Samsung Instinct S30 - cobalt metal (Sprint)
Manufacturer: Samsung Part number: SPHM810HAS
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Product series
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The Samsung Instinct S30 has its good points, but Samsung and Sprint missed the opportunity to make a better device.
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Where to buy
| store | customer rating | inventory | tax & shipping | price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Authorized store |  | In stock w/ new 2y contract signing & MIR | Enter zip code to get total price: Price +Tax +Shipping =Total price | as of 12/08/2009 |
CNET editors' review
Samsung Instinct S30 - cobalt metal (Sprint) price range: $99.99 - $599.99
- Reviewed by: Kent German
- Reviewed on: 04/17/2009
- Updated on:10/01/2009
- Released on: 04/19/2009
The good: The Samsung Instinct S30 offers a slick design, bigger external memory, and an attractive touch-screen interface. Features are respectable and the call quality is satisfactory.
The bad: The Samsung Instinct S30's video quality is erratic and it lacks Wi-Fi and camera editing options. In a disappointing move, Samsung and Sprint downgraded the EV-DO support.
The bottom line: The Samsung Instinct S30 has its good points, but Samsung and Sprint missed the opportunity to make a better device.
Editors' note: The Instinct S30 is similar to the Sprint's first Instinct. For this review, we will be concentrating on the differences only. For a full description of shared features and characteristics, see our original Samsung Instinct SPH-M810 review. On October 1, 2009, we lowered the rating of this product from 8.0 to 7.3 in the wake of the release of the Instinct HD.
Samsung and Sprint typically make a big showing at the spring CTIA show. In 2008, the two companies introduced the Samsung Instinct touch-screen phone, and this year they followed up with the Instinct S30. Though we expected a second Instinct at some point, the S30 is more of a minor redesign than a full-blown revamp of the original model. It's the tinniest bit thinner with smoother angles, but it only adds minimal new features. And even worse, it removes at least two things that we enjoyed on the first model. The Instinct S30 is available for $129 with a contract. That's a fair price, but the Instinct S30 falls short of being both new and improved. It's disappointing considering how we liked the first handset.
Design
The Instinct S30, aka the SPH-M810, has the same basic shape as its predecessor, but a side-by-side comparison will show a more aerodynamic profile and smoother lines and rounded corners. It also has a slight bulge at the bottom end. The S30 is almost the same size (4.57 inches tall by 2.11 inches wide by 0.48 inch thick), but it's just 0.1 inch thinner than the original Instinct and a tad lighter (3.88 ounces). Overall, we like the new look--it's less boxy and the phone has a nicer feeling in the hand. You can get it in two colors--cobalt metal and copper--but the features are the same on both models.
The S30's touch screen is just a bit larger than the original handset (3.2 inches versus 3.1 inches). We welcome the change, though you'd barely notice it when using the device. The color resolution is the same (262,000 colors; 432,240-pixels) and the easy-to-use, customizable menus are unchanged. The touch screen felt no different, as well.
Outside on the display you'll find the same exterior controls and an identical virtual dialpad and QWERTY keyboard. The memory card slot is again on the left spine. Samsung kept the proprietary charger jack, but we were glad that the company didn't didn't mess with the 3.5mm headset jack.
Features
The Instinct S30 offers many of the same features as the original Instinct. You'll find stereo Bluetooth, a personal organizer, voice dialing and commands, GPS with Sprint Navigation, support for Sprint's Visual Voicemail, FM radio, PC syncing, messaging, IMAP4 and POP3 e-mail, USB mass storage, 600-contact phonebook, and a full HTML browser. Unfortunately, the 2-megapixel shooter still doesn't offer camera editing features, but photo quality was quite good.
New features on the Instinct include an Opera 4.2 browser and more external memory (32GB versus 16GB). You also get instant messaging, calendar, and contacts syncing out of the box. The precious Instinct required an upgrade to add both features. We were hoping for Wi-Fi this time around, but it's not here.
The S30 is also a 3G EV-DO device that supports Sprint's NFL Mobile, Nascar application, Power Vision, and the Sprint Music Store. Yet, we were blown away that Sprint and Samsung downgraded the 3G support. Instead of EV-DO Rev. A, the S30 supports the carrier's lower EV-DO Rev. 0 network. The means that instead of download speeds of 600Kbps to 1.4Mbps, you'll get 400Kbps to 700Kbps. Similarly, upload speeds will average about 50Kpbs to 70Kbps instead of 350Kpbs to 500Kpbs. While the Rev. 0 speeds may be fine for some people, we can't imagine why a second-generation device offers slower wireless data speeds.
