NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Instinct, Sprint Nextel Corp's answer to the iPhone, will sell for $130 after rebate, Sprint said on Wednesday.


Sprint, which has been suffering from steep customer losses, has said it will spend more than $100 million to market the touch-screen Instinct, made by Samsung Electronics , in hopes the phone can help turn around its fortunes.

This was about three times the marketing budget for the biggest phone launch in 2007 by Sprint, which has been bleeding subscribers to rivals such as AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless, a venture of Verizon Communications and Vodafone Group Plc .

Apple Inc's iPhone is sold exclusively by AT&T.

Analysts say it will be tough for Instinct to compete with a new, high-speed iPhone model due to go on sale for $199 on July 11.

Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile service, said the $130 price for the Instinct includes a two-year service contract and a $100 rebate by mail. First announced in early April, the Instinct is expected to go on sale June 20.

(Reporting by Franklin Paul and Sinead Carew; editing by John Wallace)

© Copyright 2008 Reuters.

Photo:
Samsung Instinct Details