CNET Editor's rating: 8.3 out of 10
Reviewed by
Kent German
Review date: 11/16/07
The good: The LG Voyager VX10000 has a cutting-edge design with a brilliant touch screen and a spacious keyboard. It offers a generous features set that includes EV-DO support, V Cast Mobile TV Bluetooth, a top-notch Web browser, and an integrated GPS application. And if that's not enough, its call quality was excellent.
The bad: The LG Voyager VX10000's camera lacks such extra options as a flash and Wi-Fi. The touch screen can be clunky at times, and the streaming video quality and EV-DO connection speed were uneven.
The bottom line: Though we had some minor complaints here and there, the Voyager's sleek design, generous feature set and excellent performance make it the best LG messaging and multimedia phone by far.
It's become a rite of passage that the autumn season brings more than pumpkins and turkey dinners; it also brings another high-end messaging cell phone from LG and Verizon Wireless. Two years ago, we said hello to the LG VX9800; last year, it was the LG enV VX99000; and now in 2007, we greet the next model in the series, the highly anticipated LG Voyager VX10000. More of a thorough revamp than a simple redesign, the Voyager features everything that we liked from the VX9800 and the enV, but it raises the bar immensely by offering redesigned controls, V Cast Mobile TV, and a huge external touch screen that's both luscious and user-friendly.
While some cell phone watchers have hailed the Voyager as the "iPhone killer," we prefer not to use the expression since it assumes that the iPhone is the device that every other cell phone should be measured against. Also, in many ways the iPhone will always be in a distinct class. But that said, the Voyager VX10000 is one handset that can match--and also surpass--the iPhone in many ways. Wi-Fi is an obvious and disappointing omission, but the Voyager offers many things the iPhone lacks, including 3G support, multimedia messaging, stereo Bluetooth, and an integrated GPS application. It's too bad that all that lavishness comes at such a high price ($299 with a two-year contract), but if you can afford it, the Voyager won't let you down. To find accessories for this phone, see our cell phone ringtones and accessories guide.
Design
From the outset, the LG Voyager VX10000 looks more like the iPhone than it does its VX9800 and enV predecessors. Gone are the exterior keypad and tiny external display; instead you're greeted by a vibrant touch screen that dominates the front face of the Voyager. As you'd expect from a messaging phone, the Voyager is rather bulky. At 4.64 by 2.12 by 0.71 inches, the Voyager is exactly as tall as the enV, but it's also a bit wider when measured across the front face. Though the change from the VX9900 is noticeable, the Voyager manages to pack its keyboard as well as a long list of features into a trim profile that's a quarter of an inch trimmer than its forerunner's. And at 4.69 ounces, it weighs in at a half an ounce lighter. The result is an eye-catching and slick design that is far more stylish than both the previous LG handsets. It also has a solid feel in the hand and the hinge construction is sturdy.
The touch screen measures 2.81 inches and supports 262,000 colors in a 400x240 pixel resolution. With sharp colors, graphics, and animation, it's a massive improvement over the tiny and ineffective displays on the VX9800 and the enV. And instead of supporting only certain features, you can use the touch screen to access almost all of the Voyager's offerings. In standby mode, the display shows the date, the time, battery life, signal strength, and photo caller ID. It also works as a viewfinder for the camera when the phone is open. You can change the backlight time, the menu font style, and the dialing font size.
The Voyager's large external display is pleasing to the eye.
To get started using the Voyager, just move your finger to the four controls at the bottom the bottom of the display (if the display is frozen, there's an onscreen unlock control). From left to right, the buttons open the messaging menu, activate the onscreen dialpad for making calls, access the main menu, and open your contacts list. Alternatively, you can activate a shortcuts menu by tapping the top part of the display. On the whole, we were pleased with our navigation experience. Selecting an option requires a firm touch, so we didn't have many problems with pressing a command accidentally. If you're having trouble, you can reset the screen's calibration but it's too bad you can't alter the touch sensitivity as well. While it lacks the iPhone's multitouch functionality, and it's resolution isn't quite as crisp, the Voyager's display counters with a nifty and useful offering of its own. Like the Chocolate VX8550, the Voyager features tactile feedback on its touch controls. You can adjust the length and intensity of the vibrating feedback, which is a nice feature.
The Voyager features an icon-based menu system.
Beyond simple tapping, you also can manipulate the Voyager by holding your finger to the screen and moving it around. Using this method, you can scroll through long menus and move around a Web page, but we had to practice a few times before we mastered either task. For example, when scrolling through the main menu pages, we had to be careful not to select one of the options accidentally, which we did a few times. We got the hang of it eventually, but even then it felt a tad awkward. In the V Cast menus, you can use the right-hand scroll bar as a more user-friendly alternative, but in other places that option is not available. Is it too much too ask for a little consistency?
The Voyager also has inconsistent methods for entering text on the touch screen. When typing a text message, we could use only the standard nine-digit keypad. Yes, we realize that there's a keyboard inside for your messaging needs, but the external display does support a full QWERTY keyboard for typing URLs while surfing the Web (among other things). Yet we liked that, in either case, the onscreen keys are large enough to avoid mistakes during fast typing. And it goes without saying that the tactile feedback marks a big improvement over the iPhone.
The only navigation buttons on the front of the Voyager are a Clear key and the Talk and End/power buttons. When the display is in standby mode, the Clear key also activates the voice-dialing function (with a short press) and starts the voice recorder (with a long press). Though those shortcuts are useful, it was a bit annoying to press the button accidentally and hear "Please say a command." Completing the exterior are a volume rocker, a camera shutter, and a display-locking switch on the left spine, while the MicroSD card slot and a 2.5mm headset jack sit on the right spine. The charger port sits on the bottom of the phone next to an antenna that extends for V Cast Mobile TV broadcasts. The camera lens sits on the back of the phone, though it's disappointing that LG removed both the lens cover and the flash. Granted, the cover isn't totally necessary, but we expect a flash on a 2-megapixel camera phone.
