Physical Aspects

The story behind the Instinct's form factor is obvious - Samsung was looking to build something like Apple's iPhone. They have been reasonably successful in that regard. The design of the Instinct is very simple and elegant. The matte finish of the cell phone's rear cover is a nice change of pace in a world gone mad with gloss, and the large display and full touchscreen surface that covers the front of the device are framed nicely by a black chrome rim.

The phone has a very solid feel to it and a nice heft. At 127.6g (4.5oz) with a microSD card installed, it isn't going to win any low weight accolades, but I think that a device of this size, 116.5mm x 55.5mm x 12.5mm (4.6" x 2.2" x .5"), needs to have a fair amount of weight to keep from feeling cheap. There are few controls on the Instinct. The volume and voice command keys are black and on either edge of the phone, and the chrome camera and power keys are located on the right edge and the top of the phone, respectively. Users will also find a power/data port, a 3.5mm headset socket, and the microSD card slot - all of which have nice, attached covers. A rather simple camera with a self portrait mirror is all users will find out back.

Of course on a device such as the Instinct, the display is what really matters. In this case, the display is a 240x432 pixel resistive touchscreen unit that measures 3.2" on the diagonal. The 3 controls that sit below it are also touch based; they are the back key, the home key, and the phone key. While the display in general is quite sensitive and can be easily controlled with a finger tip or nail, I found the keys on the bottom - especially the back key - to be a bit problematic at times, requiring far more pressure than the rest of the screen. Overall, though, I consider the touchscreen on the Instinct to be probably the best resistive type touchscreen on the market today - at least when it comes to working well with fingers.

Samsung ships the Instinct with a fair array of accessories. A backup battery and a charger case for the battery are included in the box, as is the normal AC adapter. A USB cable and 2GB microSD card are also in the package. Lastly, Samsung also includes a stylus for the Instinct, though the Instinct itself has no stylus silo that it can be stored in.

Overall, Samsung did a fairly good job with the physical design of the M800 Instinct. The problems on the device stem largely from the software that runs on it, not from the hardware. From little things like the annoying 2 second press on the power key that is constantly required to unlock the device, to larger problems with the on-screen animations that make the user interface look less than real, is the software that will be what people talk about on the Instinct, not its physical design.