LG Dare vs. Samsung Instinct

• The Contenders
• Sexiness
• Navigation
• Features
• Multimedia and Internet
• Call quality
• The winner is...

Round 2: Navigation

Do you need the manual to turn it on?

Samsung Instinct SPH-M800 - black (Sprint)

Sexiness is one thing, but are the devices easy to use? In Round 2, we examine the design and usability of the devices' navigation controls and keypad buttons.

Player	Donald	Bonnie	Nicole	Total
LG Dare (Verizon Wireless)	3 The navigation on the Dare could just as well be on a nontouch-screen phone. It feels like LG didn't think too hard about how to adapt the user interface to the touch screen, and not the other way around. I'm glad they threw haptic feedback into this, otherwise there'd be no indication that your input is having any effect.	3 I really like the drag-and-drop interface, but there's definitely a learning curve with the Dare. Let's just say the first time I picked up the phone, I stared at the Home screen for a couple of minutes trying to figure out how to get to the main menu.	3 The Dare definitely wins when it comes to the attractive user interface, but that doesn't mean it's as intuitive as the Instinct's. I had to spend a good amount of time flipping around in order to get used to where everything was.	9
Samsung Instinct SPH-M800 - black (Sprint)	4 Again, the Instinct's designers definitely took some cues from the iPhone when it came to hardware and software design. It paid off, because the Instinct's navigation is responsive and intuitive and you don't worry much about accidentally hitting the wrong feature.	4 The Samsung Instinct's interface is much easier to navigate than the Dare's. I like how everything is logically organized under the various tabs.	4 I didn't care for the Instinct's navigation interface--it just looks boring and clunky. But I'll concede that it's a ton easier to use, since all the functions are separated into tabs. Navigation goes to the Instinct.	12

Winner: Samsung Instinct