The parade of iPhone lookalikes continues, including the Samsung Instinct due soon. While not a bad phone, it’s no match for the iPhone, according to Walt Mossberg at the Wall Street Journal.

"So far, competitors like the Instinct, while trying to look like iPhones, are still mainly voice devices with so-so computing features tacked on," Mr. Mossberg wrote.

The noted WSJ author also observed that the Instinct lacks the iPhone’s multitouch gestures and feels more like a touch sensitive ATM machine than a modern, cutting-edge smartphone.

In its favor, the Instinct offers a removable battery, something not found on the iphone, and a longer talk time than the iPhone 3G claims.

Unfortunately the Instict has some irritating problems. It’s onscreen keyboard was found to be harder to use than the iPhone’s and the device would unexpectedly flip from landscape to portrait mode.

"If you’re a devoted Sprint customer, or want to avoid AT&T, the Instinct is an OK choice. But it’s no iPhone," Mr. Mossberg concluded.

Unfortunately, while those observations will take some of the luster away from the Instinct, in a related story, Samsung continues to have an iron grip on its local mobile phone customers in South Korea, according to BusinessWeek on Monday.

Whether Samsung’s (and LG’s) success in South Korea is a blessing or a fatal distraction from the worldwide market remains to be seen. Meanwhile, the Instinct, which seems to be designed to compete with the first generation iPhone, according to Mr. Mossberg, will have strong competition from Apple’s iPhone 3G, due to ship at about the same time. In addition, observers expect that Apple will sooner or later strike a deal with South Korean carriers and start to test that customer loyalty to Samsung.