If the next-generation iPhone weren't about to address some of the very same weaknesses the Instinct seeks to exploit, Sprint and Samsung's creation would look a lot more appealing. But while the Instinct is a solid effort in its own right (and one worth considering if AT&T's service and rates don't sit right with you), it still has a Brand X feeling to it. My review unit, though generally feature-rich and very capable, also had a few noteworthy glitches.

Let's start with the strengths. The device felt good in my hand. It's narrower and somewhat thicker than the current iPhone, but close enough to the general profile for that not to matter.

Things start off promisingly when you power the Instinct on and unlock the screen by pressing firmly on a hardware button on the top edge (somewhat similar to the way the iPhone gets going, although without the finger swipe). You see a nice-looking starlit sky on the 3.1-inch display, with the current time at the bottom.

But then the device switches to a rather lackluster Favorites screen--basically an empty grayscale screen that invites you to populate it with your most frequently used applications. Though this screen seems intended to show off customization capabilities that the iPhone lacks, it isn't particularly attractive; Samsung would have done better to have the unit default to the Main screen, which is filled with iPhone-like icons for sending messages and e-mail, as well as for GPS navigation.

Overall, Samsung did a pretty good job on the touch screen. It's a resistive touch screen, so if you prefer you can use the little enclosed stylus instead of your fingertip. (But then you'll have to worry about where to store the thing--the device has no place for you to slide it. All you have for it is a slit in the rather cheesy plastic case that's included.)

I had no difficulty getting along with only my index finger, however. I was happy to find a setting to optimize the touch screen for southpaws, along with adjustments for calibration and touch sensitivity. I also liked the unit's haptic feedback, small vibrations in response to touches (something the original iPhone didn't offer). And wherever scrolling was possible, the unit was responsive.

Navigation is reasonably intuitive. Startup illuminates three touch-sensitive icons embedded in the hardware underneath the display. The Home icon at the center always brings you to applications. If you want to make a phone call, you press the Phone icon to the right, which brings up the speed-dial menu. The third of the hardware icons, a left-pointing arrow on the left side, lets you step back to the previously active screen.

Within the two principal modes, four small squares at the bottom of the display afford access to all other options. For example, if you're in phone mode, the leftmost square always returns you to the speed-dial screen; additional squares bring up your contacts, your call history, and a software dialpad. On the applications side, tapping the squares (from left to right) brings you to the aforementioned Favorites and Main screens, a Fun screen with multimedia functions such as music and video players and the camera, and the Web browser.

The Instinct also comes with first-rate voice-command features. Simply press the voice-input ('Speech to Action') button on the right side, and you can initiate calls or text messages to contacts in your address book, or launch key applications. Training is not required, but the device does afford a brief training session for users who believe that the device isn't understanding them.

As a phone, the Instinct works well. I particularly liked the large dialpad, with its big green Call button. Voices sounded good to me, and call recipients said I sounded good too. The contacts display is large and readable; tapping a contact number to initiate a call is easy.

But the battery life isn't great--it came in at about 5.5 hours in our tests, making the Instinct one of the poorer performers in this respect (though not as bad as Sprint's Palm Centro). In contrast, the iPhone ran the full 10 hours of our test. (In fairness, Sprint claims only 5.75 hours of talk time in its Instinct literature.)