Sprint Nextel will launch its iPhone-competing music phone, the Samsung-made Instinct, on June 20 through its direct and indirect retail channels.
The launch will come almost two weeks after the expected launch of Apple’s first 3G iPhone, expected to be unveiled June 9 at Apple’s worldwide developers’ conference.
The touchscreen-equipped Instinct uses high-speed CDMA 1x EV-DO Rev. A wireless-data technology, which in Sprint’s network currently delivers average downlink throughput of 600kbps-1.4Mbps and average uplink speeds of 350kbps to 500kbps. Should the 3G iPhone be equipped to run on AT&T’s HSPA (high-speed packet access) network, the iPhone will deliver 600kbps-1.4Mbps average download speeds and and uplink speeds to 384kbps.
During the CTIA convention, a Sprint representative said the Instinct will be available at a price “significantly less than the [current-generation] iPhone” at less than $300 with two-year contract and included 2GB microSD card. The phone will accept 8GB microSD cards as well.
Unlike the current iPhone, the Instinct offers haptic feedback when a virtual button is pressed, video capture, GPS navigation, Sprint’s cellular-band live-TV service, and Microsoft Exchange email. The Instinct, however, lacks the iPhone’s Wi-Fi.
