Reliable sources have confirmed what has been posted in our forums. Sprint and Samsung are working on miniaturizing, and delivering a cheaper version of the popular Samsung Instinct phone.
Some new features will also be reportedly added, and the potential for native code (complete with the AU-MIC platform SDK from Korea) is still on the table. That would give Instinct (and the new Instinct Mini) the ability to run native code, similar to iPhone’s App Store. However, Sprint is also continuing work on its transition to Java CDC profile applications, via its Titan SDK.
It is not known if the new generation of Instincts will use Titan, or if they will go native with the AU-MIC platform. We do know that they will continue to work with fine-tuned BREW (first-party) and Java ME (third-party) applications already deployed on Instinct.
Clearly however, a smaller, cheaper Instinct will allow Sprint and Samsung to upstage Apple. The iPhone manufacturer has struggled with constant media reports rumoring cheaper versions of the iPhone, at anywhere from $99, to the free-with-contract price points.
Instinct’s biggest problem is the new “OS”. Basically, Sprint opted to compete in a space where it takes many many developers to keep up. Unfortunately, they just don’t have the resources to compete with Apple.
Does anyone care about this? I love Sprint but jeez they can do better than rehashing this phone. Give me my damn ‘droid phone and stop wasting your time with this garbage
This phone is not aimed those who would like a Sprint Android handset Feech. This is for the masses, not the handset nerds and tinkerers.
What makes this phone for the masses? What would make a Android handset for tinkerers? You don’t have to be a nerd or someone that tinkers with phones to want a phone that can do cool and useful things.
It has to be for the masses to up against the Iphone as the article implies. To market it and build it otherwise would be foolish.
“What would make a Android handset for tinkerers? You don’t have to be a nerd or someone that tinkers with phones to want a phone that can do cool and useful things.”
Maybe not, but I guarantee that 90% of the people that have one are early adopters and were probably there when the store opened to get one. Besides the G1 is too unwieldy for the average user.
I’m not talking about a G1. If that phone came to Sprint I dont think I would buy it based on looks alone that I think we can all agree with. My point is just this. Providers need to stop rehashing the same garbage, and start to have handset makers innovate. The Instinct had a lot of potential before being released but it realized none of it, then Sprint says we have a Pink Instinct for you to buy, and now we’re are talking about a “Mini Instinct” ? come on now!!
As soon as providers stop looking at the iPhone as the blueprint they will be successful. Dont try to make the next iPhone, be the next iPhone.
On another note Sprint does appear to have a winner with the Palm Pre…
I’d have to agree with Eric- the Instinct was never meant to be an device enthusiast level phone- it was meant to undercut the AVERAGE iPhone user who wants a touch smartphone but doesn’t actually need one. I guarentee that after the first month the average user only uses the iPhone for voice, text, music, a few GPS searches and some occasional web browsing. That is the market the Instinct is aiming for. Essentially they want to be the Wii instead of the Xbox 360. We all know the iPhone/Xbox 360 is a better deal when it comes to features, capabilities, etc… But to the casual phone user/gamer the Instinct/Wii is a better fit.
500 million App Store downloads have changed the common perception of the “average” iPhone user.
My point was only that this platform is dead, this handset is dead. Sprint reportedly spent 10 million to advertise the Instinct as a competitor to the iPhone a month before the iPhone 3G was released. Chris makes a point. 500 Million App downloads is more than average. I would imagine that the majority of iPhone users do not use the phone as a “smart device” and for that matter what is it that makes the iPhone a smartphone? Nothing that i can see. the line is blurred now more than ever. What device makers should be doing is making it possible for me to carry one device. MP3 player, Phone, email, contacts, camera, web, and a way to easily manage all of those things on my computer, do all of that well and you have a winner. This is what the Instinct was put in a position to do and it did not, so why introduce another lame duck product.
The main answer to that is simple… Instinct sold well. It wasn’t the monumental success that iPhone was, but it sold well. Samsung doesn’t have Android ready. Sprint has an exclusive on a good-selling product line. Making a newer-generation Instinct is no different than making a new Katana.
Has the Katana come close to the RAZR’s sales rate? Nope. Does that matter? Not when Sprint didn’t have the RAZR. Sprint needed an alternative, the Katana fit the bill. Sprint can’t get an iPhone (and Android ain’t working on CDMA), so they’ll keep telling people Instinct is just as good… boasting a smaller/cheaper form-factor along the way. For many, mixed with Simply Everything… that will provide an edge over iPhone.