Sprint gains the Instinct, but can it 'kill' the iPhone?

After Apple's announcement earlier in the week regarding plans to launch iPhone 2.0 for a lower price of $199.99, Samsung announced that its Instinct smart phone will launch on June 20 with a similar $199.99 price tag...after you take those rebates into account.

With some observers calling it the first possible "iPhone killer," Instinct has a 3.1" TFT LCD screen, supports 240 x 432 resolution, 2 Mp camera, microSD slot, 32 MB internal memory, MP3 player, video support, full Internet, and Bluetooth support. The phone measures 4.5" x 2.17" x 0.49", weighs 4.4 ounces, and thus far works on the Sprint EV-DO Rev. A network.

Below the 3.1" screen lies three buttons: Phone, Home and Back. The Back button is especially important because Sprint hopes it will make browsing through the phone easier than with the iPhone.

Current iPhone owners, to their dismay, are unable to swap out their internal battery without sending the phone to a local Apple distribution center. In an apparent response to customer frustration, Samsung will offer an additional battery with the phone, which users can easily swap out on their own.

Some other differences: The Instinct can record video, while the iPhone can only capture stills. Instinct supports picture messaging; can offer live, streaming TV, and all applications can be easily updated using the phone's network (although that's a feature it will soon have in common with the iPhone).

But Instinct also has some drawbacks: Its 3.1-inch display has lower resolution, it lacks multi-touch capability, and it's missing the buzz that happens nowadays when a phone gets its own public SDK.

Beginning June 20, Instinct customers will initially have to make a $449.99 purchase through Sprint, with a $150 instant rebate and a $100 mail-in rebate to all customers who sign a two-year phone agreement -- which is how the carrier arrives at $199. And Sprint is forcing all Instinct owners to sign up for its Sprint Everything or Simply Everything mobile phone plan, either of which offers more benefits but costs more than a regular phone plan.