Inside, the Voyager is just as attractive as it is on the outside. You're drawn immediately to the huge screen that sits between the stereo speakers. In a smart move, LG made the Voyager's internal display the same size as the exterior screen and gave it the same lovely resolution, customization options, and menu interface. It may not offer touch controls, but it's a big leap over its counterpart on the enV, and it does its job very well. And in another welcome improvement over the VX9900, the Voyager rests evenly on a table when open. Just be aware that here again, the left spine controls are difficult to access unless the Voyager is open the full 180 degrees.
The navigation array hasn't moved from its place just to the left of the QWERTY keyboard, but LG redesigned it slightly. Though this toggle remains square, the OK button is now circular and slightly recessed, while the entire array is black instead of silver. Happily, the changes didn't have an effect on the control's usability, as we still had an easy time breezing through the menus. The toggle can be set as a shortcut to four user-defined functions while the rest of the navigation controls include the normal Talk and End/Power buttons, a Clear key, and a speakerphone shortcut. The familiar soft keys sit just below the display, but we like that they're a tad larger here. Like on the VX9800 and the enV, the placement of the aforementioned OK button far to the left of the display can be disconcerting on at first.
The Voyager has a spacious, user-friendly keyboard. The internal display is nice as well.
The alphabetic keypad remains is one of the best we've seen on a cell phone. Not only is entire arrangement quite spacious but the keys are also a tad larger and more tactile than on the enV. You get are the same Shift, symbol, and Enter keys, but LG replaced the enV's e-mail button with a control that opens a user-programmable shortcut menu. While most of the alphanumeric keys are black, three are colored gray to indicate that they double as gameplay controls. Lastly, we like that LG kept the second space bar to the left of the Z button, but we'd still prefer it to be in the middle of the keyboard as it is on many smart phones.
Features
Though there's a lot to say about the Voyager's design, that doesn't mean the handset skipped on features. By all means, it packs quite a wallop inside, but we'll start with the basics first. The Voyager offers a 1,000-contact phone book with room in each entry for entry for five phone numbers and two e-mail addresses. You can save contacts to groups and pair them with a photo and any of 21 polyphonic ring tones. There's no field for notes in each contract entry, which is unusual.
Other essentials include a vibrate mode, text and multimedia messaging (the iPhone lacks MMS), a calendar, an alarm clock, a world clock, a stopwatch, a notepad, a tip calculator, and a voice memo recorder. For more demanding users, the Voyager also comes with speaker-independent voice commands and dialing, USB mass storage, instant messaging, and a text-to-speech feature. Bluetooth 1.2 is onboard as well, with profiles for headsets, dial-up networking, file transfer, object push, and A2DP stereo sound (the iPhone doesn't offer a stereo profile). Unfortunately, PC syncing for your contacts and calendar is not integrated, which limits the Voyager's usability for road warriors. Also, while the handset supports e-mail, the POP3 application isn't as user-friendly as on the iPhone. It's regrettable that the VX10000 doesn't offer Wi-Fi, particularly since it's so geared for browsing the Internet (see below). While the integrated 3G is more than adequate for Web surfing, we'd much prefer having a choice. But this being Verizon, it's obvious, but not surprising, that the carrier prefers that you pay for the use of its 3G network. The Voyager comes with 180MB of shared memory, which is quite generous, but you're better off saving to a memory card. The MicroSD card slot can accommodate cards as large as 8GB.
The speakerphone can be activated one of two ways: by opening the Voyager when you're on a call, or by dialing a number with the handset open. In either case, you can then deactivate the speakerphone by closing the Voyager or by pressing the dedicated button next to the internal navigation toggle. Opening and closing the phone will also toggle between the external and internal displays automatically. In most cases, your current task won't be interrupted.
As an EV-DO phone, the Voyager supports the full range of Verizon's 3G services, including the V Cast streaming video service and the V Cast music store. The music player interface has been fine-tuned compared with other Verizon music phones, but it's still pretty minimalist. Player options include the usual limited shuffle and repeat modes, but V Cast Music also will recommend other songs as based on your playlist. In addition to entertainment applications, the Voyager also comes preloaded with Verizon's VZ Navigator GPS service.
With so many multimedia features included on the Voyager, it's difficult to name one offering as the best of the bunch, but if one comes close it would have to be Verizon's stellar V Cast Mobile TV service. With the $15 per month Basic package, you get eight channels: CBS Mobile, Comedy Central, ESPN Mobile TV, Fox Mobile, MTV, NBC 2Go, NBC News 2Go, and Nickelodeon. Not all the offerings are "live" as in simulcast; some of the content is timeshifted, others delivered specifically for mobile viewers. Mobile TV is currently available in 25 U.S. markets, with more to come. For full details see our full review of Mobile TV or the LG VX9400 review.
The Voyager's has a solid 2-megapixel camera, though it's short on a few options. And frankly, we were hoping that LG would bump up the resolution from that of the enV. You can take pictures in four resolutions (1,600x1,200; 1,280x960; 640x480; 320x240) and choose from four color effects and four white-balance settings. There's also a 2.5x digital zoom (unusable at the highest resolution), spot metering, a brightness control, a night mode, a self timer, and three shutter sounds (plus a silent option). The nifty autofocus is carried over from the enV; it's quite useful, as it helped us to the keep the phone steady and eliminates blurriness when taking our shots. The controls are easy to use, as long as you can access those buttons on the left spine--remember, you must have the Voyager fully open--and you're careful not to confuse them with the soft keys. And as we said earlier, we were hoping for a flash.
The Voyager's camera doesn't have a flash, which is disappointing.
We like that when taking photos you can use the full display as a viewfinder, but it's too bad that the same isn't true when you're viewing images form your album. In that case, the pictures take up only part of the display. Also, while it's great that you can se you can switch to the external display for vanity shots, it takes a few too many steps to get you there. Unlike the enV, you can access the camera's menus on the external display, but the touch interface is a bit clunky. For the most part, photo quality was quite good, but it was somewhat inconsistent. The majority of our images features bright color resolution with sharp definition. On a few other occasions, however, our photos were washed out and a tad blurry. The camera seems to work best when it's held completely still, for which the autofocus helps. Dim conditions are tricky without a flash.
The Voyager took admirable photos.
The camcorder takes clips with sound in two resolutions (320x240 and 176x144) with sound, and it has a set of editing options similar to that of the still camera. Clips meant for multimedia messages are limited to 30 seconds; otherwise you can shoot for as long as the available memory permits. You can use the external display to record videos and even film yourself when the phone is open. Though a message on the external display will command you to hold the Voyager horizontally in order to film, it's not completely necessary that you do so. It's just that filming in landscape mode will better represent the frame's true size. As with photos from your album, filmed clips will take up only a portion of the display. Videos were comparable with the enV, which is to say they're decent if you hold the camera steady. On the other hand, the camera couldn't handle quick movements.
With a full HMTL browser, the Voyager offers a great surfing experience that almost rivals the iPhone's. The external display renders full Web pages in all their glory; there are no clunky WAP pages to be seen. It won't support flash but you can click through multiple pages, view photos, and select links at will. As mentioned earlier, you can maneuver through pages by sweeping your finger cross the display while getting the tactile feedback. Though the motion isn't as fluid as on the iPhone, and it can be a bit tricky to your select preferred link on a crowded page, LG deserves a lot of credit for presenting the mobile Internet in this form. Like so much else that's new, it may not be perfect, but it is big step ahead. And even without Wi-Fi, it ups the ante over the iPhone by offering the Web in 3G. You can use the internal display to view the full Web pages as well, but using the toggle to navigate is tedious.
You can personalize the Voyager with a variety of color themes, wallpaper, screen savers, and clock formats, and you can write a personalized banner. We were surprised that the Voyager offers one full game with Pac-Man. Usually, Verizon doesn't give us any games.
Performance
We tested the dual-band (CDMA 800/1900; EV-DO) in San Francisco and Los Angeles using Verizon Wireless service. Call quality was quite admirable. The signal remained strong and was free of static or interference. Also, voices sounded natural, and we enjoyed plenty of volume--even when talking on a noisy street. Our only complaint was there was a slight hissing sound on our end. Still, it didn't happen all the time, so it wasn't a bother.
Callers reported satisfying conditions on their end. They could hear us plainly, and the audio was clear. In fact, some of our friends couldn't tell we were using a cell phone. They didn't encounter the hissing noise, but a couple of callers said we sounded slightly tinny. Automated calling systems could distinguish our commands as well, even when we were talking on a noisy street.
Speakerphone calls were also agreeable. The volume was louder than we expected, and the audio clarity was some of best we've encountered on a speakerphone. Callers reported the same conditions, but on the whole we had the best experience when talking in a quiet room. As for Bluetooth calls, we successfully paired a headset and experienced decent call quality. Like with most touch-screen phones, the external display locks automatically during calls to avoid an accidental hang-up. You can unlock it by pressing the aforementioned unlock icon in the lower-left corner. That's not an issue for the most part, except for when you need to use the dialpad while on a call.
The EV-DO connection was relatively strong as measured by the number of reception bars on the screen, yet our actual experience was somewhat mixed. V Cast videos loaded in about 15 seconds, which is more or less average, and navigating through the V Cast menus was speedy. Downloading a game took just a few seconds as well, and surfing the Web was relatively zippy. Web pages such as Yahoo and CNET loaded in about 10 to 15 seconds, which isn't bad. We were hoping to see it move a little faster, and of course, offer Wi-Fi as an alternative, but the browser is perfectly satisfying for what it offers. And in any case, it's better than AT&T's EDGE network. On the other hand, the V Cast Music service was pokier. Songs took more than minute and a half to download, which is slower than we've seen on other Verizon EV-DO phones such as the LG VX8350.
Contrary to earlier impressions, the response time for the touch screen was rather swift. Yet we noticed a few times that the touch screen seemed to freeze for a couple of seconds. On those occasions, we had to wait momentarily before the screen would respond to our touch. It happened very infrequently, and with no pattern, but it's still worth noting.
The Voyager's streaming video quality also was uneven. We really wanted to watch videos on the external display, but the experience left us disappointed. Though the menu is a tad slicker than the normal V Cast interface, and the videos cover almost the full width of the landscape display, the quality was rather poor. There was frequent pixilation, and small images could be almost blurry. Likewise, while the sound matched the speakers' mouths, the volume was muffled. Since all V Cast sound comes from the twin speakers inside the phone, the level is rather low when it is closed.
The V Cast experience has less pixilation when using the internal display, but the size of the frame is much smaller. Clips weren't unwatchable by any means, but we were hoping for better. On the upside, however, videos never froze, and we didn't have to pause for rebuffering. Although the San Francisco Bay Area won't get V Cast Mobile TV until early 2009, we were able to test the feature in Los Angeles. On the whole the experience was satisfactory with clean video and no distortion. It was comparable with the other V Cast Mobile TV phones we've reviewed.
