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Sprint released a firmware update for the Instinct two weeks ago.  I’ve held off adding any new posts here while I lived with this update to see if it really addressed a lot of the weaknesses of the Instinct.  My verdict is: It Does.  If you haven’t downloaded the update, get it ASAP.

Here are some of the improvements I’ve seen:

1. Instinct’s data-intensive apps are a lot more stable.
2. The browser is MUCH improved.  I’d even go so far as to say it’s a pretty good browser now.
3. The video player is MUCH improved.  After the last update I found the player crashed frequently.  The image is now very clear, and it rarely crashes (though, sadly, I can’t say it never crashes).

Overall Stability

The update fixed nearly 250 open bugs — welcome to the world of the early adopter!  Overall, I found my Instinct much more stable after the update.  This update made the phone what it should have been on day 1.

Web Browser

The update gave the phone a totally new browser, built from a new codebase.  I was amazed and impressed with the new browser.  First, it’s much, much faster than the previous browser.  This is because it doesn’t attempt to render the full page, but rather, only the portion of the page displayed on the screen.  If you scroll to an unrendered area, you’ll briefly (for a fraction of a second) see a checkerboard pattern, then the page will render.

The new browser displays pages much closer to the way they look in a desktop browser.  It still doesn’t display Flash content, but I’m not aware of any mobile browser that does.

The browser still has only three size options for viewing a page — 1/2, 1x and 2x size.  For certain sites (Google Mobile Reader, for example), I find neither of these options particularly useful.  However, the update now gives you a ‘full screen view’ option.  Since the very beginning, you’ve been able to hide the browser controls on the right side of the screen to make better use of the screen real estate.  Now, by clicking the “Voice Command” button (on the right side of the phone), you can hide all of the on-screen controls.  Now the page will fill the screen, and be a bit easier to navigate and read.

Video Player

I immediately noticed that the image for streaming videos was clearer.  The videos also seemed to load a bit faster and more reliably, with fewer freezes and crashes.  I really think this is one of the Intinct’s big advantges over the iPhone.  Sprint’s mobile video service is pretty good, with a wide range of channel choices.  The Instinct was made to be a platform for these videos, so for the sake of the company’s future they need to get both the service and the phone working to people’s expectations.  I think the update goes a long way toward that.

More to Come

I’m still waiting for an update that will allow the use of 3rd party applications on the Intinct.  Right now, if you load a 3rd party JAVA application, you can’t use it because the application won’t recognize the Intinct’s on-screen keyboard.  For example, I can use Google Maps by navigating to the area I want to see, but I can’t enter the name of a place I’m trying to find.  Sprint is working on a fix, and it is slated for release by the end of the year.

The official Sprint posts on www.instinctinsight.com also say more application updates are on the way, now that the firmware update provides a foundation for them.  Among the coming updates is another video player update intended to fix “channel unavailable” errors and several other problems.

Get the Updates

You can force your Instinct to get all software updates by going to Main->Settings->General->Update Software

I promised a while back to post my thoughts on various aspects of the Instinct.  Here’s the first of that series.  In this post I’ll look at the Instinct’s “Navigation” application, which provides capabilities similar to a dedicated GPS system.

1. Starting a Trip — The navigation application is pretty good at identifying where you are located, but it’s not so great about identifying your motion when you begin a trip.  In my tests, it often told me I was headed in the wrong direction when I was not.  If you are starting out, look at the map it displays — the 2d “Summary” not the 3d map.  Based on the map and course shown, identify the path your should take and start your trip.  The GPS will figure out your on course after a minute or two.
2. Close Enough? — Most of the time, the navigation system will put you within a few hundred feet of your destination.  It’s not exactly door-to-door, but close enough to see a street address of the sign for a business.
3. Voice Prompts — The voice instructions are clear and easily understandable.  If you miss one (listening to the radio, a passenger or just not paying attention) you can replay it by clicking the traffic sign icon.
4. Database Improved — When I first started using my Instinct, many addresses in the database were incomplete — especially those on state roads.  This seems to have been fixed by an update that occurred about a month ago, though.
5. Smart Navigation — The other day I was using the GPS to find a store on a four-lane highway with crossover lanes between the eastbound and westbound sides.  At first, the GPS didn’t seem to recognize the crossovers.  It told us to go past our destination (which was on the other side of the highway) and turn around at an intersection.  As we approached our destination, though, it saw the crossovers and told us to use the one I would have chosen myself.
6. Keeping Favorite Locations — It’s relatively easy to store locations as favorites.  They appear with rather cryptic names based on the date.  You can change the name to something that makes more sense by editing the favorite.
7. Traffic Check — The GPS maps will identify traffic, though I’ve noticed it’s hit-and-miss — often telling me there was no traffic when it’s what I’d consider moderate, but this is a small quibble.

Overall, I’m very satisfied with the navigation feature.  It’s not as functional as a dedicated GPS, but it’s pretty good, and I’ve barely begun to explore it’s full potential.

I purchased a Samsung Instinct the day after it was first released.  I never considered buying an iPhone for the following reasons:

Sprint’s Pricing Plan — it’s a simple, all-you-can-eat plan with plenty of minutes and lots of included services.

The iPod Touch — I’ll replace my iPod at some point with an iPod Touch and get most of the features I want.

Video Playback — I want to watch video without having to buy every show from iTunes.  I don’t want to own every show — sometimes I just ant to watch a show and not keep a copy.  Sprint’s streaming video service lets me do that.

Cost of the Unit — Apple cut the cost of the iPhone 3G, but the Instinct gives you a similar features for a lot less.

The Features I Want — I mentioned streaming video; the Instinct also gives me a good camera (including video), turn-by-turn GPS, voice activation and streaming radio.

The Instinct won’t beat the iPhone.  But it’s a nice, lower-cost alternative.  I’ll write about the Instinct’s features and how well they perform in my next post.

I recently came across a review by Walt Mossberg of the Sprint/Samsung Instinct.  I’ve admired Mossberg for years, and always found his reviews to be insightful, but his review of the Instinct was a disappointment on many levels.

First, Mossberg spends most of his time (in both a blog post and video review) lauding the yet-to-be-released iPhone 3G.  While the Instinct is clearly positioned as a iPhone competitor, I think a product review should focus on the merits of product under review.  That review can include a comparison of a market-leading product, but in my view, it’s bad form for the entire review to be such a comparison.

Mossberg, by writing his review entirely in the context of the 3G iPhone, misses several strong selling points for the Instinct including:

1. GPS with turn-by-turn directions,
2. Streaming media (TV and radio)
3. Voice Command for local GPS-assisted search and voice dialing
4. Ability to shoot and playback digital video

The Instict also gives users software for transferring music, photos and videos from a pc to the Instinct.  Mossberg dismisses the Instict’s digital music playing features, saying they are incompatible with Apple’s format.  Isn’t every other media player on Earth incompatible with Apple’s format?

You can read Mossberg’s review on Allthingsd.com and watch is video below: