Verizon, where's your iPhone killer?
Verizon Wireless unveiled four new handsets it plans to have on the market for the Holiday 2007 season, but unless I missed something, there wasn't an iPhone killer among them.
(Credit:
Verizon Wireless)
On Tuesday, Verizon Wireless invited various reporters, such as myself, to a hotel in New York City to take a look at new handsets expected to launch before Thanksgiving just in time for the holiday season. Company representative said that these phones were just a sampling of what's to come, with more handsets expected to hit store shelves in the next couple of months. Maybe I am being a bit too harsh, but I wasn't really blown away by any of the phones that Verizon showed off.
The new Samsung Juke will work as the company's entry-level music phone. It's cute. If the LG Chocolate is the size of a candy bar, the Juke is the width of two Kit-Kat candy bars stuck together. Instead of flipping the phone up or sliding away the top piece to reveal the keypad, users will "flick" or swivel a piece of the phone to the side to punch in numbers. Honestly, I had a hard time figuring out how to open it and someone had to show me. But as far as a basic phone goes, the Juke is cute and it's design is kind of interesting, although it reminded me of a fatter version of Motorola's Krzr.
Verizon Wireless also said it will be offering the popular BlackBerry Pearl for the first time. This is great. But the phone is already more than a year old, and it's been available from AT&T and T-Mobile for several months. The big difference, Verizon execs say, is this version of the Pearl operates over Verizon's 3G network. That should make Web surfing and emailing faster on Verizon's network than it is on AT&T's and T-Mobile's networks.
Then there are the two new LG phones, which look like Verizon's best attempt at getting something cool on the market to compete with Apple's iPhone. But honestly, I think they both fall very short from the mark.
First, there is the Venus by LG. This slider phone essentially looks like the LG Chocolate, but it's a little sleeker and more stylish. Instead of buttons on the bottom half of the front panel, it has a touch screen. But this touch-sensitive screen is limited in its abilities, and it really doesn't do anything that a set of buttons couldn't handle. To make it a little easier to tell if you've actually made a selection, LG has added a little vibration that you can feel under your finger when something is selected.
Then there is the Voyager by LG. This is the highest-end device that Verizon Wireless is showing off for the holidays. The phone's entire face is a touch screen, but you can flip up the top half of the phone to get to a full QWERTY keyboard. While the touch screen looks cool, it simply doesn't hold a candle to the functionality of the iPhone. You can't pinch sections to blow them up, and the picture doesn't automatically adjust depending on how the phone is held. It looked to me that all you really could do with the touch screen is basic navigation.
As for the rest of the phone's functionality, it operates over the 3G network to allow for fast Web browsing. It provides personal e-mail and the Verizon representative said it could be synced with work e-mail, too. The phone, which is considered a top-of-the line "multimedia" phone, also has built-in speakers. So when you lift the top of the phone to get to the keyboard, the speakers are on either side. The phone also works with Verizon's live TV service called VCast TV, which uses Qualcomm's MediaFlo network to deliver real time TV programming.
Pricing for the Voyager and most of the other phones isn't yet available. So it's difficult to compare pricing with Apple's $400 iPhone. At any rate, I don't think that people impressed by the iPhone and hoping to get one this holiday season will be happy with any of these Verizon Wireless phones in their stockings.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story referred to the LG Voyager as the LG Navigator. The name of the phone is Voyager. Verizon Wireless offers a navigation application called VZ Navigator.
Marguerite Reardon has been a CNET News reporter since 2004, covering cell phone services, broadband, citywide Wi-Fi, the Net neutrality debate, as well as the ongoing consolidation of the phone companies. E-mail Maggie. 
as bad as Steve Jobs has said during is reason for not offering 3G
on iPhones?
Because if battery life is comparable, then Apple are milking people
off.
With over 200 hundred patents applied for, companies can't
simply copy-cat the phone or leap past it.
Microsoft will try since that's all they can do these day as well as
other makers of phones and software.
Apple dominates in innovation. Remember that!
Cnet would do better next time by not sending a Apple fanboy to do an honest review. You didn't even come back to the office with the correct name of the phone.
phones out there that are pretty much just like every other
phone out there. Nothing new, nothing innovative, nothing
note-worthy.