Music quality was satisfying on the whole. The twin speakers gave enough volume, and the audio was clear. As is typical with a music phone, it's not good enough to replace your standalone MP3 player, but it's fine for most uses. Try headphones for the best experience.
The LG Voyager VX10000 has a rated battery life of 4 hours talk time and 20 days standby time. It fell a bit short in our battery tests, reaching 3 hours, 45 minutes of talk time. That's still a decent result for a CDMA handset, but it's 4 hours less than what the iPhone delivered. According to FCC radiation tests, the Voyager has a digital SAR rating of 0.765 watt per kilogram.
6 out of 10 - Good REVIEW FROM SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY OWNS A VOYAGER
I was lucky enough to receive a Voyager a few days before the relase date (an error on Verizon's ...
I was lucky enough to receive a Voyager a few days before the relase date (an error on Verizon's part) so after using the phone for 3 days, here are my thoughts.
The phone looks great and feels very solid. LG made a good choice with their design here.
The touchscreen is ok, but it runs a little slow. I have found once I press a key it takes sometimes up to 2 seconds to get to where I want to go. Found that to be a little frustrating. The touchscreen doesnt smudge like I thought it would. It's a shame the touchscreen isnt more customizable (from what I can tell), some of the menu items are things I don't use much, while others I would like to see on th emain menu are hidden in sub menus...why LG why? The tactile feedback on the touchscreen is fun , but more novelty. You cannot dial a number without looking at your phone which is probably a good thing, driving wise. The touch screen looks great, very colorful and clear.
I believe the touchscreen is there for nothing more than the WOW factor as it really is much slower than dedicated softkeys. I suppose VZW is trying to have that cool factor Iphone competitor.
BEWARE: Battery life is short. I found it to be much shorter than my AT&T 8125. Even with BT turned off, the battery seems to drain so quickly. I have to call VZW to see if there is a solution to this.
The camera quality is ok (for a cell), but like the CNET reveiw says, why no flash? It would have been nice.
The web browser is very hard to use. I had much trouble navigating to where I want to go within a browser and clicking on links was frusrtating. I actually cancelled my web plan because of this. Lack of Wi-Fi is annoying (once again VZW likes those extra $'s) but not surprising.
The QWERTY keyboard is a joy to use, The added space really makes typing a breeze.
Calendar is easy to use, as is the contact book (no where for extra notes though).
Emailing sync was very easy to set up.
I had no problem with Bluetooth connection.
Speakerphone is superb (best I have heard on a cell)
Call quality is great by the way, no problems so far.
I have played around with the music player a little. It is really basic and I can't see this replacing an Ipod especially since you would have to buy an additional memory card to hold the music. You can drag and drop music files now, unlike the old ENV.
Havent used the TV funtion so I cant comment but Im sure it would be good because of the quality of the vibrant screen.
I think the phone is overpiced for what you get. Basically your are paying $300 for a dumbphone with a touchscreen and not much else.
In short, this isn't by any means an "Iphone killer" but it is the best VZW has to offer. My friend has an Iphone and the only reason I don't is its lack of 3G. If the Iphone had 3G I would have bought one. I can't say that the Voyager with it's EVDO is any better however because of its poor browser, so I'm not sure if the Iphone isn't a better choice.
I believe most people who will by this phone will do so for the WOW facotr. The phone itself doesnt offer anything more than some of the other hpones out there (I760 etc). Once people see more and more Voyagers out there, they will be less inclined to jump towards this phone as people want the next best thing that no one else has. I bough this phone for web browsing (big mistake).
So if I had a choice would I do it over? Hmm...Im on the fence (which is why I gave the phone a 6). I like the keyboard but hate the web browser.....if I could I would wait for a 3G Iphone but who knows when that will come out, plus having to deal with subpar AT&T service is no fun.
I would wait a few days and see if www.letstalk.com offers the Voyager for less. I noticed they are selling the Venus for $99 now.
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by yesmate (see profile) -
November 21, 2007
9 out of 10 - Spectacular From An Actual Owner, who paid full retail.
First of all, I think people are either reviewing without actually having held the phone or being overly critical because ...
First of all, I think people are either reviewing without actually having held the phone or being overly critical because they paid so much for it.
EXTERNAL DISPLAY: The touchscreen is an absolutely beauty, its very responsive and not overly sensitive. It doesn't smudge like other phones or touch screens out there which is excellent. The outside menus would be better if they were more customizable content wise but a heck of a lot more friendly than the standard verizon OS.
INTERNAL DISPLAY + SPEAKERS: Just as beautiful, and it actually makes it easier to do certain things with the inside instead of outside screens. The two side speakers are GREAT, and even at the loudest setting there is little to no distortion.
INTERNET BROWSER + EASE OF USE: Yes, this doesn't have WiFi but at $15.00 per month for EVDO its not bad at all. The browser works great, although like with everything if you're expecting the full functionality of your laptop or desktop on the tiny little screen you are expecting too much. After a bit of a steep learning curve navigatin, it's good.
TOOLS & MENUS: It has a great set of tools that you see on all other Verizon phones, and the menus are the same only you get to them faster due to the different interface.
BATTERY LIFE: It's GOOD. Most people say its horrible. But using the Internet off and on, texting constantly from either screen and making phone calls I only went through about 60% of my fully charged batter in a 12 hour period.
OVERALL: If you are buying this phone strictly as a web browsing tool, don't. This is a multimedia PHONE. And as a phone it EXCELS in multimedia features.
