The Samsung Instinct (M800) is an Internet-enabled phone designed and marketed by Samsung Mobile. It uses a Haptic touchscreen interface, and three touchscreen buttons (pictured at right, from left to right - 1, 2, 3). The Instinct, in addition to being a mobile phone, also functions as a camera phone, portable media player, text messenger, and a complete web browser and e-mail client.

The Instinct became available on Friday, June 20, 2008 and was offered at $129 (after rebates) and is marketed as a direct competitor to the iPhone, and often called an "iPhone killer". The Instinct was initially available only in the United States through Sprint. It was announced in early July 2008 that the Instinct would be available in Canada from Bell Mobility, starting on August 8, 2008 and from Telus Mobility on August 19, 2008.

Reception

The Instinct has received mostly positive reviews. It won awards such as "Best in Show" - CTIA Wireless 2008, "Best Cell Phone CTIA" - CNET April 2008.

In addition, the Samsung Instinct became the best selling 3G phone in Sprint history mere weeks after its release, and also the best selling phone at Best Buy in two years (since the RAZR 2)

Games

The Instinct features a wide range of games that take advantage of the touch screen functionality and high resolution display. Some games such as Guitar Hero World Tour, feature high quality audio.

Games can be accessed by going to the "Fun" tab, then selecting "Games/Apps" on the device. Several demo games are included on the device when you buy it, so that you can try them before you buy.

MP3 Player

The MP3 player allows users to listen to music while they exchange text messages. It pauses music when the user answers a call. The Instinct supports uploading music into the music library. The phone does not come with MP3 ringtones.

The MP3 player is, however, not without limitations. The player does not have a graphic equalizer, or any way to adjust even basic frequency ranges (treble, mid, and bass, for example). Also, the Instinct has been reported to have player volume issues, the most pressing of which: the maximum volume setting is not loud enough. Furthermore, volume adjustment is not a "gradual" increase, but a "step" increase. When the user is adjusting the volume, there are only 8 positions to choose from, and the jump between each position is too great.

GPS

The Instinct features GPS Navigation and the ability to search for businesses or addresses using Live Search. When the Live Search application is opened, it immediately accesses the GPS chip to discover the user's exact location. Then, the user simply presses the side button and speaks the name of the business he/she is looking for. The phone returns all listing possibilities, and upon choosing the correct listing, the phone gives the user the option to call the business, see a map of the business's location, or use the Sprint Navigation turn-by-turn GPS application to drive to the business.