We also were disappointed that the S30 does not come with the extra battery that could be charged separately in its carrying case. That was a nice touch on the previous phone.
Samsung is promising that the S30 will be more open to developers, who will be able to access the core Java application programming interface. Available features will include messaging, multimedia, contacts, calendar, and Bluetooth. As part of the program, Sprint is creating an Application Developer Program. We'll give you more details on this program as they are made available.
Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) Samsung Instinct S30 in San Francisco using Sprint service. Call quality was somewhat improved over the first model. We experienced none of the patchy and harsh audio that we had before. For the most part, we enjoyed a clear signal without any interference. Voices sounded natural except at the highest volume level (the phone can get pretty loud).
On their end, callers said we sounded fine. They could tell we were using a call phone, but they reported fewer problems than on the Instinct. They only times they had trouble hearing us was when were in a particularly noisy locations. It was the same experience with automated calling systems. Speakerphone calls were average. The audio was a bit distorted muffed and the volume didn't get as loud as we'd like.
Streaming video quality was as mixed as on its predecessor. Videos loaded quickly, but videos paused a few times while playing and there was a bit of choppy motion. On one occasion, the video was so pixelated that we couldn't make out what was going on, but that was the exception. The audio was mostly in sync, though as with the speakerphone it could be louder. Music quality was fine, though headphones will provide the best experience.
The Web browser performed well for the most part. Simple Web pages loaded quickly, but busier pages took longer. For instance, CNET's Web site took about 15 seconds from start to finish. Again, the downgrade to Rev 0 is a mystery. On the upside, it's pretty easy to navigate around pages using the touch screen and the internal performance was zippy.
The Instinct S30 has a rated battery life of 4.6 hours talk time, which is more than an hour shorter than the original Instinct. Our tests showed a talk time of 5 hours and 44 minutes. According to FCC radiation charts, the S30 has a digital SAR of 1.33 watts per kilogram.
User reviews
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Very happy overall except for a Huge roaming deficit:(
by taylormade714ce on November 30, 2009
Pros: Visual voice mail. Call history that lets you redial calls from the past at a touch. Good speaker phone. Nice album art display during music mode. Nice screen sensitivity.
Cons: Can't initiate texts duing speaker phone use. Keyboard for texting could be slightly bigger. No T9 keyboard capability as in other touch screens I've seen for one handed texting.
Summary: The Biggest issue I have with this phone is its Huge deficit in roaming! I live in a rural state where Sprint often lacks coverage. I had a Samsung 920 ...
Summary: The Biggest issue I have with this phone is its Huge deficit in roaming! I live in a rural state where Sprint often lacks coverage. I had a Samsung 920 previously and I was able to get full bars of roaming in one specific area of my state. With my S30, I get Zero signal now in the same spot. I have a friend who, with a Palm Treo, still gets full roaming standing next to me. The problem is they have removed the "Roam Only" setting from this phone. It only has Automatic or Sprint Only. Now, if the phone senses even a Trace of Sprint signal, it fights for that signal and will Never give it up for the better roaming signal. And there is NOTHING that can be done about it. No way to turn off Sprint to make a call on a perfectly adequate roaming partners service. I literally took a Giant step forward in technology, but a step backwards in coverage. How frustrating. And what's more sad...I Love the phone!!! Ugh. I understand that it is a trend now for phones to have the Roam Only feature absent. So, changing phones may not even be a solution. Please Samsung, Think About it.
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nice design fells better than original
by ealfitness on November 14, 2009
Pros: sleek design the screen is more responsive than the original
Cons: layout is still the same still dissapointed than you caint dd more apps phone is basic and boring if you r looking for a smart phone look somewhere else
Summary: i got this phone after my first two instincts died on me and im still diassapointed
Summary: i got this phone after my first two instincts died on me and im still diassapointed
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For 100 dolars, its not bad
by mclovintech on October 20, 2009
Pros: lots of stuff
Cons: slow slow slow
Summary: its good for 100
Summary: its good for 100
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excellent smart phone !!!
