Sprint Drops Samsung Instinct Price Again: Now $129 After Rebate

Sprint is trying to set some kind of sales record with its exclusive Samsung Instinct: The fun little don't-call-it-an-iPhone feature phone goes on sale June 20 priced at $129 after a $100 mail-in rebate. A week ago, we reported that the price had fallen from $299 to $199. Honestly, I can safely say there's no good reason NOT to buy one of these things if you plan on sticking with Sprint for two or more years. But with phone subsidies this high, one wonders how many years Sprint itself can stick around. (Press release with details on plans, accessories and features below.)

AWARD-WINNING SAMSUNG INSTINCT™ AVAILABLE EXCLUSIVELY FROM SPRINT ON JUNE 20 FOR JUST $129.99

Revolutionary device offers industry-leading combination
of full touch-screen functionality and fast network speeds
with live TV, stereo Bluetooth, GPS with turn-by-turn navigation
and one-touch access to favorites

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. – June 18, 2008 – Sprint (NYSE: S) today announced pricing for Instinct, a new wireless device that offers consumers an industry-leading user experience by combining full touch-screen functionality with the fast speeds available on the largest national mobile broadband network. When the device launches on June 20, it will cost just $129.99 with a two-year contract after a $100 mail-in rebate.

Customers will be able to purchase Instinct through Sprint retail stores, Web (www.sprint.com) and telesales (1-800-SPRINT1.) Best Buy is Sprint’s exclusive retail partner for Instinct from June 20 – August 28.

In order for customers to experience the full capabilities of the device, Instinct must be activated on a pricing plan offering unlimited data. Customers can choose from Everything plans for individuals starting at just $69.99 per month for 450 voice minutes or Talk/Message/Data Share plans for families starting at $129.99 per month for 1500 voice minutes to share between two lines. Instinct complements Sprint’s signature Simply Everything Plan offering both unlimited nationwide voice and data services for just $99.99 per month. The Simply Everything Plan offers premium services, including GPS navigation, email, web surfing, Sprint Music Premier and Sprint TV Premier, while letting customers easily budget for phone expenses.

Instinct was recently named “Best in Show” in the third annual Emerging Technology (E-Tech) Award competition in April at CTIA Wireless 2008. Instinct was also honored as “Most Innovative Product at CTIA Wireless 2008” by the editors of LAPTOP, a leading mobile technology magazine. CNET also recognized Instinct as the “Best Cell Phone” in its annual Cream of the Crop CTIA 2008 awards.

The innovative device speeds up the user experience like no other touch-screen phone and brings the customer’s most-used applications and contacts within a single finger tap. Instinct has a high-tech look with large, vibrant touch-screen featuring localized tactile feedback, called haptics, which transform the virtual QWERTY keypad and other screen interactions into a sensory experience. The device also offers a Speech to Action button providing many functions using speech activation for calling, texting, picture messaging, traffic, movie, sports, news, weather and search.

As Sprint’s first EV-DO Rev A consumer-centric device, Instinct provides the ability to quickly browse the Web, access business or personal e-mail, share pictures, listen to commercial-free radio and more at broadband speeds. Instinct also provides smooth access to GPS applications including Sprint Navigation, with GPS-enabled audio and visual turn-by-turn driving directions and one-click traffic rerouting as well as Live Search for Sprint, powered by Microsoft, providing easy access to directory information on-the-go, interactive maps and one-touch click to call access.

Instinct boasts many advanced features including Visual Voicemail, allowing users to listen to messages in their order of preference and manage them with a simple tap of the screen. This device also provides support for corporate and consumer (POP3 and IMAP) email, multitasking capabilities that allow the user to play music in background mode while surfing the Internet, texting or playing games, a 2.0 megapixel camera with camcorder and expandable microSD memory of up to 8GB. Additional features include advanced stereo Bluetooth® 2.0, SMS voice and text messaging with threaded text, picture caller ID and Sprint Mobile Sync.

Instinct comes with everything the user needs to enjoy the device’s full capabilities right out of the box. Contents include a 2GB microSD™ card that can hold approximately 2,000 songs from Sprint Music Store, two standard 1,000 mAh batteries offering up to 5.75 hours of continuous talk time each, battery-charging sleeve, travel charger, USB cable, 3.5mm headphones with built-in microphone, and carry case with stylus. Customers can access the latest information on Instinct at www.instinctthephone.com.

About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including two wireless networks serving nearly 53 million customers at the end of the first quarter 2008; industry-leading mobile data services; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. For more information, visit www.sprint.com.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/5017524/sprint-drops-samsung-instinct-price-again-now-129-after-rebate

Blazing Samsung 256GB SSD Is the One We've Been Waiting For

This is the solid-state drive that we've been waiting for: a full 256GB, which Samsung says is "the world's fastest and largest capacity 2.5-inch, MLC-based SSD with SATA II Interface." Sick sequential read and sequential write speeds of 200 and 160 MBps, respectively, put it in the same speed range of more nimble single-level cell SSDs (single vs. multi-level explained). Available in Sept. with mass production starting by "year end" (yay cheaperness), and Sammy says we'll see a 1.8-inch version by then too. Check it out being groped by a lady, along with the press release.

