Telling everyone how good you are compared to a competitor is not a good way to start.
This is why Venture Capitalists roll their eyes when people claim their new project is going to be “[FaceBook|Google|Office] but better!”
The Samsung Instinct adverts are all about “Instinct versus iPhone”. This tells you two things:
- The Samsung Instinct team are more worried about iPhone than any other phone. Even phones which already have 3G and GPS. That tells us they think other smartphones running Blackberry, Windows Mobile and Symbian are irrelevant. And did you notice the wait in this video while they wait for the Instinct to catch up with the Maps application on iPhone? That delay is going to be part of your day, every day, every minute you use that phone. There’s probably a reason why they don’t show the web browser launching in this Internet speed test video
- The Samsung Instinct team are not very clever. Apple has added these touted features. It’s great to have the technical superiority for a few weeks while you launch a new phone but seriously – iPhone has been out for a year and this is the best you can do? I am actually looking forward to seeing an Samsung Instinct in the ‘plastic’.
I jumped on this train because frankly, AndroidGuys jumped on it first. It’s not an Android phone but that doesn’t matter. Come on guys! What’s te point in telling us all about closed has-been platforms where the only thing innovative is the advert????
What else do you need to know about the Instinct?
- It has a 2 GB MicroSD memory card included. You can upgrade this to 8 GB for more money and there’s only one memory slot so you have to juggle your media. I love doing that. (the iPhone starts at 8 GB built-in and goes to 16GB, all built in).
- Screen resolution is 240×432 pixels. It’ll be great for the movies and TV you can get on it. (iPhone is 480×320. That’s a big difference.)
- It has the same 2 Megapixel camera as the iPhone (which means you’ll need to carry another phone unless just snapping drunken pictures of mates.)
- There is no information on the OS powering it or the availability of third party apps. (Even Bushmen of the Kalahari know about the iPhone and the App Store).
There you go. It beats the iPhone (June 2007) in the two areas that the iPhone (July 2008) will just fix. That’s fabulous. Well done to Samsung for pulling this out of a hat.
Apple really has gotten the mobile phone manufacturers in a tizzy. You have to laugh.