Verizon Tries New Phones To Compete W/ iPhone
10.03.07 - 03:05pm
With the holiday shopping spree coming up wireless carriers and cell phone providers are desperately trying to come up with a device that will compete with Apple’s iPhone. Problem is, everything seems to fall just a little flat.
Verizon is trying to release competitive products by using new LG and Samsung phones. They are also trying to make the iPhone seem less impervious. “The Apple iPhone shook things up. If you look closely at the iPhone, it’s just an ordinary phone in an extraordinary package,” said Jeff Kagan, a wireless and telecom industry analyst. “That’s what this Verizon Wireless phone is doing. It is competing with the iPhone in this segment of the cell phone marketplace. It is Verizon’s answer to AT&T’s and Apple’s iPhone. I fully expect Sprint, T-Mobile, and a variety of other carriers — large and small — to come out with their version.”
“Their version” however falls short of the iPhone even though they may look similar. The LG voyager is the closest to the iPhone with a similar look and a large external touch screen. The screen however has none of the iPhone’s so cool capabilities such as zooming in with a pinch of the fingers and most will probably use the QWERTY keypad that is available when you slide the touch screen sideways. The Voyager does however use the faster 3G network with full web capabilities. It also has a removable microSC memory slot which holds up to 8GB of memory, built-in speakers and works with Verizon’s live TV service called VCast TV which will deliver real time TV programming.
If you have your heart set on an iPhone, I don’t think that the Voyager — or LG’s brand — is strong enough to overcome that,” said Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart, who tested a beta version of the device. “However, LG has crammed a tremendous amount of entertainment technology into a nice package, and Verizon Wireless subscribers looking for a high-end multimedia phone will definitely want to put this at the top of their holiday wish list.”
Also included in the Verizon holiday lineup are the LG Venus with two dual front screens. Verizon calls the Venus a “music-centric slim, stylish slider”. Second, the Juke by Samsung which can flick open 180 degrees to reveal a keypad and 2GB of storage for music. The Juke also has a VGA camera with night shot features and Bluetooth stereo support. Last the Blackberry Pearl 8130, which was introduced a year ago but is for the first time being offered on Verizon’s high-speed wireless broadband network called EV-Do.
No word on pricing for the phones which will be released in November.
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