lg venus

We were enthusiastic enough about the interface and hardware design of the new LG Venus even before our Verizon Wireless rep slid the phone open to reveal a numeric keypad. The Venus has a unique screen. Only the bottom half is touch, and there is a visible break between the touch portion and the regular, top half. The keypad is a standard 12-key, but from what we saw in our hands-on demo, there won't be too much need to slide the phone open.

The touch half is put to very good use, with buttons that change shape and function depending on what's on top. In the time we spent with the phone, we were very impressed with the lengths LG has gone to improve the stodgy Verizon Wireless interface. Everything looks better, and works smoother, thanks to the touch screen. From the basic menus to the music player, the phone had a deep interface that was intuitive to use. We especially liked the haptic feedback, which gives a small vibration when you touch a button on the touch screen.

The phone is a full-fledged 3G V Cast phone, so you'll get all the usual amenities, including VZ Navigator and V Cast Videos and Music. No V Cast Mobile TV, for that you'll need to upgrade to the Voyager, LG's even-larger new touch screen phone. Of interest, the phone will accept microSDHC cards, in capacities that are currently stretching towards 8GB, and should eventually max out around 32GB. Music can be played back through stereo Bluetooth headphones, naturally. The phone also features a 2-megapixel camera around back.

The LG Venus will be available in November. The price has yet to be determined, but it will fall somewhere between the LG Chocolate, which is currently $150, and the LG Voyager, which will cost an arm and a leg. News has been leaked that Verizon is all set to release its new range of handsets from the mobile world. Samsung Juke, BlackBerry Pearl, LG Venus and LG Voyager are the new devices to see the light of the day.

All the four mobile phones are expected to roll out at the same time. To know more about the devices read on.

The Samsung Juke, also named Samsung U470, features 2GB of storage, A2DP Bluetooth and a 1.3 megapixel camera. BlackBerry Pearl sports 2 megapixel camera, A2DP Bluetooth and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Next come the LG phones, starting with the Venus, which is also called the LG VX8800, offers miniSD expansion, A2DP Bluetooth, a 2 megapixel camera, some pretty cool touchscreen capabilities and vibration feedback. The LG Voyager, known as the VX10000, comes with a large touchscreen, along with a slider that provides a QWERTY keyboard and yet another decently sized screen. Both the screens are QVGA ones. It also features an impressive full HTML browser, microSD expansion, 2 megapixel camera, A2DP and built-in stereo speakers.

The Samsung Juke, BlackBerry Pearl, LG Venus and LG Voyager mobile devices are expected to be available in the coming few months.

Remember those spy shots of the TV-ready LG enV-like clamshell from a few weeks back? Well, now it's official, and I got a hands-on look in New York yesterday. Set for Verizon Wireless, the upcoming LG Voyager will indeed have a jumbo touch screen, along with the enV's QWERTY keypad hidden beneath the flip. Also included: Verizon's V Cast Mobile TV and a two-megapixel camera.

Slated to arrive in November (no pricing details yet, although I'm guessing it'll be in the $200-$250 range, with service), the Voyager comes with a slick, Flash-powered touch screen, complete with a quartet of icons along the bottom of the display, kind of like...oh right, the iPhone. The icons and menu screens morph, shrink, and slide as you tap the screen, a nice change from the dull, static menus you'll typically find on Verizon phones, and you can compose text messages on the touch display―although you'll have to use a 12-button virtual keypad to do so.

Opening the Voyager reveals its full QWERTY keypad, along with an internal LCD (non-touch) that looks a bit larger than the enV's main display. From here, you can access your e-mail accounts (I'm guessing there's support for major consumer e-mail services, but not Exchange e-mail), plus instant messaging, V Cast music (a microSD expansion port allows for up to 8GB of storage), and about eight streaming channels of V Cast Mobile TV. There's also support for stereo Bluetooth headsets, plus a two-megapixel camera for on-the-go snapshots.

Verizon also had a few other phones to show off yesterday:


LG Venus: A nifty slider with dual external displays―the bottom one has touch-sensitive navigation controls, while the top has Flash-based animated menus. Available in November (no pricing yet, but should be a bit cheaper than the Voyager), the Venus also comes with V Cast Music/Video access (although just streaming video clips rather than full-on V Cast Mobile TV), up to 8GB of expandable memory, stereo Bluetooth, and a two-megapixel camera.
BlackBerry Pearl: Basically a CDMA version of the old Pearl, except this time with EV-DO support, making it the first 3G version of the popular handset.
Samsung Juke: Here's a strange one―a long, narrow phone that swivels open like a jackknife, revealing a small screen and a glossy keypad. The budget music phone doesn't support 3G, so no full-track music downloads; instead, you side-load your tunes using Windows Media Player. Also on board: a VGA camera, 2GB of internal memory (no memory expansion), and support for stereo Bluetooth. Look for the Juke to arrive this month for about $100.


Update: So the big media outlets are picking up on the LG Voyager story and calling it an "iPhone rival"―a thought that honestly never occurred to me, mainly because there's little comparison beyond the external touch-screen display. Frankly, the Voyager strikes me as a warmed over enV, and its interface, while snazzier than the standard Verizon menus, can't hold a candle to the iPhone's truly ground-breaking UI. And yes, the Voyager has EV-DO access, but lacks the iPhone's Wi-Fi abilities. All the "iPhone killer" talk sounds pretty empty to me.