And you thought T-Mobile and Sprint were
sniffing the good stuff when they demanded
$350 for the HTC Touch Pro2. Shortly after
Instinct HD boxes
began showing up at select Sprint stores, the flagging carrier has finally come forward with an official ship date (9/27) and price. Try as we may, we still can't figure out why exactly "HD" is tacked on the end of this thing; the 480 x 320 display is decidedly average, it can't play back high-def content on the device itself, and the "HD" video output is a feature that approximately 3.8 Earthlings will ever use (on a phone like this, anyway). Compounding the problem is the remarkable lack of detail in the specifications -- Sprint simply swears that its 5 megapixel camera and video record mode are HD, but it fails to provide any elaboration whatsoever. Other specs include WiFi, EV-DO Rev A support, Opera Mobile 9.7, an ambient light sensor, haptic feedback and an accelerometer, but even those can't help justify the $249.99 (after a $100 mail-in rebate and a two-year agreement) asking price. Hey Sprint -- we thought you guys were
actually looking to
gain subscribers. Right?
posted Sep 24th 2009 10:32AM
Wow, this phone looked to have promise for whatever HD feature it had, but without any specific ideas, I guess this is going to be a pass.
Wtf. Are you kidding me? This isnt Aprint fools and it isnt funny! I waited 5 months for this? I passed up on a Pre at launch day to pay $249 for a dumbphone? Not only passing up on a Pre but the fact that this is $100 more expensive than a Pre right now? No wonder they didn't advertise this phone. They must be positioning this to make the Pre and Hero look like a good deal. Which makes no sense to actually compete with yourself while you're having to fend off $99 iphones... I've wanted this phone for a very long time but I dont know that I can justify that type of pricing.
The last thing that pisses me off is that due to an error at the warehouse processing a return of my previous(defective) handset I lost my eligibility in the system. So I have to buy thru telesales so they can do a manual override. Which means I also have to wait till Oct 11 to get this...if I really want it...F you Sprint. I'm a loyal 8 year long "premier" customer who is seriously tired of getting crapped on. Seems like no matter how patiently I try to be I get accidentally or in some instances($250 intentionally) crapped on by you guys.
Oh well, I might still buy this phone, I dont know if I can swallow my pride enough to do it. That or I might just buy a Pre, or take the $200 hit and buy a *F*ing iphone for NINTEY NINE DOLLARS.
hahah in your face sprint !!!
Whoa fail. Do the people setting phone prices not understand technology or what?
Didn't you guys get the email? "HD" stands for Huge Device :p
Wow. I said before that this phone looked good, but not $350.00 good. I take it back. Come on Sprint. Where do you people get off!?
HD at $350???
HD = Hard Drugs.
As in they did Hard Drugs when choosing a price for this product.
:) lol
Darren, you're obviously a Sprint-hater, with no semblance of objectivity. Please let someone else do reviews of Sprint equipment that has, oh say, a more balanced perspective than that of a spoiled 10 yr old. Seriously.
I happend to agree with Darren, and you would never call me Sprint hater! I've been with them for almost 10 yrs and loved (almost) every day! But still to market this phone and sell it as "HD" when all it can really do is put out HD quality, is sort of over hyping an really minimal HD function! If it would playback HD that would be something to write home about! And as far as the price goes, how can they really justify it, when the Hero which is a much more anticipated and is, technologically, almost exactly the same (if not better running Android) is priced $70 cheaper! It seems as if Sprint is condemming this phone to weak sales and they want to get out every dollar they can of the ones they do sell! That is really the only expination I was able to come up with for this rediculous price!
Seriously? You're rationalizing this away as he's a Sprint hater? Objectivity? He's right on the ball with his call. I love Sprint and the Instinct S30 more than most but this is just unacceptable.
Eludium-Q36 - Agreed. I'd like to see a review of the phone. HD out is no inexpensive thing. Not only that but getting an HD camcorder in a phone has got to be worth some kind of premium. If Darren doesn't want to pay that premium, I'm sure the Sanyo flip his mom bought him will work just fine...
Im sticking to my Sprint MM-A900
It captures 720p30 HD video. It also has an 80 fps mode (at lower resolution) and outputs over HDMI (with an adapter cable) at 720p.
does anyone know if best buy mobile has the 30-day return policy?
my plan is to get this on the 27th, test it to see if it's any good and if it fails, exchange it with the hero on the 11th of next month...
thnx
^^^^^Yup, they have a 30 day return policy. Asked them myself today. I'm planning to do the same thing as you.
This phone is a fail... I like sprint, but the pricing on this thing is awful... there is no way this dumb phone is worth more than the hero...
But Anyway, I'm quite content with my Pre...
Best Buy will have it for 199 with no mail in rebates, it is in their new Buyers guides so they can price match to it. Go there....
Here's a video of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I5KacIMmZ44
I'm sticking with my Motorola StarTac, hot phone.