Verizon Releases Its iPhone Competitor

[Sunite]

Verizon Releases Its iPhone Competitor
By Barry Levine
November 21, 2007 9:17AM

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While the LG Voyager's user experience is not as "responsive" as the iPhone's, said Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart, it is definitely an iPhone competitor that will appeal to existing Verizon customers who want to stay with the carrier. Greengart praised the Voyager's large touch screen and a design that "fits nicely in your hand."

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   Hoping to add yet more treats to the holiday feast of new devices, Verizon Wireless announced this week the availability of two new phones -- the Voyager and the Venus, both made by LG.

Chief Marketing Officer Mike Lanman pointed out that the new phones offer both touch and tactile keypads, which Lanman described as a "winning combination that is rare on the market today."

The Voyager, which is being compared by some observers to Apple's iPhone, features a 2.8-inch external touch screen, an internal screen, a built-in music player, and soft keys. But, unlike the iPhone, it has a full Qwerty keypad that opens to the side, VibeTouch for tactile feedback, and 3G connectivity. It is priced at $300 after a $50 rebate and with a two-year contract, and goes on sale Wednesday.

Voyager Rap Song

If the Voyager is going to have a shot going against the iPhone, it will have to build buzz. Some signs of that level of interest are already appearing, such as a rap video on YouTube that literally sings the Voyager's praises.

"You know what I'm real sick of?" the singer raps. "People complaining about how bad their phones are." But the LG Voyager, he rhythmically continues, has a full HTML browser, mobile TV, full Qwerty keyboard, and touch screen. "The LG Voyager," he concludes, "is the iPhone destroyer."

The video, posted earlier this month and viewed nearly 30,000 times, was uploaded by LGVoyagerFan. He is reportedly a CBS employee in Baltimore named Rob Jackson, whose only connection to Verizon Wireless is that he loves the specs of the just-released device.

No rap videos have yet appeared on YouTube for the Venus, priced at $200 after a $50 rebate and also with a two-year contract. The Venus has dual external screens, the less-expensive model of which is touch-sensitive with touch-key vibration.

Both devices offer V-Cast Video, which is Verizon Wireless' multimedia service providing news, sports, and entertainment clips, and V-Cast Music, with over-the-air purchase and downloading from a catalog of more than 2.4 million songs. And both have a 2.0 megapixel camera, VZ Navigator capability, and a microSD memory slot for up to 8 GB of added memory.

Voyager 'Fabulous,' Venus a 'Mistake'

For Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart, the Voyager is "fabulous" but the Venus is a "mistake."

While the Voyager's user experience is not as "responsive" as the iPhone's, he said, it is definitely a competitor that will appeal to existing Verizon customers who want to stay with the carrier. Greengart praised the Voyager's large touch screen, a design that "fits nicely in your hand," the full Qwerty keyboard and full HTML browser, and the smooth video that is available with V-Cast Mobile TV.

Greengart said the Voyager's biggest shortcoming is that it's not a smartphone. Instead, it is a standalone device that doesn't sync with a user's music collection or data on a PC.

On the other hand, he said that the Venus is a "nice concept that was not executed well." The slider screen is thicker than it needs to be, he said, the interface makes some navigational tasks harder rather than easier, and, at its price point, there are better devices available.