“iPhone or Instinct: The Fact That This Decision Is As Hard As It Is Means I Need Sleep”
Yeah, this post is mostly me working through a minor dilemma, so if you’re browsing LiveJournal and reading it, feel free to check out the Williamston Theatre website, which has more interesting stuff than this entry will have.
So, iPhones are neat. The new “Third Generation” version just came out, and it’s awfully neat.
But they’re on AT&T.
The Instinct is a neat phone, and it’s on Sprint. It just came out a couple of months ago.
It’s not quite as “Cool” as the iPhone. Especially for a guy who’s a devoted Mac user.
I currently have Sprint. I’ve had Sprint for years, and am very satisfied with the customer service, etc… I’m due for a new phone soon, because my Treo is fading, and it’s also a little unreliable – it constantly reboots itself, and it’s about 2 and1/2 years old now, and getting a little beat up. In September my contract with Sprint runs out, and I’m a free agent… so I have my option of what phone company to go with.
So, I’m debating, in the next month or so, getting either an iPhone and leaving Sprint, or sticking with Sprint and getting the Instinct. I’ve been obsessing and pouring over internet reviews for both phones. (Man, some people on the internet get ridiculously rude and territorial over this kind of thing!!) I’ve also been playing with demo versions of both phones in the stores… and here’s where I am:
The iPhone haas the sweetest User Interface out there, no question, hands down. And the best web browsing experience (which is one of the big things I do with my phone.)
But it has no picture messaging, which is one of the other big things I do with my phone. Yes, I take pictures of stuff and send them to people – it’s one of the fun things I do with my family ALL THE TIME.
The Instinct has a good user interface, not as slick as the iPhone. The web browser, sadly, is sub-par. BUT, it does do picture messaging. It also has a neat GPS feature that’ll give me driving directions, like a Garmin or Tom-Tom.
Price: $199 or $299 for iPhone (depending on memory), versus $129 after rebates for the Instinct. (The iPhone has a built in memory, the Instinct takes a memory card that would cost extra money, except it won’t cost extra for me because I’ve got an 8 Gigabyte card that I can use with it already.)
The big thing making me lean toward Instinct is that my whole family has Sprint, so phone calls are all free to them. If I go to ATT, there will be only ONE person that I can think of that I call that will be the “mobile to mobile” minutes.
BUT – the iPhone will sync SO NICELY with my iMac, and my iTunes library will transfer right over, so it will hold my music easily.
Of course, the Instinct will hold my music too, without much trouble.
The iPhone is cooler. But it doesn’t take video. (REALLY!)… And the “not being able to snap a photo and send it off to my sister with a comment funny enough to make her shoot diet-coke out of her nose” factor is probably the deal breaker. It also has no “cut and paste” feature in the texting/email stuff, which is an awfully weird thing to not have.
Plus, the Instinct, being a brand new phone, is still getting Over The Air updates to the software that are making it better, and maybe the Web Browsing program will get better! (That’s what they’re promising, anyway!)
AND the “iPhone3g” uses ATT’s “3G Network” which, frankly, can only be found in a handful of major metropolitan areas and tiny little strips of land surrounding Steve Jobs’ house. It CANNOT be found ANYWHERE NEAR WHERE I WORK OR LIVE. To make up for having a lousy, barely existant 3G Network, they put WiFi in the iPhone, so anywhere there’s a WiFi connection you can connect to the internet.
Sprint, on the other hand, has a very efficient EV/DO network (don’t ask me what it means, I’m not that saavy) that works well, and delivers highspeed signals all over the freaking place. The Instinct will almost always have this signal so the internet/messaging/email stuff will almost always work very well. (I know this because it’s the same signal my Treo gets, and it almost always gets a great signal.) Because of that network, they did NOT put WiFi in, which means that even if I’m sitting in a coffee shop with good WiFi, I won’t be able to connect if I’m not getting a good cell signal.
One of the other things is that BOTH phones will let me open and look at text documents, which is something I do for work a lot. Neither phone will let me EDIT or work on text documents, which is something that at first glance I wish I had, but then when I think about it I realize I’ve only actually done that a handful of times on my Treo in the whole time I’ve had it…
So…
iPhone: Pros: Cooler, hooks to my Mac easily, WiFi, nifty neato user interface, “feels like the future”, as my friend Mike says.
Instinct: Pros: Cheaper, stays with Sprint so I can contact my family more often, does picture messaging, comes with extra battery, has a much better phone service provider.
Alright… right now, I think the Instinct is winning. I think I do this: Next month, I get the Instinct. I stick with Sprint, and hope the Instinct continues to get better. If the iPhone continues to improve, maybe when it ends its exclusive ATT contract in 4 years it’ll come to Sprint, and I’ll get one then. (Of course, in 4 years they’ll probably be just implanting them into our heads, so worrying about that now is silly.)
