Sprint, the nation's third-largest wireless carrier, will be taking on AT&T's popular iPhone with a newer lower-priced touch screen smartphone, the Samsung Instinct S30.
The Overland Park, Kan.-based carrier said the new Instinct will cost $129 when released on April 19 -- compared to $199 for the cheapest model of the new iPhone.
The Instinct S30 will be the successor to the popular Instinct that made its debut last summer.
The new Instinct will share many features with the iPhone 3G, such as an integrated 2.0-megapixel camera, access to a fast wireless data network, a GPS receiver and access to corporate email servers and Microsoft Outlook email programs.
But the Instinct S30 has several advantages over the iPhone 3G.
It will have a thinner streamlined design, fitting more comfortably in a pocket, be able to record video (the iPhone only does stills), and offer "haptic feedback" for vibration when a typing on the on-screen keyboard, Visual Voicemail to manage messages with a tap of the screen and stereo Bluetooth to listen to music over headphones.
The iPhone can only send calls over Bluetooth, but not music.
The handset will also preinstall popular games like "Guitar Hero -- World Tour" and "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader."
The Instinct S30's $129 price will be with a two-year contract and after a $100 mail-in rebate.
The purchase price of a smartphone is only a fraction of the total cost of ownership, since the phones require a data plan. The cheapest monthly plan for the Instinct will cost $69.99, which ends up closer to $80 with taxes and fees. The cost for two years of service is then about $1,900.
