Tue 30 Sep, 2008 10:42 am
I recently purchased a Samsung Instinct phone from Sprint, so decided I would give some random thoughts here. I originally wanted an iphone, but decided against it for the following reasons:
1. In Omaha, 3G service isn't available from AT&T
2. In Omaha, AT&T coverage sucks
3. Both the phone and service plan is MUCH more expensive then sprint/instinct.
Overall I am happy with the Instinct. It isn't a smart phone, but is a pretty decent web-enabled device. More then anything, I enjoy the email functionality. It was simple to setup gmail accounts, and even works with hosted gmail accounts (gmail accounts with different domains). The device checks mail every 10 minutes or so, and vibrates once to let me know of new email.
Browsing the web is decent, but far from the experience you get with an iphone. Opera mini doesn't work correctly on the instinct, and when that gets solved, it will help the web browsing department out a ton. The reason Opera doesn't work, is that samsung didn't implement the entire Java specs, so an OSK isn't available in the standard fashion for applications to use. The spec is called LCDUI (little crappy display user interface) and a bugfix is supposed to be hear by christmas. We'll see.
However, I don't feel the web browser is that bad, if they were to give me another feature: and rss reader. Its frustrating because they already have a 'news' application that reads RSS from predefined sources like espn and cnn. Well I am a geek, and want to read about tech stuff. If they would just let me configure this application with my own feeds, I would be happy.
All the other features of the phone work fantastically. I can go to 'Live Search' and while holding a button, say anything I want to find near me (like gas, pizza, wal mart, etc.) It then locates me with gps, gets a list of close results, and displays them to me. Clicking a result gives me the option to call them, map the location, or give me voice guided turn by turn directions there. Awesome.
The gps directions work well, and although I haven't had a need for it yet, the fact that it checks for traffic while you are driving, and will re-route you if necessary is friggin awesome.
I would never watch TV on the phone, but I do think that the Sprint radio is nice. Stations come in pretty clear for me, with few hiccups. The mp3 player also seems to work fine. Nothing fancy, but all I ever do is listen to all music on shuffle anyways. Now I am just waiting for the 16gb MicroSDHC cards to come out. (Oh yeah, the phone accepts microsdhc, which is great, gotta love upgradeable memory).
Well thats all my random thoughts for now. Any specific questions let me know. And I got a question for you: anyone know of a good pair of stereo bluetooth headphones, that also can be used as a headset?
@Nick Ashley,
Nick Ashley wrote: anyone know of a good pair of stereo bluetooth headphones, that also can be used as a headset?
Motorola S9 is the only one that I found usable at all out of the 3 that I have. All the other ones make you look like Princess Leia and are uncomfortable.
@Robert Gentel,
Well, Princess Leia is kind of cute. Hey, Paul Simon married her (for awhile, at least).
@Nick Ashley,
I'm avoiding the iPhone because all my cell phones are covered by my company and I'm happy with them. But I just got a new iPod Touch and I love it for web browsing and email. The interface is incredibly intuitive and very functional. I'm using it now :-)
@Robert Gentel,
Thanks, I'll look into them. Reviews tell me that JayBird makes nice headphones, but I don't know if it's worth paying $130 for a pair
@Nick Ashley,
When I was in SD, Bluetooth headphones ran about $100 for even crappy ones. I've seen the one I recommended as low as $80 but they are all still quite pricey.
But I'm actually here to drop off this news (in case you don't already know):
http://www.engadget.com/2008/10/06/samsung-instinct-firmware-changes-confirmed-its-the-browser/
@Robert Gentel,
Yeah, I've been seeing the headphones are expensive. I think I'll wait till next summer to get a pair. I mainly want them for when I'm doing yard work, the cords often get in the way and I end up pulling the buds out of my ears. Other then that, cords don't bother me. Since mowing season is nearing its end, I can wait for another 6 months or so.
As for the update, I really don't understand engadget posting so late. They say "We've been holding off on running this until we got confirmation from Samsung on just what was going on". Which by itself is strange. They post rumors and unverified information all the time. I was actually following the update before I bought the phone, and that was part of why I decided to buy the phone. I saw previews of it working before it was out on sprintforums.com. It released on 9/24 to the public, so I got the update right away.
Perhaps they just started forcing the update, or something. I had to go into settings, and 'Check for Updates' to get it. At any rate, it makes the browser decent. Apparently its much faster at changing zoom levels. I dunno, I really didn't play with the browser before the update. What I think is best, is that you can remove all chrome, and be left with a fullscreen webpage by hitting the voice command button. On a small screen real estate matters a ton, so that is very handy.
@Nick Ashley,
Nick Ashley wrote:Yeah, I've been seeing the headphones are expensive. I think I'll wait till next summer to get a pair. I mainly want them for when I'm doing yard work, the cords often get in the way and I end up pulling the buds out of my ears. Other then that, cords don't bother me. Since mowing season is nearing its end, I can wait for another 6 months or so.
Another problem with them is that on all the Bluetooth enabled devices I've tried the sound quality sucks and they tend to have interference. Probably wouldn't matter if you are only using them to mow, but it's a big downside to some people.
I prefer the convenience and don't mind that every now and then a song skips on me or has static interference but I can imagine that an audiophile would be pissed to spend that much on headphones that actually make the music worse.
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