Oy. Anybody using an iPhone or Instinct got any thoughts?
Tony Caselli 
I think you ought to stick with Instinct. I look at the iPhone the same way as you’d look at a brand new car company or car line. Do you really want an early model when they’re still working out the kinks? Sprint at least has been in the business a while. I bet in a couple years when you’re done with the instinct, iPhone will be perfect to switch to.
Take this all with a grain of salt though, since I stay away from cell phones all together. 😉 (Though I am thinking of giving in soon)
Thanks! That’s what I’m leaning toward, also! I have several friends who, like you, aren’t cell phone people, but I’ve always been a gadget lover, and I use my phone quite a lot for work, family AND fun! 🙂
Pictures
Hey buddy, Just talked to a friend of mine at work who has an I phone. So you can’t picture message but you can easily attach them to an email. Not the same I know but it’s something. Tough decision, unfortunately other the picture thing I’m no help.
Take care Spencer
Re: Pictures
Thanks Spence! Yeah, I’ve read that you can send them by email, but that’s not as fun! *laughing*
I am not ALONE!
hey there! joe2 here from who wants cake? & the ringwald theatre….i, too, have been obsessing over which phone to get and my Instinct is currently waiting for me at home all ready to be activated and played with! i’ve been totally crazy over reading all sorts of reviews and everything and just decided to GO FOR IT and have faith the browser issues will be updated and fixed soon…..i will be happy to give you my two-cents once i’ve played around with it a bit tonight.
joe2
Re: I am not ALONE!
Joe –
You are NOT ALONE! *Laughing*
How funny that we’re both dealing with the same issue! I would LOVE to hear what you think after checking out your phone today – hope it goes well, and it’s everything you wanted! Looking forward to your review!! 🙂
so…i’ve got an iphone and i love it. i’ve had none of the problems that the media seems to like to harp on. i’ve had no issues with service or anything of the like. it is super simple to use. i was looking at the instinct as well, and well, it just won out for me. no regrets. but, it all depends on what you want to do with it. the interface is so simple and fun to mess around with…it doesn’t feel like a chore to put in ppl’s names addresses and stuff like that…that was a huge selling point.
iphone also has a really cool gps system as well :)…the picture quality from videos i’ve loaded onto it is simply amazing. the fact that it can be hooked into my already existing itunes is really neat as well.
go with what you feel comfortable with, but i think a lot of the negativity surrounding the iphone is simply because of its name…i’m sure the instinct and every other phone out there has its issues, they just may not be as public.
i like the instinct, but what really pushed me over the edge is i feel the iphone is the direction phones are heading…
my two cents
Yeah, I’m a big fan of the iPhone! I’m glad you’re not having any trouble with yours – they’re definitely fun to play with. So much that I’ve been debating abandoning Sprint (and all the family and friends I’m “in network” with – that’s probably the biggest deal-breaker right now, followed closely by no picture messaging: those two are, frankly, what I use my phone for the most.) I also had ATT years ago, and was unhappy with them, and I’m not sure I want to go back… but I’ve heard from folks like you that the service has gotten better. Ah well, I’ve got another month to see how the Instinct shapes up, but I’m leaning that way… at least until Apple can bring the iPhone to Sprint!! 🙂
(Of course, that’s how I’m leaning TODAY. By the time October comes around, who knows?!)
Loves It!
hey tony! got home the other day and had my instinct waiting for me! it’s super sleek and a nice looking companion with my ipod. got it activated online and could make phone calls right away. my internet kicked in about 20 minutes later and within a couple hours all the rest of the on-demand features and such were working great. i was able to link my hotmail account to the phone in no time and that has been my fave feature as i’ve never had any sort of “fancy phone” before. the camera doesn’t have a flash which kinda blows, but whatever, thats why i have my digital camera, i guess! i enjoy the touch screen and the vibration “layout” with the phone. it’s nice when texting to have the option of three different ways to type. going online has been pretty simple although i enjoy surfing the net with some sort of stylus as i can’t seem to click in the small boxes with the tip of my finger so successfully. i’ve checked out the radio feature and that is pretty fun with quite a few options. reception and clarity has been leaps and bounds above my previous phone, that’s for sure. haven’t much used the GPS system, but excited to give it a whirl!
so far, so good. really enjoy it! let me know any questions you have and i’d be happy to let ya know my two cents! -joe2
Re: Loves It!
Joe! Thanks so much for your thoughts! After weighing my options, I’m going to try the Instinct! I’ll post more about it soon, and hope to hear from you as you work with yours! Let me know if you find anything cool! 🙂