You say "This is going to be a great phone for people who don't
want to switch to AT&T..." There are hundreds of other phones
that do the same thing.
Millions of people enjoy the iPhone with it's sleek design, its
simple-to-use interface, its gorgeous screen and next
generation features, yet you choose to stick us with the "Apple
fanboy" label. Which is about as tired and lame as the phone you
think is going to be great.
We like Apple's products: they're easy to use, they work without
a hassle, they're elegant and they last for years. So go ahead,
label Apple users as fanboys, that is if you can keep your tired,
crappy Edsels to work.
Unless someone comes out with something as evolutionary as
the iPhone, don't expect anyone to get too excited about
yesterday's news.
Sure it has fun features, but intuitive? Uh, "pinch to expand a picture?" That is not intuitive... you "learned" that, but that does not make it "the new standard" by any stretch of the imagination.
While I can not (obvious) state whether any of these phones will have better quality call reception than the iPhone, the fact of the matter is, that most of them probably will (heck, the iPhone doesn't even have the best call quality on AT&T's network).
since... probably Windows 95, is not even that good of a phone!"
On what are you basing your arguments? Have you owned an
iPhone and compared it with others? Have you read the
overwhelmingly positive reviews?
"While I can not (obvious) state whether any of these phones will
have better quality call reception than the iPhone, the fact of the
matter is, that most of them probably will"
In once sentence you show your ignorance three different ways:
First you state that you cannot (obvious?) state whether any of
these phones will have better quality";
Second, in the next breath you state the FACT OF THE MATTER
IS;
Third, you follow your FACT with "most of them PROBABLY will";
in other words you don't know what you're talking about.
I OWN an iPhone AND have owned other cellphones over the
years and can state that my call quality and reception are
excellent and that the iPhone's feature set is far and away the
best of any cellphone I've ever used.
And here is a key point: my statement is based on actually
USING a product, not just drivel so I can see myself in print.
And the negative comment you chose to make about the Voyager was with the Voyager's screen - "You can't pinch sections to blow them up, and the picture doesn't automatically adjust depending on how the phone is held." WHOAH! That's such a hug deal! Blowing up pictures on my mobile phone screen is one of the most important pieces of functionality a phone should have. Please give me a break!
Of course you didn't bother mentioning that the Voyager has built in instant messenger clients, a full HTML browser, a microSD card slot with support for microSDHC cards up to 8gb and with Verizon subsidies will probably cost about half as much as the iPhone.
as displayed in the photo) had a look that was, well, familiar to
any Mac and Adobe user.
The VZ Navigator, Music and Calendar icons are direct knock-
offs of the icons for Safari, iTunes and Calendar, respectively
(the Navigator icon is especially shameless).
Also, the My Pictures icon is a knock-off of the last-gen version
of Photoshop Elements.
Way to think out of the box, guys.
"Maybe I am being a bit too harsh, but I wasn't really blown away by any of the phones that Verizon showed off."
WOW, are you an Apple employee? I would like to see a wee bit use of objectivity. OK, so the LG models won't kill the iPhone, I'll grant you that. For the Verizon Wireless executive to even say so is rubbish. However, you fail to compare the EVO vs. the EDGE networks. In fact you mention the 3G only in passing like it isn't that big of a deal. I know many power users who are bummed that Apple and AT&T missed that mark myself included. Usually an Apple enthusiast myself, I am waiting for the 3G version iPhone 2.0 release but the LG Voyager certainly does entice due to data transfer speed alone.
Then there's this:
"Honestly, I had a hard time figuring out how to open it and someone had to show me."
Marguerite Reardon, I think I would refrain from disqualifying statements like this if you want us (the readers) to lend you respect as an authority on technology. Otherwise you just come off sounding like another Verizon hater.
Why do you think people are risking turning their phone into an iBrick just to be able to use their phone on another network?
Verizon is a corporation and as such, they're going to take the path of least effort to dominate the market. There's no need to invest in a Verizon version of the iPhone so long as their network is so much better than AT&T.
If I were in the market for a faux-smartphone (and I didn't hate VZW), I would definitely get the Voyager over the iPhone. It seems to do (and have) more of stuff that matters and none of the stuff that doesn't (For instance: pinch-to-zoom is pretty retarded IMO; Give me a button that zooms, please).
the damage they are doing to the iphone itself.