Pros: its very easy to use
looks great
the touch screen responds very fast
the gps is the best in market
the battery life is decentCons: I believe the phone can't play web videos for now ,but can be fixed later,I hope so
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Excellent portable internet device / phone all-in-one
by poker4profit on June 18, 2009
Pros: Compact size, easy to use touch sensitive interface, host of features built-in, voice command operation
Cons: Lack of additional 3rd party apps (at the moment), native browser is OK, but could be better
Summary: This is the first phone of this type that I have purchased and on the whole I do not have any complaints about it. Call quality is clear and crisp. ...
Summary: This is the first phone of this type that I have purchased and on the whole I do not have any complaints about it. Call quality is clear and crisp. Bluetooth capability is excellent. Features are easy to use. Sprint navigation is an excellent feature that's already proven it's worth.
Stick with Opera Mini which comes pre-installed on the s30 - while I would have liked Pandora on my phone, I have an iPod nano video for portable audio, so portable audio/visual is not why I bought this phone. Could use a little more base memory, and I was told at the store that it supports up to 8GB micro-SD, that could use to be expanded if Samsung and Sprint intend to continue competing with the iPhone - I almost went to AT&T for the iPhone, but decided to give the Instinct a close look at the store, and was sold on it. Easier since I have a family plan, and another member of my family just signed into a flip-phone contract a few months back, so sure the iPhone is larger (that isn't necessarily a plus) and has a larger screen and more memory and available apps - I do not regret my decision to buy the Instinct s30 - it's still way faster than my old and forgotten Treo 700WX with which I was thorougly disgusted.
Cheers for Sprint and Samsung for making a phone that I'm finally happy with! -
Decent phone for the money
by blakeb73 on June 17, 2009
Pros: Touch screen looks nice- GPS- email functions work well- NFL mobile- Radio- MP3 Player
Cons: Touch screen is designed for very small and slender fingers- Camera has no zoom, flash, or any functions.
Summary: I just got this at best buy for $89.99 with a new two year ext of my contract with Sprint. I have to say I like this phone a ...
Summary: I just got this at best buy for $89.99 with a new two year ext of my contract with Sprint. I have to say I like this phone a lot and you can't beat it for the price.
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Touch screens rule! this one owns them all!
by iicbhii on May 27, 2009
Pros: Touch screen is very responsive, and fast, no lags nothing.
lots of options, apps, and games. GPS is amazing! beautiful screen, beautiful colors
internet is fast.
TV is great, fast,
small and light,
starts up fast, no lags
battery life is great!Cons: Txtin mode is a little cramped, however if you use one finger it works perrrrrrfect!
a little confusing when working camera mode
NO FLASH!
needs more appsSummary: I dont know why, people here are bashing this phone. I think this is more like a young adult phone.Not a PDA, more like hip young style phone. i ...
Summary: I dont know why, people here are bashing this phone. I think this is more like a young adult phone.Not a PDA, more like hip young style phone. i LOVE THIS PHONE!
easy to use, and touch is amazing accurate and fast with one click email. To any teen or young adult or anyone this is beautiful hip phone. well worth the price! get it, you will not be disappointed! get it now! -
Decent Value for the money, but lacking
by ervinator65 on May 22, 2009
Pros: The Instinct S30 was my first techie phone, so I didn't come into it with preconceived notions. It seems easy enough to use, though I would love to see 'pinch and spread' for zoom options, like the iphone. Overall, not bad, though.
Cons: The touch screen can be a nuisance, especially when 'typing' on the touch QWERTY keyboard. Smaller fingers will do well, but ham-handed folk like myself will be challenged at times to get the message right, without backspacing.
Summary: There are always going to be bigger and better things in the Tech-Heavy world of phones, but if you are looking for something on the entry level, I think I ...
Summary: There are always going to be bigger and better things in the Tech-Heavy world of phones, but if you are looking for something on the entry level, I think I would lean more to the Blackberry, over this model. I am looking forward to June 6th, when the Palm Pre comes to town and I already have one ready for me when I get there.
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Super Phone! No match for the price, Get one
by dmeegan14 on May 19, 2009
Pros: Easy to use, quick access to any app, keyboard easy to use, navigation is great, quick web downloads, Have friend who has the first instinct and prefers the s30 to his.
Cons: No really cons to this phone, have had a lot worse
Summary: I have been with Sprint for 10 years and this by far is the best phone for the money, I was going to wait and get the palm pre but ...
Summary: I have been with Sprint for 10 years and this by far is the best phone for the money, I was going to wait and get the palm pre but will wait at least a year untill all the bugs are out, the s30 will be a great phone untill then!
