CTIA show

Every year at CTIA we dole out praise for those companies that are deserving. CNET's cream of the crop awards recognize the best of the show in four categories: best cell phone, best smartphone, best accessory, and best service. Though the 2008 CTIA wasn't the most exciting on record, we still saw some pretty cool things in Las Vegas. And without further ado, here they are.

Samsung Instinct

(Credit: Sprint)

Best cell phone: Samsung Instinct
In some ways this wasn't a tough choice because so few cell phones were officially unveiled at CTIA. But even if it was facing a more crowded field, Sprint's Samsung Instinct still would be a top choice. Sure, we just got to see a preproduction model (we'll have to wait for June to see a final version) but even now we can see it has a lot of potential. Not only does it offer a boatload of features, but also it offers a sleek design with a full touch screen and an attractive and (seemingly) easy-to-use interface. Comparisons with the iPhone are obvious, and while the Instinct can't quite match Apple's device on the design front, it offers many more features on paper. As we've said before, Sprint could have quite a hit on its hands, as long as the Instinct delivers on its promises. Oh, and in case you're keeping score, this is Samsung's second win in a row.

Velocity 103

(Credit: Velocity Mobile)

Best smartphone: Velocity Mobile
Smartphones today tend to do a lot of the same things but just vary in design, which is fine but doesn't exactly get our pulses racing, you know? This is why we're amped on a new company called Velocity Mobile, which made its debut at CTIA 2008. The smartphone manufacturer introduced two new Windows Mobile devices, the Velocity 103 and the Velocity 111, and yes, they're still Windows Mobile but what we're really digging is the company's philosophy of simplicity and ease of use. Perhaps taking a few lessons from the Apple iPhone, Velocity has come up with its own user interface to make it easier for consumers to use the smartphones right of the box. Such enhancements include more familiar icons (similar to the PC experience), more customization to fit the user's lifestyle, and cool user interaction (for example, sliding panels). Unfortunately, we weren't able to see it in action since the working units were stuck on the monorail with Velocity's CEO but we find it to be real promising and look forward to checking out the devices and software when they debut in Q2 and Q3.

Sound ID HD300

(Credit: Sound ID)

Best accessory: Sound ID HD300
There were plenty of Bluetooth headsets to look at in this year's show, but few of them came close to our clear favorite, the Sound ID HD300. We're big fans of the Sound ID SM100, so we were excited to finally see a worthy successor. The HD300 may not look like much on the outside, but it promises even better audio quality and clarity than before. Sound ID is utilizing every trick in the book to improve the sound--a NoiseNavigation technology to automatically reduce wind and background noise, a PersonalSound mode to let you choose a "personalized" listening mode, as well as automatic volume adjustment. The HD300 also takes a departure from the other Sound ID headsets with a smaller and more discreet design.

Best Service: Dashwire
Crouching over your cell phone to view photos, send text messages, and update your bookmarks isn't the most efficient use of your brain--especially if there's a computer nearby. Dashwire.com, a six-month-old visual content management service for Windows Mobile phones, continues to add excellent features for responding, sharing, adding, and interacting with your phone's contacts, media, and communications. The addition of CallWave visual voicemail and threaded text conversations are smart, useful moves.

LG Vu

(Credit: LG)

Honorable mention: LG Vu
The LG Vu was one of the most noteworthy products at CTIA this year, and it wasn't just because it's one of the first phones to carry AT&T Mobile TV, AT&T's live TV service. The true winning factor lies in its 3-inch-wide touch-screen display, which impressed us with its color, resolution, and vibrating feedback whenever keys are pressed. We also liked that we could flip the phone to landscape mode to use the virtual QWERTY keyboard. Other features we liked include the 2.0-megapixel camera, full 3G support with access to AT&T Video Share and AT&T Mobile Music, a full HTML browser, and mobile e-mail. However, we already notice a few niggling problems, like the lack of Wi-Fi for example, but the overall product still left a positive first impression.

Though is carefully avoiding any direct comparisons with the iPhone, it's obvious that its new Samsung Instinct (SPH-M800) is meant to compete with Apple's device. They look almost the same (our Instinct slide show has a gallery of shots), they do a lot of the same things, and they rely heavily on touch screens and unique interfaces. These comparisons are inevitable and Samsung and Sprint are doing nothing to silence them. So Apple fanboys and slamboys, just take a deep breath before the flame wars begin.