WISH LIST SLASH QUESTION: If there is anyway to make it SYNC with Microsfot Outlook through a Get It Know App or USB Connection I'd give it a 10 out of 10. Anyone know if this is coming anytime soon?
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by rjt185 (see profile) -
November 22, 2007
- Internet Browsing: (Not Usable!) The phone must render the full page before you ...
A summary of each feature offered:
- Internet Browsing: (Not Usable!) The phone must render the full page before you can scroll. Even with EV-DO this makes the internet seem extremely slow. Gimicky touchscreen means you will have a tough time scrolling once the web page is loaded, and you cannot click on links at all without going to the smaller internal screen. The iPhone is better WITHOUT even considering iPhone's wifi capability.
- TV: (Nobody will ever use it) The TV service offered is very impressive, unsurpassed on any phone in the US. They have a viewing guide and you can change a channel just like real live TV. No slow buffering or waiting. However, it still costs $15 for 6 channels and only works in cities, where TV's are already ubiquitous.
- GPS: (Overly priced) To use the GPS you must get Navigator service. The most notable feature is text-to-speech turn-by-turn directions. But it costs $10 for this service and you can now buy a quality GPS for your car with a much larger screen for $150 with more capabilities and $0 monthly. The other feature of Navigator is searching for nearby points of interest. However, a superior service is offered for free by google maps, and google can now identify your location even if you don't have a gps phone. Google maps do not work on the voyager.
- Music: (Good) The sound on the stereo speakers are fantastic. However, playing sound through the speakers is unfortunately rarely used, and the stereo speakers make the phone more bulky. Even if you chose to use this feature, it drains the battery very quickly. The ability to download songs at any time from Verizon is nice, however it costs $2 per song. There are many phones from Verizon with comparable or better music capabilities, do not purchase this phone for music. The iPhone provides a much better interface, gets podcasts, and offers iTunes which is much better than vCast Music Manager.
Price: (Average) An iPhone is really the same price and it comes with 8gB of memory. Voyager has 128m. To purchase an 8Gb microSD card will cost you an extra $125. The minimum plan for the iPhone is $59.99. However, the minimum plan for the Voyager is $39.99 and you have to pay the extra $15 for data. If you want email, it will cost you an extra $5 on top of that.
User Interface: (below average) The use of both an internal external screen means you must master 2 user interfaces instead of 1, and they are very different. The typical Verizon menus have been removed, but the same Verizon experience is still there. The touchscreen unfortunately freezes up on occasion and can become frustrating. This interface is to superior to other Verizon phones, and does not even compare to an Iphone.
Camera: (Average) The camera offers a lot of features, and 2 megapixels is at the top end of what you will get on a phone. But picture quality is still not good enough to replace your camera, therefore it should not be a factor in your decision to purchase this device.
Photos: (good) With a large screen and 8Gb of memory this is one area where the voyager excels. The slideshow feature is comparable to the iPhone with 1 glaring exception. If you tilt the phone, the image will not rotate as well. While this is not a dealbreaker, it does make viewing a slideshow a bit annoying. Still the experience is superior to other Verizon phones.
Bluetooth: (good) Bluetooth capabilities that are better than any other offering from Verizon, and better than the iPhone. You can send photos, music and other files wirelessly to you laptop. Unfortunately, the speed of transfer is too slow. 1 song will take at 2 minutes to transfer. This makes it useless for transferring pictures or music, but still functional for transferring your contacts. However, Verizon already offers a free backup service for your phone to automatically sync up your device to the Verizon server. Some people will argue that you can tether (use your phone as a modem for your laptop) using Bluetooth, but the speed of Bluetooth makes this pointless. The one advantage of the superior bluetooth capability is the ability to use a wireless stereo headset. But those devices are expensive, they are too bulky, and they drain the phones battery. (which is why this feature is not on the iPhone)
Tethering (Using the phone as a modem for your laptop) (pointless): It is against Verizon policy to tether without paying for a data plan that costs $59.99 per month. At that point, you may as well purchase the card that Verizon sells to plug into your laptop, since it's the same price and doesn't use up your phone batteries. Tech geeks will argue that they can "hack it" and connect without paying the $59.99 per month, however Verizon has computer programs that monitor internet activity. If you find a way to get away with it for the $15 per month, it won't last long.
Email (poor): Email costs $5 per month for up to 7 accounts. If you have used a blackberry you will realize that this email service is very basic. Only yahoo mail, hotmail and verizon mail will work, so don't expect to use gmail. It's functional for those users who are not looking for anything very advanced. Do not expect message filters, sorting, or even the ability to search. In fact, The only service they offer in addition to any other Verizon phones is the email alert feature. It's all through Verizon's Get It Now service, so expect to click through the menus to find the email.
Design: (Above average) The phone is not huge like a sidekick, but it's probably Verizon's bulkiest phone and it's about 50% wider than the iPhone. If you are getting this to show off to your friends, keep in mind that Verizon just made 2 big announcements in the past week which will open up Verizon in 2008 to all software and all phones. And will eventually move Verizon onto GSM. Your nice phone to show off will no longer be impressive very soon.
Text messaging: The keypad is big, and makes texting very easy. If you text message a lot you will love this.
Games: (Bad) If you like to play games, be warned that the offering is significantly less than what is offered on other Verizon phones, mainly because most games were just not designed for the wide screen.
Multi-tasking: (None) Don't expect to listen to music while you send a text. Once you close the music player, the music is off. Similarly, don't expect to browse the web while you are on speakerphone. Other Verizon phones, like the Venus and blackberry phones, let you multitask.
Voicemail: If you are expected the "dynamic voicemail" that iPhone offers, think again. It will not download and list out your messages for you. It's Verizon voicemail.
