Samsung Instinct S30
Phone Scoop Review
May 4, 2009 by Eric M. Zeman
Samsung takes another stab at the basic Instinct. The S30 is an all-around better phone than its predecessor, but it's still far from perfect. read review ›
User Reviews
Average Ratings
prettttty good.
I overall just hate sprint. If it wasn't for my mom's discount I would have gotten rid of it a long time ago. But since I'm forced to have it, I got the instinct. Which I'm pretty happy about. But first of all, I'm a teenager, so my phone is basically texted to death.
The goood;
*Really good battery actually
*Works fast, and doesn't freeze
*Good on-screen keyboard
*conversation thread for texting, which wasn't on the old instinct
The badddd;
*Camera is just really. really. bad compared to my old phone
*The web browser is okay, i just wish you could zoom like you can on the iphone
*Texting is sometimes slow, and it has to catch up with you
The qwerty keyboard is pretty good, but it seems to be kind of slow sometimes. But this is usually fixed by turning it off then back on. Also, it defaults into landscape mode. When you turn it back to up and down mode, it doesn't have T9 word or anything like that. It changes into an a b c layout. Which is really really annoying. So I can't text one handed, I almost always have to have two hands on the keyboard.
The screen easily gets fingerprinty. But I'm a clean freak, so maybe it's just me.
The battery life is really good, except in areas where I don't have service, which is normal for Sprint that that would drain the battery. It happened on my old phone as well.
The settings are kind of lacking, my old phone had way more. You can't change the menu style or anything like that. I know with verizon you can change the font which is kind of cool, but you cant with the instinct. Just little things like that would have been cool additions but this phone doesn't have.
Also the camera is just really bad. I don't even take pictures on it. It has absolutely no settings like brightness or cool frames, just a camera. Compared to my old phone which had all those settings, I'm kind of disappointed. But its a phone, not a camera I guess.
But overall, this phone is the best one i've had with a crappy sprint service.
Can't trust my Instincts
I have been using sprint for 9 years now and have struggled with their plans, phones, and service at my loyal expense. After 10 years with them I will become a premier customer. I bought the Instinct thinking that it was going to be the best phone ever. However, the InStink is only best used as a weak digital camera. I am currently back to using the old A900 because it has the ability to support my laptop as a broadband modem and it does not require a data plan to be used as just a phone. At least the A900 was flexible enough to not railroad me into services that I do not always require. As for the InStink, the Spint representative said that because I did not want the data plan that I could no longer use that phone and had to go back to the A900. He also said that I am now the proud owner of a $500.00 doorstop. I wish I could get out of this common-law marriage with Sprint, but in just one more year I qualify for their super special program that they took away from me because they said they made a mistake. Maybe I'm the one making the mistake...Maybe I should just go with my instincts.
Nice Phone
I'm not one to go into great detail. Lets just say I've never really had a phone that I was satisfied with. This one fits the bill. Great touch screen phone with alot of features that work great.
Only a phone for a teenager
In the hand of a teenager this is probably a great phone. But when I looked this phone up on sprint and saw the bluetooth logo I decided to get this phone.
As soon as I activated the phone and tried to sync um my ear piece is when I got the rub. Yes it has bluetooth but not a hands free option. That does me no good.
Next is the texting.. I spent more time back spacing to correct mistakes and then hitting the minimizing screen button cause lets face it I have sausage fingers. Can't send to multiple people that I have seen. Then again after 5 minutes with it I was on the phone with sprint asking for a different phone.
nice phone
I have just started with sprint and my husband and myself both got this phone we are both very happy about the options the phone has and easy use of the phone... but the service with sprint has a lot to be desired, I think I should of stayed with my other carrier
Ouch, the instincts were wrong
Okay all, while I'm a verizon user, I recently assisted a friend with the acticvation of his new S30 series Instinct. While Sprint and Samsung say the UI is improved over the M800, honestly, I'm not impressed.
PROS:
-Opera Mini Browser Option was a smart decision for Both Sprint and Samsung
-The M810's smaller size is cool
CONS:
-The SD memory card was only a 1 gig. Not cool.