Samsung Develops World's Fastest and Largest Capacity 2.5-inch, MLC-based (256GB) SSD with SATA II Interface

Taipei, Taiwan, May 26, 2008 - Samsung Electronics, the world leader in advanced memory technology, announced today that it has developed the world's fastest, 2.5-inch, 256 Gigabyte (GB) multi-level cell (MLC) based solid state drive (SSD) using a SATA II interface, at the fifth annual Samsung Mobile Solution Forum held here today. Samsung's new 256GB SSD is also the thinnest drive with the largest capacity to be offered with a SATA II interface.

With a sequential read speed of 200 megabytes per second (MB/s) and sequential write speed of 160MB/s, Samsung's MLC-based 2.5-inch 256GB SSD is about 2.4 times faster than a typical HDD. Furthermore, the new 256GB SSD is only 9.5millimeters (mm) thick, and measures 100.3x69.85 mm.

Once introduced, the Samsung's 256GB SSD will mark the largest capacity SSD from the global market leader in SSD sales, effectively eliminating density as a barrier to SSD adoption in the consumer space.

"With development of the 256GB SSD, the notebook PC is on the brink of a second stage of evolution. This change is comparable to the evolution from the Sony Walkman to NAND memory-based MP3 players, representing an initial step in the shift to thinner, smaller SSD-based notebooks with significantly improved performance and more than ample storage," said Jim Elliott, vice president, memory marketing, Samsung Semiconductor, Inc.

Through major advancements in proprietary controller technology, Samsung's new MLC 256GB SSD, besides being comparable in speed to an SLC-based SSD, also boasts reliability equal to that of SLC SSDs, with a mean time between failures (MTBF) of one million hours, while costing considerably less. Power consumption is also exceptionally low at 0.9 watts in active mode.

In addition, the drive offers a sophisticated data encryption process that prevents data stored on the SSD from being accessed in an unauthorized manner, even after the SSD is removed from the PC.

Overall, the number of computing units in which SSDs are being offered is expected to increase dramatically once Samsung's previously announced 128GB SSD and the new 256GB SSD are launched. At present, Samsung is actively involved in high-capacity SSD design-in activities for all of the top PC and server manufacturers from the U.S., Asia, and Europe.

Samsung is expected to begin mass producing the 2.5-inch, 256GB SSD by year end, with customer samples available in September. A 1.8-inch version of the 256GB SSD is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2008.

According to a Q1 2008 report by the semiconductor market research firm iSuppli, the SSD market will grow at an annualized average of 124 percent during the four-year period from 2008 until 2012. iSuppli now projects SSD sales to increase by an additional 35 percent in 2009 over what it projected last year, 51 percent more in 2010, and 89 percent more in 2011, and continue to show dramatic increases in subsequent years.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/393198/blazing-samsung-256gb-ssd-is-the-one-weve-been-waiting-for

Samsung's 82-inch QuadHD LCD: Now with 120Hz

Samsung's stream of 82-inch monsters packing the company's latest technology continues unabated, this time a minor update to the QuadHD behemoth we saw at CES brings so-outdated 120Hz motion processing and LED backlighting to keep blur and judder far, far away. We know what you're thinking, its 3840x2160 resolution is no good unless you can write on it, luckily Samsung also has an 82-inch ultra high definition e-Board in its SID 2008 booth. OLED fans take heart, Samsung has reached economies of scale, hopefully meaning reasonably priced (and longer lasting) thin screens are due sooner instead of later. The Korea Times notes LG's at the show as well, showcasing LCD roll-printing technology to replace the photolithography process that currently births the flat panels on our walls, but we simply can't be bothered with a company that's only the number two LCD manufacturer in the world.


Source: http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/18/samsungs-82-inch-quadhd-lcd-now-with-120hz/

Samsung 8MP Cellphone Module is World's Slimmest

Good news for those who rely on their cellphones for their photo taking needs; Samsung has just unveiled the world's slimmest 8MP CMOS, which measures a diminutive, 28mm × 15.3mm × 8.5mm. The semiconductor was designed specifically for cellphones, and it will push handsets beyond their current 5MP restraints. However, that's not the only good news. The new module, which is 10% more compact than current solutions, will have an ISO 1600 sensitivity, anti-shake capability, face detection technology, 1-cm macro and an automated shoot mode that is activated by silly, smiling faces. We're guessing the technology for the smile shutter is what we have seen previously in some of the Cybershot range. All in all, it's great news for high end photography on your cellphone and as the advanced CMOS sensors will go into mass production in Q3/4 this year, we won't have to wait too long either.

Source: http://gizmodo.com/369036/samsung-8mp-cellphone-module-is-worlds-slimmest