Conclusion: If you want GPS, buy a GPS device for your car (it's cheaper). You obviously aren't going to pay $15/month for 6 channels of TV, and the internet is $15 per month and frustrating to the point that it's barely usable. Bluetooth functionality provides you limited advantages. And you know you're almost never going to use that external speaker for music. So you are paying extra money for a bulky phone that has email alerts, good speakerphone capabilities, and has a roomier keypad for texting and email. So if you're going to buy this phone, get it to show off to your friends for a month or 2. Otherwise, get something more practical. If you like Verizon's service, get the Venus. If you are not a diehard Verizon users, get the iPhone.
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by therevealer (see profile) -
December 1, 2007
5 out of 10 - Average I own the Voyager and iPhone
Let me start by saying that I've been a loyal Verizon customer for 3 years. I recently bought an ...
Let me start by saying that I've been a loyal Verizon customer for 3 years. I recently bought an iPhone because I couldn't stand to not have one device for every need (Music, web, camera, phone, etc.) It was a wonderful product, but it didn't have MMS and that was a deal breaker. With that said I had hoped the Voyager would finally be that end all product to complete my life and fulfill my every technological need.
Not so.
I am disapointed by the Voyagers web browser, its slow, and the touch interface doesn't make it easy to navigate web pages. Using the internal screen to navigate the web isn't easy either. Very clumsy and inefficient.
The music player works ok, but just ok. Many songs come up with the artist as unknown and you can't text or browse the web while listening to music.(A deal breaker for me) I also own the Samsung i670 (Why? Because I can!) and you can do both with the i670 and iPhone. I was hoping for a new and updated music interface instead of Verizons bland, boring, same old and tired music player. I'm so disappointed in this product.
I should point out that the camera is again top notch. I've heard complaint's about the lack of flash but in my opinion it isn't necessary. The 9900 (Env) took great pictures as well but the flash really didn't seem to help much. The camera on the Voyager really does take great, crisp, clear pictures if you aren't in a bar or somewhere its really dark.
I also appreciate LG's effort to add some flair by adding menu font choices for the interface. I really like the LG Edge font.
There really isnt enough in this phone to keep me from looking for a better product. Good thing Verizon is a great network and is eventually planning on changing over to LTE (Long Term Evolution) or else I would bolt to another network, because man the phones do not impress me enough, for sure!
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by snowenloe (see profile) -
November 24, 2007
40 out of 54 users found this user opinion helpful.
8 out of 10 - Excellent Great phone, but locked down by Verizon
I just got my LG Voyager today and I am so far very impressed by it. First let me start ...
I just got my LG Voyager today and I am so far very impressed by it. First let me start of saying that this phone looks beautiful. Yes, it's thicker than the iPhone, but it looks good nonetheless. The touch screen is very responsive, I haven't had a problem. Dialing numbers is easy and the talk quality is exceptional. Includes VZ Navigator, which is great if you get lost a lot. The internet so far from what I've seen is fast. I know everyone is complaining about the Wi-Fi, but it's fine, there isn't a hotspot everywhere.The keyboard when you flip the phone open is wonderful. It's big and spacious and is easy to type text messages, etc. Some of the things I don't like is that it doesn't have an internal hard drive (which is why it's cheaper). I got a 8GB card, which cost $129.99. Also, the camera is so so and it has no flash or lens cover. The biggest gripe I have about it (as I have with every Verizon phone) is that it is locked down. Verizon disables many features on all its phones. The iPhone you can hack easily, I haven't tried yet with this phone, but I know it will be a journey to find out. But, all in all, this phone is awesome. I've been waiting for this kind of phone to come to Verizon for months now.
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by redsox2003 (see profile) -
November 19, 2007
10 out of 10 - Perfect Great move - The iPhone Killer!
I have had this phone for about a week. For one, I can say the two screens are gorgeous! The ...
I have had this phone for about a week. For one, I can say the two screens are gorgeous! The look with the chrome and black is very attractive.
The software is flawed in some areas but overall is very useable. I love the qwerty keyboard for texting and battery life is great.
Web browsing speeds are SO MUCH faster than the iPhones and the HTML browser is just one level below the iPhone and 10 steps above any other browser out there.
Verizon has let loose and finally let people customize more and it is great to see. I would recommend this phone in a heart beat.
The build quality is great! No creaks, no cracks, no nothing. It is solid and it feels so solid and has actual weight in your hands. It does not feel like plastic at all. It feels like it is made of an expensive metal.
Updated I got the LG Voyager the first day it came out on November 21st, 2007.
The touch screen is very responsive and Verizon consistantly updates the firmware which allows for a better experience.
The HTML browser is great over EVDO 3G speeds and my call quality is great. I never had a dropped call yet.
I love the QWERTY keyboard for texting and typing. The music and video players are very good and I even got 8GB worth of music and videos onto my Voyager.
The speakers are loud and clear and I love watching live TV over MobileTV. The menu system is perfect too. Very easy to use and pick up.
You can edit a lot of settings and when you touch the screen, it vibrates to let you know you touched it.
I enjoyed using GPS to get directions too and the camera is very sharp and precise.
Overall, the phone is currently the best on the market for Verizon I believe. It has a lot of features iPhone users want to have!
24 out of 28 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular I also own a voyager and it's great.....
Maybe it's because I live and work in the Washington D.C. area, but for me this phone exceeded ...
Maybe it's because I live and work in the Washington D.C. area, but for me this phone exceeded even my expectations. First and foremost this device as a phone is exceptional. I have service on the metro (even watching mobile tv for part of the ride) and my calls are clear whether I am on my bluetooth or not. The blue tooth was very easy to sync with with my earpiece and in my car system...it also easy to send media to another bluetooth device.
