Successor to Samsung's Instinct lands on Verizon - not Sprint, not AT&T

The Instinct phone has been one of Sprint's bigger success stories of 2008, a year of struggle and at least an attempt at a comeback. But now, Verizon looks poised to pull the rug out from under Sprint here too.

The original formula for an "iPhone killer" in the marketplace has been a device which really does look like Apple's model on the surface, really does slide those tiles around the main screen, and really does present Web pages that look like Web pages. With 2009 around the corner, the formula is diverging into something less like a work-alike and more like real competition: How can a high-class phone address the customer who wants something that the iPhone and AT&T cannot provide?

Sprint tapped into that reservoir earlier this year with Samsung's Instinct, becoming a bright spot for a carrier that otherwise has been clawing its way back to the good graces of the market. But last June in Asia, Samsung premiered the Omnia, widely perceived as the Instinct's successor, to rave reviews throughout that continent as well as Europe the following month.

This morning, we learned the Omnia -- originally released as a quad-band GSM/EDGE phone with HSDPA, unlike the Instinct which is CDMA with EV-DO Rev. A -- will be making its first landing on American shores with Verizon Wireless. That's a big surprise because Verizon's current US network is still CDMA.

Now, Sprint looks like it has to play catch-up in the feature department yet again.

It's also another scoop for VZW after several months of rumors claiming AT&T would be the first to offer the device, which was already available in quad-band GSM form in Europe. Those rumors led to AT&T customers blaming the carrier for failing to deliver, even though no concrete evidence exists that it had ever planned to offer the Omnia besides a few telltale digits on a prototype model presented to the FCC.

At first, the Instinct's innovative touchscreen features were attributed to Samsung's choice not to go with Windows Mobile. But the Omnia is a Windows Mobile phone, which enables Samsung to premiere a specialized front-end it's calling "TouchWiz."

Unlike the iPhone, the Omnia has an on-screen display that functions like a miniature PC desktop. Along the left side dock are gadget-like functions, some of which can be dragged onto the desktop with a finger or stylus. It makes the engaging of applications a more deliberate act -- maybe not necessarily simpler, but certainly with fewer chances of having to hit the Undo key.

It's Windows Mobile that's enabling manufacturers such as Samsung to experiment with their own approaches to desktop organization. Last September, HTC unveiled its TouchFLO concept, also being used for Windows Mobile phones like its Touch Pro.

Surprisingly, though, while the Omnia relies on Windows Mobile for everything else, its Web browser will be Opera 9.5 Mobile, which could provide users with a smoother flow much more comparable to the iPhone's Safari.

And the Omnia's numbers are bigger, in all the right places: a 5 megapixel camera compared to the Instinct's 2 Mp; and 8 or 16 GB of flash memory, as opposed to 2 GB expandable to 8 GB.

There's also a big checkmark beside "Wi-Fi" for the Omnia, where there's a big missing hole beside it for the Instinct.

Availability to online customers and VZW's business clients will begin tomorrow (Nov. 26), though as we've seen with that carrier just this week, "availability" can be a variable thing. The price will be $249.99 after a $70 mail-in rebate and with a two-year agreement. Right now, the Instinct has a clear advantage in the price department, at $129.99 after a $100 rebate and with a two-year agreement; and Sprint continues to offer its compelling "Simply Everything" data plan starting at about $70 per month, with most plans averaging $99; VZW's plan is as high as $119 per month for voice and data combined.