Review of Samsung's curvy new Instinct S30 for Sprint

Samsung M810 Instinct S30

Samsung M810 Instinct S30

Samsung M810 Instinct S30

The Samsung SPH-M810 Instinct S30, often referred to as the Instinct Mini in the rumor mill, is a new version of the very popular Samsung Instinct that includes most all of the same features, but packaged in a far nicer design. If the spec sheet of the original left you wanting for more, the Instinct S30 might not interest you, but if you were turned off by the original's plain Jane design, then the S30 might be just the ticket.

Physical Aspects

In terms of pure physical design, the new Samsung Instinct S30 has very little in common with the original Instinct except for the large touchscreen display. The S30 features gently rounded corners, sweeping curves, and a new color scheme that makes it look quite different from the plain rectangular slab that was the original Instinct.

And while it appears to be smaller than the original, the Instinct S30 is actually both longer and thicker. The new curves make its 118mm x 14.5mm x 55mm (4.6in x .6in x 2.2in) dimensions look and feel smaller, even though they aren't. At 109.9g (3.9oz), the S30 is quite a bit lighter than the older version, though. The Instinct S30's 240 x 432 pixel resistive touchscreen^(INFO) display hasn't changed, and it works well overall. The touch sensitive area below the display is used for the call send, home, and back buttons. Hardware keys, such as those on the Samsung Finesse, would have been better, but these still work adequately.

The hardware controls on the device are all located along its edges. The power/lock button is up top, voice command and camera shutter on the right edge, and volume on the left edge. The covers for the Samsung proprietary power port, the 3.5mm audio headphone port, and the microSDHC^(INFO) memory card slot are also good. We really would have preferred a micro-USB power/data port, however.