The launch of Instinct Series of Samsung by Sprint Nextel was one of the show stoppers of CTIA show 2008. Through these years Samsung has been improving substantially upon its models to bring a smart phone which provides the best customer satisfaction. Voila, Samsung Instinct HD aka dash also duped as SPH-M850 was born. Samsung m850 could be considered as the successor of Samsung Instinct S30. Both the Samsung products have a lot in common, including the sturdy design and the sleek angles the handset makes. However, the Samsung m850 is a little bit more top heavy than the Instinct S30.
A lot of attractive features of the m850 capture ones attention. (Not to name the hefty price tag!). The phone has a remarkably convenient user interface and spots a beautiful display. All the hoopla around the phone of providing HD support is indeed true. The 5MP HD support camera provides one of the best quality photos and videos. The device has a 3.2 inch display screen similar to the S30. However, the screen offers more vibrant colors than the latter. The screen resolution of the m850 is 480×320 pixels. The touch functionality is also very responsive in m850. Touch sensitivity can be adjusted and you easily switch between right and left hand orientations. Vibration feedback intensity of the phone can be deactivated or adjusted upon user’s discretion. The screen brightness and backlight time can also be adjusted but, the text size cannot be changed. As with most Samsung Instinct range products, the m850 also comes with a proximity sensor.
A full QWERTY keyboard is available in m850 with large buttons. The keyboard can be aligned either vertically or horizontally by tipping the phone or by pressing the touch control. All the basic punctuations are surfaced with the alphabetic controls on the virtual display. However, for other symbols and numbers you have to switch to another keyboard. The keyboard can also be hidden to a certain extent to show the writing area clearly. The main drawback of the phone is that, the browser of m850, Opera 9.7 does take some time for familiarization. Another drawback of the phone is the presence of memory card behind the battery cover. The phone book of m850 can hold only a mere 600 contacts. It is also so far not the best touch screen handsets do offer.
Even though the m850 is not a smart phone it offers all the features and plus beyond any basic phone. The added features of the phone include Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connection. Spirit Navigation, PC syncing, Sprint visual voice mail and instant messaging are the other notable features. Gesture controls are also possible with this phone. By placing the phone in a face down position an incoming call or the snooze of the alarm can be easily activated. This feature we believe is an adaptation from a previous Jet version of Samsung. 512 MB internal memory is available in the phone which can be upgraded to a peak value of 32 GB. The Instincts original EV-DO rev service is also available in this handset. The bandwidth provided is CDMA2000 1X 1900/800. GPS navigation is also possible in the handset. The rated talk time of the phone is about 348 minutes. Even though the phone is loaded with a lot of features, the price is a little bit on the high.