lg voyager

The LG Voyager is not a larger version of the LG enV, though the two are both side-opening QWERTY clamshell phones. Instead, think of the Voyager as the phone the LG should have been, or would be for an extra $200, give or take. While we complained about the tiny external screen and lack of features on the enV, we'll have no such complaints about the Voyager. The face is dominated by a large touch screen. We don't have specific measurements, but upwards of 2.5-inches or more would be our best guess. The interface relies heavily on the touch screen, and includes plenty of icon-based menus and shortcuts to help navigate without having to open the clam.

Like the interface on the LG Venus, every aspect of the Verizon Wireless interface gets an upgrade to utilize the touch screen on the LG Voyager. We were especially pleased to find included functionality in the music player, as the simplistic controls and navigation on the V Cast player always bugged us. The phone gets the full host of V Cast services, including music, V Cast videos, VZ Navigator, and even V Cast Mobile TV. The TV service relies on a tiny, thin external antenna, a very dainty twig of metal that made us nervous even as our rep withdrew it from its slot on the side of the phone. We didn't get to see the service in action, as the beta version of the phone wasn't active on the MediaFLO network.

We like this phone's design, and can definitely see a market for it. Perhaps a slider keyboard would have made more sense, and cut down the number of non-touch screens on the phone, but the familial relationship to the LG enV might encourage some customers to swap up, once they've compared the two. On the inside, with the clamshell open, the Voyager is still a nice phone, though it isn't nearly as interesting.

What we like best about this phone, and the LG Venus, for that matter, is the improvements LG has made to Verizon Wireless' interface. Verizon Wireless believes, at least from what our reps told us, that users like to learn an interface and then find it useful on the next phone they buy. We don't buy it. Phones are improving too fast, with too many new features every season, and users want a phone that makes sense. Maybe it made sense to bury the touted HTML browser under the "Get It Now: News and Info" submenu in the past, but now, that's the last place we'd look.

The promise of touch screen phones like the Voyager and the Venus are in their adaptability. They can handle any feature, because their interface can adapt and change to fit the situation. If Verizon Wireless, or any manufacturer, neglects this concept, the feature will be doomed to novelty. The new Voyager and Venus phones begin to bridge the gap, and they definitely make the Verizon Wireless interface more pleasant and intuitive to use, but why hobble them from the start? We're more curious to see what LG would do without restraints. 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. Verizon Wireless plans to challenge Apple's iPhone by releasing touch- screen devices that browse the Web and play music.

The phones, from LG and Samsung, will go on sale within a few weeks, Verizon said Wednesday. The devices will join the BlackBerry Pearl in anchoring Verizon's product lineup this holiday season.

Verizon seeks to match the popularity of the iPhone, which reached sales of 1 million units in the first 74 days after it debuted June 29. AT&T, Verizon's larger rival, is the exclusive provider of wireless service for the iPhone. The device has a 3.5-inch touch screen and a built-in iPod music player.

Verizon is countering with LG's Voyager, which has a large touch screen. Unlike Apple's device, the Voyager has a mechanical keyboard as well. The company also will offer a touch-controlled phone from LG called Venus and a Samsung handset called Juke, both of which play music