After seeing the above advertisement at the website of Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S), I can see why the Samsung Instinct has become Sprint's hottest-selling phone with 3G capability ever in just over a month on the market. Sprint has sure pulled out all the stops to ensure its would-be customers that this phone is every bit as capable as the vaunted iPhone 3G. In fact, you feel like you are watching a movie by visiting www.sprint.com and seeing the entire Samsung Instinct advertisement -- complete with helicopters and a Batman-esque feel.

But, what's significant about Sprint's online marketing campaign for the Instinct is the integration with Google, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: GOOG) YouTube. Notice the red callout in the above picture. Samsung Instinct owners are being encouraged to shoot a home movie that includes shots of the Instinct handset. If you do that and then notify Sprint, the company will pay you $20.

This is an interesting marketing angle, and it's one I've never seen before. Is this the kind of advertising we'll see from companies in the future? Sprint will be throwing out $20 bills to anyone who creates a viral video on YouTube with their product prominently featured. I suppose that's cheaper than national TV airtime and probably will reach the intended audience for the Instinct handset as effectively as possible (the YouTube generation). I have to give Sprint some credit here -- this is a great marketing idea and plan and will help it compete with the iPhone 3G.

After having monitored blogs and news of the iPhone 3G launch all morning and afternoon, the general feeling I get is that the launch of the iPhone 3G could be considered nothing less than a disaster. Blame Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), blame AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) -- but if you were brave enough to "have to have" an iPhone 3G on launch day, you may have a need for a stress ball by now.

It appears that Apple's integration with AT&T's activation system didn't fare so well on this day. Both companies should have known, like June of last year, that it would be a super-busy day for the iPhone universe. In what seems like a commonplace event on large product launches, activation servers crashed, software updates failed (even for the older iPhone owners who wanted to updated to the newer software) and scores of customers were left without working iPhones as the in-store activation process was completely fubar'ed by both companies.

For Apple to have such an awesome piece of hardware and software in the iPhone 3G, working with an aging and piecemeal telecom carrier was unfortunately a necessity. After all, Apple does not own a national wireless network with high-speed data capability. But the customer process failed miserably today -- something that zealous and exuberant iPhone 3G buyers should not forget. Did you really, really need that iPhone 3G today? If your answer is yes (yeah, right), you should have expected a nightmare. For many of you, that was delivered rather nicely. Hope you kept up with your pulse, eh?

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal reported that Toyota Motor Corporation (NYSE: TM) is set to revamp its manufacturing operations in the U.S. in response to rising gasoline prices that have led to a shift toward fuel-efficient models. Officials at the auto maker said key moves may include dropping plans to produce the Highlander car-SUV crossover vehicles in a Tupelo, Mississippi plant, instead producing the Prius at the plant.
• Tomorrow Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) is set to launch its second version of the iPhone but it also will be opening its APP Store to software developers--an online bazaar--with the intent of bringing more applications to the phone as it has with music via its iTunes stores. Apple's goal is to turn the iPhone into a gadget that more resembles a personal computer, the Wall Street Journal reported.

OTHER PAPERS:

• According to sources, the South China Morning Post reported that Wynn Resorts Limited (NASDAQ: WYNN) is considering a secondary listing in Hong Kong that would raise as much as $3B. The source said that the fund-raising plan has yet to be approved that that the company is a "long way" from a share sale and "might never do it."

WEB SITES:

• In an interview, Bloomberg reported that Former St. Louis Federal Reserve President William Poole said there is an increasing chance the U.S. may need to bail out "insolvent" Federal National Mortgage Association (NYSE: FNM), or Fannie Mae, and Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (NYSE: FRE), or Freddie Mac. Poole said data provided show that the fair value of Fannie Mae's assets fell 66% to $12.2B in Q2, while Freddie Mac owed $5.2B more than its assets were worth during the quarter.

You would think that companies making standalone GPS devices would be making bank right now. The devices that never let you get lost when driving are important to many travelers, especially when you don't want to fumble with maps, let alone get lost and waste a bunch of expensive gas getting back on track. Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), one of the leading GPS makers, though, has seen tough times recently. Its shares have declined 56% recently. Why I'm not sure. I do know that it has nothing to do with Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)'s iPhone that's about to be released in a few weeks.

