-speed wireless broadband network, make downloading music or surfing the Web while on-the-go quick and easy.
Other features mobile multimedia addicts will love include:
Speakerphone
VZ Navigator
Picture, text, video and instant messaging
Bluetooth stereo for headsets and speakers
Built-in stereo speakers
2.0 megapixel camera
Expandable microSD memory slot of up to 8 GB

Sprint's Samsung Instinct: At Last, a Decent iPhone Competitor

2008-04-17T14:36:00.000-07:00

Samsung's Instinct may be the best stab at the coveted title of iPhone killah this CTIA. The 3.1-inch touchscreen phone has localized haptic feedback, plus three hard navigation keys. If it sounds familiar, it's because we've seen versions of it before, but only in Korea. Mind you, this is not the LG Prada-ripoff Samsung F480, which had a much smaller touchscreen. The Instinct rocks EV-DO Rev A and GPS, in both cases besting what's in the fruit phone. And then content and app wise, Sprint's own wares are basically swapped in for Apple's: Sprint Music Store, Navigation, TV, Visual Voicemail and a full HTML web browser—everything except a la carte music included in the $100 monthly subscription fee. EVERYTHING. On top of that, its customizable homescreen is amazing (and actually customizable, unlike other similar phones). You can check out all of the iPhone-like attributes in our 20-screenshot gallery. We'll be getting our fingerprints on one shortly, but in the meantime, there are more pics and hard data after the jump, uhhhh, fool.

iphone-rivals.com

Technical Specifications

Imaging

Audio

Multimedia

Messaging

Applications

Connectivity

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Sony-Ericsson intros XPERIA X1 'iPhone killer'

Versus: iPhone and the Samsung Instinct

Sprint Instinct: Could this thing beat the iPhone?

RIMM's iPhone Killer: Just Like iPhone, But Crappier

LG Voyager from Verizon Wireless Reviewed (Verdict: Ambitious But Flawed)

Samsung's Instinct

Verizon's LG VX10000 Voyager Revealed and Groped (with Gallery)

Sprint's Samsung Instinct: At Last, a Decent iPhone Competitor