A year ago the iPhone's introduction set in motion huge development efforts at several of the major cell phone manufacturers and carriers, all focused on coming up with a response. The companies discarded many of the designs under way in exchange for models that would use a large touch screen display without physical buttons that would employ finger gestures.

One of the first results of these efforts is the new Instinct phone just introduced by Sprint and Samsung. It has a similar appearance to the iPhone, a black rectangle trimmed in a silver frame and a 3-inch color screen with just three touch buttons on the front. Because it looks so much like the iPhone it will inevitably be compared to it, fair or not.

First, the pluses: It's available with Sprint's Simply Everything $99/month pricing plan that's one of the best plans available from any of the carriers. The Instinct costs $129 and is a true 3G phone, the first using EVDO Rev A. It has a removable battery and, as if to emphasize that advantage over the iPhone, it even comes with a second battery that can be charged outside the phone.

But, the iPhone is much stronger in its user interface, browsing the Web, and the ability to work with applications being developed by third parties. The Instinct is a closed system subject to the applications Sprint chooses to provide.

Nevertheless, the Instinct is one of the most feature-filled smart phones and is easy to use. It's packed with features that can all be accessed with the $99 plan, including GPS and TV.

If there's any criticism, many of the functions are not as deep as they could be. For example, a radio player connects to stations over the Internet, a potentially huge feature. But stations are limited to a scattering of the lesser-known FM music stations and just one talk station. Compared to Kinoma (kinoma.com), an application on the Palm that gets thousands of stations, it's a disappointment.

The Instinct also has Sprint TV, which has mostly video clips rather than live programming. I tried checking the news on the ABC News station; it was a series of short videos from a newscast about 30 hours old.

The Instinct relies on different touch screen technology from the iPhone that also works with a stylus. I sometimes would have to press twice to get an on-screen key to register. But the display provides feedback that makes the phone vibrate when touched.

One convenient feature is the Favorites Screen that puts your favorite applications a single click away. The list of favorites can extend beyond the screen and are accessed by sliding your finger vertically, just as on the iPhone. Photos can also be scanned by sliding your finger, but the screen doesn't support zooming to change image size as on the iPhone.

I was able to set up a Google mail account quickly, but had no way to sync my contacts to the phone's phonebook. There is a way to use Sprint's online service to upload contacts and send to the phone, although I didn't evaluate it; the phone is limited to a maximum of 600 contacts, while I had more than a thousand. Also e-mail attachments are unable to be opened or read. That makes the phone targeted more for general consumers than the business set.

Browsing the Web was fast but only slightly better than what's found on mobile phones with smaller screens. Often the Instinct failed to take advantage of the large screen, and a Web page opened up in its mobile format, which displays lists of links rather than the actual page as seen on a computer screen.

Text entry uses an on-screen keyboard that opens in the landscape mode to provide bigger keys than the iPhone. With some applications I had to rotate between portrait and landscape modes to view the screen. There was no spelling correction and the keyboard layout was not always intuitive. I struggled to find the backspace key.

The Instinct has a built-in GPS with turn-by-turn directions that's one of its best features, and takes advantage of the large screen. Maps can be viewed in 2D and 3D and can display traffic. It can be used with the built-in address book to navigate to any of the addresses. You can even call in your destination to avoid typing it in.

The Instinct doesn't have WiFi, which limits you to use Sprint's network. While data connectivity is unlimited it means you can't connect to your home network. Other features included are a basic music player, 2 MB camera, voice dialing, and a variety of game demos. It also has a calendar, calculator and timer that look and work similar to the iPhone's.

Call quality was very good, better than the iPhone. Those I spoke with said I sounded clear and crisp with no distortion. And I heard their voices clearer than with the iPhone, which occasionally picked up static.

So what's the verdict? Matching the performance of the user interface of an iPhone would be hard to do in a year, or even two. But compared to most other phones, the Instinct is a very good phone and succeeds in offering many features that are easy to access and use, all at a very attractive price.

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Now Dell will begin bundling their service, called "Dell Video Chat," on Dell's new Studio laptops. Video chat will turn the computer into a video phone, allowing friends and family to stay in touch across the country or the world. The application is pre-installed on the Dell systems and is activated with one mouse click. sightspeed.com