Sprint Nextel Corp. announced Wednesday it set the price for iPhone’s rival, The Instinct, at $130.

Following steep customer losses, Sprint said it would spend more than $100 million to promote the touch-screen phone, which will be launched on June 20.

Made by Samsung Electronics, the smartphone will probably be one of iPhone’s most serious competitors, although analysts said it would be difficult for Instinct to compete with the new iPhone model which will be sold at $199 starting July 11.

At a telecommunications industry conference in Las Vegas, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse couldn’t refrain saying a couple of words about the competition, warning buyers that the new iPhone might not rise to their expectations.

"One competitor has announced a new 3G device. But keep in mind that the 3G coverage could be relatively small, so the user experience could be disappointing to many," Hesse said in a speech Wednesday, according to Reuters.

He also praised Sprint’s development of WiMax, and emerging high-speed wireless Internet technology that other rivals do not own. WiMax is supposed to cover entire cities, offering fast-speed Web access for laptops, cellphones and other devices.

Sprint’s Instinct has three permanent buttons at the bottom and four software buttons that are commonly used in most phones, while the majority of applications are only one or two jumps away from the main screen, which makes it easy to find them.

The device, which will go on sale for $130 with a two-year voice and data contract from Sprint and a $100 rebate, features a 2-megapixel camera for both stills and videos. Even though its 2GB microSD card means just one-fourth the storage of the iPhone 3G, it can be upgraded to 8GB.

The Instinct features GPS-enabled video and audio driving directions. Its system is powered by TeleNav, including more than 10 million local listings.

As for the Instinct’s opponent, two versions are to be released on the market: the 8-gigabyte edition at $199, and the 16-gigabyte model at $299.