Wow. It's only the end of the first day and already I feel like I've seen and done it all. Seriously. I played Rock Band for the first time this morning, went to an "Internet Cafe" 180 feet above Las Vegas this afternoon, and saw a ton of new phones, accessories, and services in between. And then there was the guided tour of Nokia's massive booth on the show floor.
A few quick thoughts before Doug and I head over to the Bellagio to meet up with Courtney and check out the Mobile Focus event where we're sure to get a ton of hands-on time with all of the new handsets:
The Samsung/Sprint Instinct is definitely the front runner for biggest release of the show. You can get my detailed thoughts on the device in my dedicated write-up, but basically I think it's going to come down to whether or not consumers see Instinct as an iPhone wanna-be or a device that actually does more than just about any other consumer handset on the market (iPhone included), with the bonus of Rev. A high speed data, at a very competitive price. Check out our unedited (and perhaps slightly rambling) hands-on video with Instinct.
I only got a quick look at LG's Vu for AT&T and enV(2) today, but will get lots more time with them both tonight and when we tour LG's booth on Wednesday. I wasn't blown away by what I saw, I have to say. Not turned off, but not blown away.
Samsung showed off their overseas phones at Showstoppers last night and I'm honestly now just sick and tired of "all the cool phones" lacking US-compatible 3G data capabilities. Take a look at our video from last night - Soul is a gorgeous phone that's super-thin and packs a 5MP camera and nifty morphing touch pad. But it's not destined for a US release. Neither are Sony Ericsson's sleek new G and C series handsets nor a few of Nokia's latest. More and more I'm wanting a phone with a high quality camera and Xenon flash, but I feel like I shouldn't have to compromise on 3G data considering the price points of devices like Soul, the Nokia N82, and LG Viewty. It's really a shame the US handset market is so behind the times.
And be sure to check out the videos of the Instinct launch party and Nokia's "Press Conference in the Sky" to launch the WiMAX Edition N810 Internet Tablet. It's amazing what lengths these companies are going to to promote their new devices. And it's amazing what Vegas looks like on a clear day from 60 meters above the Strip!
