rawspot’s blog

Last summer when phone manufacturers were scrabbling to create a competitor to the iPhone, I got caught up in it and decided as a Sprint customer to get the Samsung Instinct.  I must say that after 9 months of owning the Instinct, I’m quite disturbed by the quality of the work that went into the phone.  I know there are much worse phones out there, but I feel the Instinct does not live up to the hype given to it prior to and during it’s launch.  The fact that many very useful features (such as a keyboard within Java applications) were not included on the device at launch and many other features of the phone just plain sucked (web browser).  I find it very humorous that Sprint is now including the Opera Mini web browser on the new Samsung Instinct m30 phone.  A clear sign that even after two browser updates, their own browser is not worth a damn and a third party browser is now included by default.

I now have another chance to grab Sprint’s next big device coming out.  The Palm Pre has the same hype and praise (if not more) as the Samsung Instinct did one year ago.  Will the phone be as well developed and convenient to use as Palm claims?  I guess we will find out before long.  I personally would love to see a device that will give Apple and the iPhone a good run.  So far the Palm Pre feature list is quite extensive.  I look forward to using their synergy system that links contacts, email, IM, and calendars from multiple sources into a single collection.  The multitasking “cards” look like a great way to use multiple features of the phone at the same time.  The idea of flicking through the “cards” and flicking them off screen to close the application seems to be a very nifty approach to quick navigation and access of resources.

For many months and still today, Palm nor Sprint have given a definate release date.  This has got under the nails of many who are anxiously awaiting the release.  I see this as good idea of Palm and Sprint.  Don’t release a product until you are done with its development and testing.  It was quite clear that Samsung and Sprint did not follow these guidelines when they released the Instinct.  I hope this was a lesson learned and problem not to be repeated with the Pre.