Samsung Instinct Touchscreen Cellphone Gets Affordable $129 Price Tag
Almost a year after the release of the iPhone, another cellphone manufacturer is releasing a touchscreen phone capable of competing with Apple. The Samsung Instinct is primed to go on sale tomorrow, June 20, for $129.
The $129 price tag has the chance to reverberate across the wireless industry forcing manufacturers to provide bottom-barrel prices with relatively high-end mobile phones.
The Instinct is a touchscreen device that includes EV-DO Rev. A, which is equivalent to AT&T's 3G speeds, for Web browsing, e-mail and more. Also included is a 2-megapixel camera, expandable memory via MicroSD and more.
The new $129 price point for the Instinct coincidentally comes right after Apple and AT&T announced they will heavily subsidize the price of the iPhone. The one downside, which is likely the direct result of the heavy subsidization, is Sprint's decision to require the Instinct to be activated with an unlimited data plan, which can hike the monthly price up to at least $70.
The day and age of high-priced, high-end cellphones is long gone, especially with manufacturers like Apple and Samsung as well as carriers like AT&T and Sprint being forced to heavily subsidize and take shots at the bottom line for sales and popularity.
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Prices like this are really nice to see for phones with these feature sets. However, given the cost of the required plans with AT&T for the iPhone and this Samsung with Sprint, you come to realize that you loose money in the long run. The initial savings you receive is often lost during your required two-year contract, as the plans are devised to make the providers money in addition to recouping lost funds through subsidizing the phone.
It's nice to see phones with this feature set in this price range now. However, a major drawback with these "new" low prices is the plans associated with them. The iPhone from AT&T and this Samsung from Sprint have a required two-year, greatly expensive plan associated with them. The plans are designed for the cell phone providers to make money in addition to covering the cost of subsidizing the phone. So, while you may, as a customer initially save money, you will more than likely see yourself paying more for the phone than if it was less subsidized with a lower-cost monthly rate plan, which holds especially true with the new iPhone. Just food for thought, I am not advocating not purchasing these phones, but just to be careful. There are plenty of 3G phones out there that do not require an expensive plan associated with them, but none as cool as these new gadgets.
If you already have a data plan on your phone its a great buy to bad i have to wait 14 months till i can upgrade
My 32 cents. I bought an Instinct for $129 at Best Buy (no rebates necessary). And Voice GPS and 3G are included at no additional cost to use them. It comes with a spare battery (w/USB battery charger and ac adapter/charger) and syncs with my PC via USB. The 2GB MicroSD card is accompanied with the adapter so I can migrate applications, pics, and video straight to the card. It has a camera/video capability and plays movies and mp3s. It also has Sprint TV. Also takes voice commands. The screens are customizable so I can choose not to display those features I do not use. It comes with a case. Just about the only thing not in the case is a screen cleaning cloth. The only thing I pay for even with the limited 450 anytime minutes is calls over 450 minutes and buying music and TV subscriptions.
Even for die-hard Apple fans who will never stray from the Apple Tree, the $129 price for such a function laden 3G/GPS device will undoubtedly make Apple look twice at their price as well.
Jack