I have to emphasize the Instinct is no iPhone killer, but I don't think one device ever will be. When you really think about it, the whole concept of an iPhone killer is ridiculous. Indeed, the iPhone is a good device that does many things well, and it's going to have a genuine appeal for a long time. And no matter what the iPhone critics say, some users will continue to love it no matter what.

Samsung's Instinct

(Credit: Sprint)

The other cell phone manufacturers know this, but so far their collective response to the iPhone has been simply to ignore it. But now, nine months after the iPhone hit stores, Samsung is trying a different tactic. The Instinct is the first cell phone I've seen that throws some serious competition Apple's way. Even at this early stage, the Instinct looks far superior to LG's Voyager, not only in how it looks but also in what it offers. Though I doubt the boys and girls in Cupertino will be losing much sleep over it, they shouldn't dismiss it completely. If the Instinct does everything Samsung promises--and more importantly, it does it well--it could steal away a whole class of users who like the idea of the iPhone, but don't want to switch to AT&T or fork over the cash for it. These "iPhone fence-sitters" (as I call them) appear to be the target market for the Instinct.

To the untrained eye, the Instinct and the iPhone may appear to be two versions of the same device. Both have large touch screens with few external controls and both handsets have just about the same dimensions. The iPhone is noticeably sleeker on the whole, but the Instinct is lovely in its own right. The display is gorgeous, and it has a comfortable and solid feel in the hand. Also, I liked the extra navigation controls, even if they are touch sensitive. On the downside, the Instinct lacks the iPhone's multitouch interface, but it did offer a cool panning feature in the Web browser. By tilting the phone up and down or side to side, you can move around the Web page. Also, you can also drag around a page with your finger.

It's all about the interface.

(Credit: Sprint)

But cosmetic differences aside, it is the Instinct's user interface that poses the most serious threat to Apple. The iPhone's slick and easy-to-use interface is one of its biggest attractions and Samsung has taken note. I've been able to handle only an Instinct preproduction unit so far (real devices won't be out until June) but it looks quite promising. Sure, it was noticeably buggy and a bit sluggish but Samsung appears to have laid the groundwork for something cool to come. Finding my way through the menus took little acclimation; there were a lot of sharp icons and graphics and I loved the nifty Favorites menu. Though I don't think that the Instinct's menus are quite as pretty as the iPhone's, perhaps they don't need to be. Ease of use is the real key and the Instinct may just have it.

One area where the Instincts trumps the iPhone (at least for the moment) is in its feature set. It offers many goodies the iPhone lacks including 3G, stereo Bluetooth, multimedia messaging, and video recording. You can also use the onscreen keyboard in landscape mode when you're typing a message. While all of this could, and probably will, change when the 3G iPhone is unveiled, it's a mark in the Instinct's favor for now. What's more, the Instinct also has its own version of Visual Voicemail. I didn't get to see it in action but the fact that it's there is interesting enough.

Of course, only the next few months will tell just how the Instinct plays out. By introducing the Instinct so early before release and by unveiling it at a high-profile event like CTIA, Samsung and Sprint take a big risk. Though they will get a lot of positive attention for now, the two companies have to deliver on their promises. As I mentioned earlier, there's a whole crowd of people who like the idea of the iPhone, but still haven't made the jump for whatever reason. The Instinct's design and features have a lot of potential for winning them over, and the the sub-$300 price tag won't hurt. All Sprint has to do is not muck it up between now and release time.

Phew! Day 1 of CTIA 2008 is in the bag, and as usual, the opening day provided plenty of action. Here are some of the highlights of the day.

Samsung was certainly a show stopper as it revealed its Samsung Instinct, an iPhone competitor that features a sleek touch screen interface and a boatload of features. Senior Editor Kent German has all the details for you and says it look promising. Kent also got some hands-on time with AT&T's new Motorola Z9, which left him with some mixed feelings. And Kyocera kept busy as it announced a whole fleet of new cell phones, including the very sexy Neo E1100. Check out our Kyocera slide show to see all the new handsets.

Meanwhile, Associate Editor Nicole Lee found plenty to look at the LG booth as the company announced the LG EnV(2) for Verizon Wireless and the LG Vu for AT&T. The latter is particularly noteworthy, not only for its stunning design and touch-screen interface, but also because it supports the new AT&T Mobile TV service. Being our resident Bluetooth headset goddess, Nicole also got a chance to out some of the latest models, including the Motorola H690, the Sound ID H300, and the "fashionable" Plantronics Discover 925.

