iPhone News Updated

Samsung offers up a serious iPhone challenger through its Instinct handset. Credit: Samsung Mobile.

The iPhone might be the trend-led smartphone of choice for a great many mobile technology lovers, but South Korean electronics company Samsung is hoping to divert attention from Apple’s hugely popular device with its new Instinct handset.

Samsung Mobile and Sprint have this week announced the upcoming availability of the Samsung Instinct, a new wireless device that will be carried exclusively by Sprint when it arrives in June of this year.

At first glance, the Samsung Instinct does bear more than a passing resemblance to Apple’s iPhone and iPod Touch, and that aesthetic comparison even bleeds over to its features list, which sees the device’s delivering an interactive interface and “a sensory experience” via its dominating touch-screen.

However, Bill Ogle, Samsung Mobile’s chief mobile officer, tries to separate the Instinct from the iPhone by claiming that it was designed “after spending years developing innovative touch-screen technology.”

While Samsung’s years of development may have left it beaten to the market by Apple, Ogle is still keen to define the Instinct’s appeal and originality.

“What really sets the Instinct apart is the ability to access users’ favorite features with just one touch of the device,” he offers. “The three navigation keys that Samsung positioned at the bottom of Instinct are instrumental in making the user experience quick and easy.”

The Instinct also comes equipped with a ‘Voice to Action’ feature that enables users to employ vocal activation to perform various on-board functions such as calling, text messaging and picture messaging, and also access traffic, movie, sports, search and news information.

Thanks to its arrival as Sprint’s very first EV-DO Rev A device, the Instinct offers Web browsing capabilities, business and personal e-mail access, picture sharing, and commercial-free radio access at broadband speeds -- which is one significant advantage the device presently holds over the sub-standard connection rate of the (current) iPhone.

Other service and multimedia aspects delivered by the Instinct include GPS-enabled Telenav Sprint Navigation, Microsoft’s Live Search, live and on-demand Sprint TV, sports and entertainment through Sprint Excusive Entertainment, Sprint Music Store, and Pocket Express.

Technical aspects include an on-board 2.0 megapixel camera with video capture, a 2GB microSD card (with the potential to expand through to a capacity of 8GB), Bluetooth 2.0, USB cable, 3.5mm headphones with built-in microphone, SMS voice and text messaging, picture caller ID and Sprint Mobile Sync.

“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.”

Pricing and regional release for the Samsung Instinct has not yet been determined.

[Thanks: http://www.thetechherald.com]