As a messeging device I have not used one better. The touch screen and the full keyboard are great options to have and they are both very easy to use.
The browser is very fast and easy to use as well. It did take me some getting used to (about an hour on Wednesday, November 21, 2007) the scroll and flip through the websites, but once I got the hang of it it is quite easy as well. I never have problems scrolling through my contacts or on webpages (you don't have to use the lil scroll bar on the side). It's also good to have the option to open up the device and do it manually if you want, but I don't need to do that regardless of what website I'm on. I have been able to view my accounts, pay bills, look at youtube video (yes it's on there), and do other things without any problems. I've set-up my email accounts to have them come to the device, set alerts for my yahoo and gmail accounts, and as soon as I figure out how to easily deal with attachments it will be perfect. If that is not an option, then I won't worry about it to much.
Using the vcast music, mobile tv (even on part of my metro ride to work), and other multimedia features are very easy. I've never been the type of person to do ringtones, or download music or anything like that to my cell phones, but I have already started since they are so easy to do with this device.
I've taken great pictures with the phone and also took video at a birthday bash last night. For me, the phone took a little while to figure out when I first took it out the box and charged it, but since then I have not had any problems. It has allowed me to change my blackberry plan to data only to really use that device for business, while I use the Voyager for everything else. My bill is actually about the same now with both phones as it was when I only had the blackberry device.
For me, I've used a number of "decent phones" from the sidekick on Tmobile, to Sprint Blackberrys, to the iphone, but this is by far the best device for me and what I want to use it for. Maybe it has to do with the area that I live or maybe it has to do with understanding how to use these "phones" and what they are meant to do (and not do).....or maybe it is just the network!!!
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by objectiveview (see profile) -
November 25, 2007
13 out of 14 users found this user opinion helpful.
9 out of 10 - Spectacular verizon and Lg electronics really outdid themselves this time
*****on a side not******* I have been a part of Verizon wireless before it was Verizon wireless. I was originally ...
*****on a side not******* I have been a part of Verizon wireless before it was Verizon wireless. I was originally a part of GTE wireless, but alas they were purchased by Verizon. The company as a whole is generally nice and their customer service and technicians are most of the time helpful. My first LG phone was their original flip. it was huge compared to the phones now. I have always loved LG phones. I have had a total of 7 LG phones. I have had both versions of the lg chocolate phones. the 8500 green and the recent 8550 blue mint. I have also had the Motorola v3m, a Samsung SCH-A690, and the new blackberry 8130. (so when I talk about phones, I mostly know what I am talking about) I also think that it is totally unfair to compare the LG Voyager to an Apple IPhone. They are two completely different companies and two different phones. pardon the cliché, but it would be like comparing apples to oranges. If you decide to purchase this phone, I recommend going with verizon?s premium plan. That way??.You text all you want. Browse all you want (internet, vcast videos and vcast music and it not deduct from your overall minutes). Navigate all you want. And e-mail all you want. AND you don?t pay extra. I pay 119.99 a month for unlimited of all the above and 1350 daytime minutes. Free night and weekends and mobile to mobile minutes. When will version go to the 7:00 pm nighttime minutes? That would be a nice! The mobile TV cost extra, but that is a given. ******End of side note****** LG and Verizon Wireless really outdid themselves this time. The LG Voyager is wonderful. Design. The design is super nice. The black with the chrome, the keys are nicely spaced on the inside. the color of the screen is crisp and not too bright. when you hold the phone you don?t feel like you are holding this itty bitty piece of machinery or this huge dump truck against your face. it fits nicely against the curvature of your face. Call Quality. Call quality is wonderful. I am loud, so this is quite important, and there have been no complaints of me being too loud. I also hear the other party quite well. The speakerphone is wonderful, too. I was able to hold a conference call today with 4 of my staff in the room, the other person was surprised we were on speakerphone. However, I would like to be able to use speakerphone with the clamshell closed. The ring is nice and loud, too. Text messaging. I thought it would be different using a QWERTY keypad to text message, but I have gotten used to it so fast that I have not realized that I'm actually using a QWERTY keypad. (some have complained that their phones have several send message fail attempts, thus far I have had none.) Screen Lag. Some opinions have stated their touch screen has a lag. I have noticed none. I can dial without having to look at the screen, but LG's voice dialing system is so nice, WHY not use it? I have a deep southern drawl and the computer nerd picks up exactly whom I want to call every time correctly. CUSTOMIZATION. Who needs to customize the outside touch screen when everything that you could need or want from your phone is right there on the screen? Scrolling by merely touching and pushing up is really cool, too. You can customize the shortcut buttons and that is nice. 2.0 Megapixel camera. The camera quality is superb, thought it would have been nice to have a flash. I knew that before I bought it, so that is not a real complaint. I took several pictures at a University of Tennessee football game this weekend, and even with the overcast sky pictures turned out well. I have also been able to take pictures in almost complete darkness and have them turn out well. So a flash probably would have just gotten in the way. Calendar. The Calendar is much better on the voyager than it was on the LG 8550. easy to use and read. easy to customize, again it would be nice if I could sync with my Microsoft Outlook 2007, but having it not sync gives me excuses when I forget an anniversary, appointment, or my wife's birthday. (just kidding) GET IT NOW. I like several of the "Get It Now" options. NZ Navigator is wonderful. Gets me where I am going, and keeps me from getting too lost. The Mobile E-mail is really nice. I have a personal @bellsouth.net e-mail and a work @verizon.net and it allows me to look at both. Keeping them separate. (something the blackberry 8130 did that I did not like) and I can delete the e-mail off the