-Self Activation Process is buggy. Had to call Sprint's Tech Support twice!
-Web Svcs never activated properly
If you want the isntinct, I'd advise getting the older version. It's much more reliable than it's newer version.
There are PRO's & There are CON's
This has marked improvements over the first one. The only thing that takes some getting used to is the new shape. It is sort of slippery. Although the phone looks smaller, it is almost the same size. The sleek and slim design however does help the view of videos on the screen and help to see the QWERTY keys a bit easier. The one feature that can annoy someone a little is when the main browser opens a page, it auto shrinks. It is simple to make it larger, by a simple double tap on the screen. The OPERA browser is amazingly speedy and is handy for single handed browsing. Although entering text in this browser takes some getting used to, I think most people will like it. The ability to have IM is wonderful as well as the added features on the music player. It now has 3D sound options, such as DYNAMIC, SURROUND, WIDE, NORMAL, and NONE. It is also equipped with an equalizer that has settings such as CLASSICAL, POP, JAZZ, ROCK, and NONE. Although there is no second battery, case, or stylus as in the first one, this phone seems to do a bit better at using it power . . . so far. Plus, I am using the case and stylus from my first one . . . so there is no problem there. I have not tried to load music yet, although I am a bit concerned that there is no disc of software. Perhaps this will be the best feature yet, as I did not like that software that needed to be used.
All in all, I am so far pleased.
Love It!!
I bought this phone last week, and I love it. Many of the bad reviews that have been written about this phone actually have nothing to do with the phone itself. The fact that it does not come with an extra battery like the original is not a problem with this phone. New products usually do come with extras that later models don't. The camera doesn't have a flash, but it still takes good quality pics. The phone is very user friendly. I have had no problems with call quality at all. I would definitely recommend this phone to my friends. Actually I already have.
Upgrade?????!!!
quick breakdown of "improvements"
-cool copper backing
-curved corners.
-screen tap to enlarge print..
......anybody could jump in anytime and add improvements.
phone still gets stuck, still slow as hell.
false advertisement....on the box it shows a full version of facebook and other pages. still has a Linux version whether your in standard or mobile mode.
TO GET TO THE POINT, THIS IS NOT AN UPGRADE/IMPROVEMENT OF ANY KIND!!!!!!
New Instinct is worth a try...
Until recently, I was a high-end phone user. I had t-mobile and hadn't used a phone less than $400 in YEARS. However, after finding out about Sprint's SERO program, I realized I could save about $1,000 per year by switching to Sprint. My brother-in-law had the original Instinct, and I didnt want to wait for the Palm Pre, so I gave this phone a try. Here are the Pros and Cons, in my opinion:
PROS:
Great touch device with great response. Typing is really easy, even for my big fingers. I didnt get the iphone, because I couldnt type on it, but this one works great!
Very easy to use, unlike Windows Mobile. I have seen people complaining that there is no stylus, but I cannot find anything I would need a stylus for anyway!
Call quality is great, best speakerphone Ive ever used.
Easy to operate 1-handed (allows you to choose righty or lefty, handy for us left-handers)
Finally a NORMAL ringer. I am 30 years old, I dont want some god awful song or tone that embaresses me. This has a normal ringtone.
Cons:
The camera has no flash and really isnt very usefull at all
Does not display pictures when viewing emails. If you have an embedded picture in your email, it does not display.
The TV thing is cool, but MAN is it slow. You could never watch a 30 minute show on it.
The internet works fine and is faster than t-mobile's network, but not as fast as the Sprint commercials make it sound.
I wish it was more customizable.
I dont know if I would call the battery life a "con" per-se. If you use it a lot you will definately have to charge it every night, but all my GPS-enabled phones have been that way.
BOTTOM LINE:
This phone is well worth the asking price and I do not plan on returning it. If you want to spend $400+ dollars, and use a more expensive monthly service, you can get a better phone. But for most people this will be fine and coming from being a high-end phone user, I am pretty happy with this baby! One tip: get the hard case!