To load third party applications, locked everybody on one network, don't have a cam corder, stuck them on edge and are trying to punish them for running away (Something that?s clearly illegal.). The i-phone is i-Crap. Flipping thru album art with your finger is hardly worth the extra hassle especially when Treos have been flipping thru album art for years thanks to easy to use buttons and 3rd party applications.
Sure some of the i-phones features are innovative or ?cool? like its ability to follow user orientation & two finger recognition. But when you really take the time to analyze the phones other short comings it?s just not worth the hassle.
The I-phone is not a smart phone it?s a dumb phone. On features alone Verison is on the money. ?It?s just a phone? If I wanted a low tech phone I would definitely buy Verison?s it over the I phone. Hell even the Chinese i-phone knock off that?s floating around on the market & running windows mobile is more capable than both these phones .(Go figure )
To sun this up. the Treo is a full blown convergence device That does GPS navigation, photos, Video, dictation, surf the web with 3G (cable speed), Play Mp3?s/ videos or streaming Music/ videos, receives push email, lets you view & edit Microsoft word, PowerPoint, Excel. Documents. Can be used as an external card reader & of course it?s a phone.
The i- Phone can play Mp3s, view video & surf the web on 2G & wi-fi (btw so can a Treo. Got to love 3rd party developers) but it can?t load 3rd party applications so GPS is out, as well as thousands of other cool software.
No cool software.. i-Phone = not cool.
Now some of you are saying well subscription services are the future so the i- phone is the future. NOT! You believe this because it?s what apple is telling you. However the truth is this technology was tried in the past and it failed miserably. Hell just last night my cable went down for about 2 hours. Do you really want a service you must pay for that?s not secure & you cannot depend on 24-7 or in rural areas? The past has shown us most people don?t so many annalists are expecting this to be a big flop.
But then apples users are used to flops which explain its small Pc market share. Something that Apple tries to brain wash us into believing is some form of impressive exclusivity. Here is a reality check for all of you. Most of Apples computers are made out of the same crappie components found in some of the cheapest PCs on the market today And OSX. is honestly stuck in the stone ages In terms of functionality & choices. BTW Jobs -- people hate having to use command lines to uninstall applications or do finger acrobatics to delete files. ?Hell? just closing applications is a big hassle. But they sure are Purdy.. Morons!
the Treo 680 that I purchased in January of this year for over
$300 (including accessories) was the worst phone I have ever
owned. Not only was the call quality terrible, but the phone
suffers from a poor user interface (every app behaves
differently), hangs up on every attempt at a conference call and
is constantly crashes when attempting to launch third party
apps, which are worthless to begin with. That's OK, because I
replaced it with the iPhone, which is unquestionably the best
tech product I have ever purchased in my life. I paid $299,
however it's worth $1,000 - it is indeed that great.
It is also obvious that someone who is so obsessively geeked
into their PDA that you probably don't have a life outside of your
aggressive compulsive mutterings. It is also obvious that you
have never really used to any extent OSX or the Iphone. I am a
duel user of MS and Apple and have been for 22 years. The
elegance of the Apple products is in their user interface,
something that you obviously can't comprehend. Oh, by the way
MACS are #1 in reliability and have been for years and only an
idiot would use the terminal to remove a MAC application!
video don't be fooled by the marketing. What makes the iphone
isn't the features of the device so much as it is the interface...the
usability. Take one look at the LG Voyager preview (7Min) on
google video, and then watch the Apple videos on the iphone.
Then ask yourself just how much the one is like the other. The
simple answer is the LG Voyager is an okay wannabe...but not even
close to a killer.
considering your nickname is "microsoft slayer," i'd have to say you're an Apple fan boy at best.
- So Annoying
- by lavern October 26, 2007 6:57 AM PDT
- Why does everything have to be an apple-Killer? Why can't there be different phones or products for folks who like different features. Now certainly the Iphone is a very nice phone, I am not saying otherwise. BUT why cant I choose the obvious feature set this phone has? Lets be real there are advantages to having the LG over the Iphone, just a matter of whether or not those appeal to you? It would be nice to see articles addressing such topics, not just useless crap written in like 5 minutes.
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