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Phone is nice and easy to work your way around
by jmac05r1 on May 15, 2009
Pros: Fast movement throughout t he phone, easy to set up. Phone is also very light and exotic. Touch screen makes it feel great, There is alot of pros.
Cons: ONE MAJOR CON, to thos who try to hide their phone from their spouses, and try to be the player they are, YOU CAN NOT!! DELETE THE PEOPLE YOU RECENTLY TEXTED!! you may be able to delete all your text and conversation, BUT NOT out of the recent tab!
Summary: For the average or mid aged person, this phone will fit all your needs and workds well. Please read the CON on this page before buying. and Read up of ...
Summary: For the average or mid aged person, this phone will fit all your needs and workds well. Please read the CON on this page before buying. and Read up of what I just mentioned..
Specifications
- Manufacturer: Samsung
- Part number: SPHM810HAS
- Description: The Samsung Instinct s30 puts your world at your fingertips. Instant messaging keeps you in touch with friends and family. The web browser lets you surf the internet faster. Turn-by-turn GPS navigation gives you directions to anywhere you want to go. And with Calendar Sync, you'll be in perfect harmony with your business computer at all times. What are your instincts telling you now?
General
- Product Type Cellular phone With digital camera / digital player
- Service Provider Sprint Nextel
- Width 2.2 in
- Depth 0.5 in
- Height 4.6 in
- Weight 3.8 oz
- Body Color Cobalt metal
Cellular
- Technology CDMA2000 1X
- Band CDMA2000 1X 1900/800
- Phone Design Candy bar
- Antenna Internal
- Vibrating Alert Yes
- Polyphonic Ringer Yes
- Call Timer Yes
- Conference Call Capability 3-way
- Voice Recorder Yes
- Caller ID Yes
- Speakerphone Yes
- Wireless Interface Bluetooth
- Additional Features E-911 compliant, PictBridge direct printing
Communicator Features
- Synchronization With PC Yes
- Synchronization With MS Outlook
Phone Memory
- Phone Book Capacity 600 names & numbers
- Missed Calls Memory 80
- Dialed Calls Memory 80
- Received Calls Memory 80
Messaging & Data Services
- Short Messaging Service (SMS) Yes
- Mobile Email Yes
- Supported Email Protocols POP3
- Internet Browser Yes
- PCS Vision capable Yes
- Included Services Picture Mail
- EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) Yes
- Messaging / Data Features Text messages, Multimedia messages (MMS), Instant messages, E-mail
Ring Tones
- Polyphonic Ring Tone Voice Qty 72
Multimedia Features
- Downloadable Content Ring tones, Games, Wallpaper, Applications
Digital Camera
- Camera highlights With a resolution of 2 megapixels, this camera phone will give you higher quality pictures than other phones.
- Sensor Resolution 2 megapixels
- Features Self-portrait mirror
Organizer
- Alarm Clock Yes
- Calendar Yes
- Reminder Yes
- Calculator Basic
- Additional Timer Functions Stopwatch
Display
- Type LCD display
- Technology TFT
- Display Resolution 240 x 432 pixels
- Color Support Color
- Color Depth 18-bit (262000 Colors)
- Features LCD touch screen
Miscellaneous
- Included Accessories Headset
- Cables Included USB cable
Power
- Type Power adapter
Battery
- Technology - Lithium ion
- Capacity 1000 mAh
- Talk Time Up to 276 min
Product series
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Samsung Instinct S30 - cobalt metal (Sprint)
Manufacturer: Samsung
Specs: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800, Up to 276 min, With digital camera / digital player, 3.8 oz
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Samsung Instinct S30 - copper (Sprint)
Manufacturer: Samsung
Specs: CDMA2000 1X 1900/800, Up to 276 min, With digital camera / digital player, 3.8 oz
Accessories
- Samsung WEP870 (33769487)39.95 - 54.03
- Samsung WEP200 Bluetooth Headset (black) (31995314)21.35 - 41.94
- Samsung SBH500 Bluetooth Stereo Headphones (black) (32674689)34.99 - 60.66
- Jabra BT8010 Stereo/Mono Bluetooth Headset (32327768)18.99
- Motorola S9 Bluetooth Active Headphones (red) (32363768)38.99 - 45.99
Manufacturer info
- Samsung
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse Samsung products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.samsungusa.com/
- Address:
105 Challenger Road, Ridgefield Park, NJ 07660 - Phone: 1-800-726-7864
- Fax: 1-973-601-6001
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