Apple's new 3G iPhone will have embedded GPS, which will make the gadget all the more useful. Regardless, though, will consumers be using their iPhones as replacements for full GPS devices in all those vehicles? Unless there is a decent vehicle mount kit available, it's hard to believe so. The iPhone does have the best chance at displacing more units from Garmin and other GPS makers like TomTom in the car navigation arena, but the entire GPS experience is what some folks probably forget about.

If you've ever used a GPS navigation program installed on a normal cellphone or smartphone, does it works seamlessly like a standalone product? Can you take and make calls while the GPS continues working in the background, giving you all those voice directions? What makes standalone GPS devices so valuable is that they work even when we're multitasking with phone calls. That's the kicker: the first time you miss a direction by voice because you're busy chatting on the phone, a GPS solution on top of a cellphone -- at least for driving purposes -- would become useless to the average consumer. I doubt Apple's upcoming solution will be this drab, but I continue to see a bright future for standalone GPS device manufacturers (although profits will continue to dwindle). Apple, as always, is not the only game in town. It will still be big for non-driving GPS uses, though.

Doug pointed out recently that the new Samsung Instinct most likely could not save Sprint Nextel Corp. (NYSE: S) from its current financial and customer woes. He's right -- one phone does not resurrect a company. However, the Instinct -- which looks and functions very similar to an Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone -- is still selling like hotcakes. My guess? It's all due to Apple, not Sprint.

The Instinct, which apparently has become Sprint's best-selling 3G phone product ever in a very short time, is an impressive device. Feature-for-feature, it's right there with the upcoming 3G iPhone about to be released in a few weeks. Independent research that counted the movement of Instinct phones at 100 Sprint stores around the country report that it's selling out fast. Sprint contends that the smartphone is the fastest-selling phone in Sprint's history up to this point.

But, to those customers of Sprint (new and old) who just can't see themselves joining AT&T, Inc. (NYSE: T) just to get an iPhone, the Instinct is apparently turning out to be a perfect equivalent. If Apple had never released the original iPhone, the Instinct may have never been born. Apple, as usual, has made other hardware companies realize that hardware needs to be elegant, and software needs to be way elegant. The clumsy designs and complex cellphone interfaces may soon be extinct, thanks to Apple. And, Sprint's sales of the Samsung Instinct will at least owe partial credit to the iPhone maker.

Minyanville's top dog, Todd Harrison, dares to ask in public what Wall Street types quietly consider in private. For more insight and ideas, visit www.Minyanville.com.

• If the next generation Apple (AAPL) iPhone is effectively a handheld computer, is the personal computer space a place to poke on the short side?

• What's the franchise value for Sun Microsystems (SUNW, er, JAVA)?
  
  
• Maybe that's the problem. In this ADD, immediate gratification world, perhaps folks don't remember that JAVA used to be SUNW?
  
  
Woah. Nelly?


Given that funky looking Gold Fields (GFI) chart, should I stress that I'm playing name through defined risk calls?


• In addition to the note that when I unwind my short crude I'm goning to sneak out of my long metal play, too?
  
  
• While I grabbed some tertiary financial exposure this morning, why is "Good traders know how to make money while great traders know how to take a loss" repeating in my keppe as I watch the action and overhang in Lehman (LEH)?
  
  
• Speaking of ticker symbols with G's in the front and I's behind, when do I revisit Gannett (GCI), which I pared nicely above $30 and kept some for the thesis?
  
  
Speaking of pairs, how do I get long Jo, short Blair?


R.P.

Positions in LEH, GFI, GCI

As expected, Apple announced today the launch of its next generation iPhone, and the new phone will come with a price tag that is $200 less than the current model. The new 3G iPhones are going to hit the market with a $199 price tag.

A big reason for the release of the the new iPhones is the desire by Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) to hit their goal of selling 10 million phones by the end of the year. The new phone will have faster Internet connection and satellite navigation capabilities. If you are like me, and have been postponing the purchase of a new phone in anticipation of today's announcement, you will have to wait a bit longer. The new phones will be available on July 11.

While the new phones will be about half the price of the current models, the monthly service plans will be a bit higher. Look for a $39.99 monthly plan, plus another $30 monthly fee for unlimited data. This works out to be about a $10 monthly increase, but considering the improvements of the new phones, not too bad of a deal if you ask me. Supposedly the new iPhones will be able to download data twice as fast as the current model.