Last but not least, in the land of smartphones, there were several key announcements. First, Microsoft announced the latest version of its mobile operating system, Windows Mobile 6.1, which features a number of enhancements to make Windows Mobile smartphones easier to set up and navigate. You can expect carriers and device manufacturers to roll out upgrades pretty soon. In fact, HTC revealed at the show that it will offer the GSM HTC Touch Dual in the United States with Windows Mobile 6.1 and 3G support. Verizon Wireless also snagged its own HTC Touch, dubbed the Verizon Wireless XV6900. Research in Motion shared the love with several carriers as it released the RIM BlackBerry Pearl 8120 for T-Mobile and the RIM BlackBerry Curve 8330 for Verizon Wireless and Sprint.

Now, these were just some of the highlights, and as you can tell, there's plenty to see here at CTIA 2008. We'll be back at it on Day 2, bringing you all the latest news and products via blogs, photos, and videos, so keep it dialed in here--same bat channel, same bat place.

The Instinct has one big touch screen. Click the image to view our slide show.

(Credit: Sprint)

Last year in Orlando, Samsung's UpStage was one of the biggest announcements of the CTIA show. And this year in Las Vegas, Samsung may have done it again. Today the company announced the Samsung Instinct SPH-M800, which will land at Sprint this summer. The Instinct looks a lot like a certain cell phone from Apple, but Sprint (thankfully) isn't positioning it as an iPhone killer. Rather, a Sprint spokeswoman called it just an iPhone competitor. We're not quite sure what to make of that, either.

But whatever you call it, the Instinct is undeniably eye-catching. (See our Samsung Instinct slide show.) The predominately touch-screen device sports a thin candy-bar design (4.57 inches by 2.17 inches by 0.49 inch; 4.4 ounces) in basic black. At first glance it resembles not only the iPhone, but also the LG FK700 and the Samsung SGH-F490. Indeed, its strong similarity to the latter is more than just a coincidence. Except for a feature changes and a unique interface, the Instinct is a recycled CDMA version of the SGH-F490, which we saw two months ago at the GSMA World Congress.

Yes, it's another thin phone.

(Credit: Sprint)

Features
The Instinct's feature set is well stocked with a host of goodies that should make any media phone fan proud. Inside the 3G handset, which is Sprint's first device to have EV-DO Rev. A at birth, you'll find a 2-megapixel camera, access to the Sprint Music Store for wireless downloads, stereo Bluetooth, audible caller ID, voice dialing and commands, a full HTML browser, a digital music player that shows album art, support for Sprint Radio and Sprint TV, phone as modem capability, Microsoft Live Search, and integrated GPS with Sprint navigation.

Instant messaging is not onboard, but the Instinct will display the full thread of the text conversation. You'll also get multimedia messaging and access to personal and corporate e-mail. And in a surprising move, the Instinct will have some form of Visual Voicemail (yes, Sprint says it should be capitalized), which up until has been exclusive to the iPhone. In case you haven't heard (and really, you should have), Visual Voicemail allows you to pick and choose which messages you want to hear. It's quite a cool feature, but we we wonder if AT&T and Apple are calling their copyright lawyers.

The Instinct features a full alpahbetic keyboard

(Credit: Sprint)

Interface
As mentioned earlier, the Instinct relies heavily on a large (3.1-inch, 262,000 color) touch screen, which will be your interface for almost all of the phone's functions including placing and ending calls. Below the display are three separate touch controls: a back button, a Home key, and a shortcut control that will take you to the calling menu. In an improvement over the iPhone, the display gives localized tactile feedback, and the texting and e-mailing onscreen keyboard will display in a landscape orientation. The user-programmable Favorites menu looked pretty nifty, as well, and we like the multitasking capability, which allows you to move between different functions pretty handily.

But even with those features, the menu interface isn't quite as slick as the iPhone's. It's not that it doesn't have promise; it's just that it falls a bit short in both usability and beauty. That could be because we were using a beta version; we'll have to wait for a final model to give our firm assessment.

Performance
We were glad to see that the phone comes with a 2GB memory slot and two batteries, each of which promises 5.75 hours of talk time. The 3.5mm headset jack is another plus as it lets us use our own headphones without any kind of adapter. That's very cool indeed.

So on the whole the Instinct looks promising, but at this early stage it's too early to give it a thorough shakedown--it won't be available for purchase until June for a price of "under $300."