server from my phone, so that when I get home Outlook 2007 does not download the junk mail. How nice is that? It is also really nice to reply to an e-mail using the QWERTY keypad. or composing an e-mail and being able to use the @ symbol without trying to find it in the symbol menu. I also like the "BackUp Assistant" allows you to backup your contacts and edit them from a website. A must have. If you are a member of verizonwireless.com?s personal account, you don?t have to pay the 1.99 extra a month for the service. Becoming a member is beneficial. You can pay your bill, change features, and check your minutes and data usage. Battery. I am a compulsive texter. I also reply to e-mails very fast. I am in the business world, but not quite important enough to have a palm phone. I am able to take my phone off the charger at 5:00 am. Reply to as many text messages as I want. E-mail as much as my heart desires. Take and make numerous phone calls, and get on internet for a few minutes. And my phone still has some battery life when it goes to bed at 9:00 pm. I am sure battery life could be improved, but I do a lot with my phone. BLUETOOTH! The headset works wonderful. It connects with my jag, my wife?s infiniti, and my ford f350 quite well. It also connected to my Bluetooth speakers without any problems. I have also been able to print using my Bluetooth enabled printer. HTML INTERNET BROWSER! VERY EASY TO USE! Okay. Besides my blackberry pearl, this is the first phone I have used from Verizon in which the webpage actually looks like the webpage. And with Verizon?s EVDO network it is way faster than dial-up. It?s never going to be a fast as LAN or cable internet. You are able to browse the webpage as if you were home using a teeny tiny monitor. It?s a phone so get used to it. Who needs wifi? MEMORY! It has a good amount of internal memory, but I also purchased an 8GB minisd card. That card holds a great deal of information. Also the ease of taking one card out and putting another in without having to remove a batter, is really nice. MOBILE TV! No service in my area for the mobile tv  I am hoping that it will be available soon.
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by auwareagle38401 (see profile) -
November 26, 2007
12 out of 12 users found this user opinion helpful.
5 out of 10 - Average It's a Toy Not a Tool
If you want a phone that is a beautiful toy, than this is an awesome phone for you. It looks ...
If you want a phone that is a beautiful toy, than this is an awesome phone for you. It looks and handles beautifully, and has lots of opportunities for personalization. Also, Verizon Wireless's MobileTV is by far the best I've ever seen and was almost enough to convince me to keep this phone. However, I really need a phone that performs basic business functions well, and although very slick, this phone doesn't cut the mustard.
If you, like me, are used to using PDA phones like the TREO's and the Motorola Q, then this phone may be a dissapointment.
The most important aspect of any phone for me is its ability to sync regularly with Microsoft Outlook on my desktop computer. They'll tell you that this phone can use Wireless Sync (VZW's syncing software) and it can, but with some major caveats. 1.) If you want to use Wireless Sync VZW will charge you an additional $20 per month PLUS $1.99 for every MB of data transmitted. This charge is on top of any plan you might have subscribed too, including the unlimited media or data plans. From my discussions with the reps, there is no way around this additional charge as they do not consider this phone a SMART or PDA phone. 2.) While the syncing successfully captured all my emails, contacts and calendar events, only the contacts are transferred into the phone's main "contacts" program. Both the email and the all your appointments can only be accessed by navigating through several menus in the "get it now" function. If you go to the phone's main calendar program, it will show that you have no appointments. I called and asked if there were any way to merge the wireless sync calendar and the phone's main calendar and was told that currently there was not. This is a major problem for me as it keeps me from easily reminding myself of appointments, which is an important function for me. I've always loved that windows mobile phones allowed me to see appointments, todo's, and all messages including emails on my home screen.
Another strange functional design issue, is that there is absolutely no way to turn on the speakerphone without opening the clam shell, which usually necessitates two hands. This is extremely frustrating for me, as I often need to answer the phone while driving but like to be able to use the speaker, so I can talk without the phone being right on my face. I thought for sure there must be a way to do it, but no...there's not. Seems like a strange design decision, as so many phones incorporate this standard function.
Also, searching through contacts, without the voice-activated function, is difficult at best, and certainly won't work well when i'm super busy, and trying to dial someone quickly.
Further, while I've been fond of VZW's customer service of late, I am dissapointed that with this new phone they are choosing to nickel and dime their customers to death. Every fun function must be accessed through Verizon's own software and sites, and there's a charge for everything.
I figured maybe I could just transfer some photos to the phone using the microSD card, but no they won't let you. Instead you must upload photos at vzwphotopix or some such thing and then send them to your phone...I think it costs $1.99 per day that you use it (not sure on the pricing so check for yourselves,) but c'mon VZW?? Couldn't you just let us downoad our own photos to our own expensive phones? Shame on you for being greedy.
There are also additional charges for the backing up function, and you can only install vzw games that you've paid them for etc...all in all, using vzw's proprietary everything becomes a major hassle.
Anyway...it's been a difficult decision, because this phone is sexy and pretty smart. It just doesn't have the real business acumen required for users who are used to Palm & Windows mobile functionality.
Looks like I'll have to trade it in for that new Samsung 7160(?).
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by edcarp (see profile) -
November 24, 2007
9 out of 10 - Spectacular One of the best
Very impressed with this phone I just got. I was due for an upgrade and am not disappointed! The touch ...
Very impressed with this phone I just got. I was due for an upgrade and am not disappointed! The touch screen is very sleek and easy to use. Displays are beuatiful. Phone feels right in your hand. Call quality is excellent.
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by gougere (see profile) -
November 19, 2007
16 out of 24 users found this user opinion helpful.
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