One look at the Voyager and you'll get LG's message loud and clear: "suck it, iPhone!" From the large 2.8-inch, 400 x 240-pixel touchscreen to the icon-based user interface, the Voyager so readily resembles Apple's wundergizmo, that you might try activating it with iTunes. Okay, it doesn't work that way, but it does give the iPhone a legitimate run for its money.
Besides having 3G, integrated instant messaging (AIM, Windows Live Messenger, and Yahoo), the Voyager also sports stereo Bluetooth for music headphones, and assisted GPS via Verizon's VZ Navigator. Plus the Voyager also sports not one but two LCDs. Open the phone like a clamshell and you'll see the second 2.8-inch, 400 x 240-pixel LCD along with a roomy QWERTY keyboard. We've seen this design from LG before, though on the V and the enV. But the Voyager is noticeably thinner, infinitely sleeker, and more feature-rich than those two models. Call quality is excellent; the OS is responsive and simple to navigate around in. The estimated 4-hour battery life is impressive too; and the speakers deliver rather impressive sound...for a cell phone.
The bad news? There's no Wi-Fi; no built-in e-mail client (although you can get Verizon's Wireless Sync Email for $20 a month) or its Mobile Email for $5 a month, and no option for syncing your contacts and calendar between your PC and phone. You do have the option to back up contacts on Verizon's Backup Assistant service for an extra 2 bucks a month.
So it's not perfect. Neither is the iPhone though. But if you're stuck in a contract with Verizon and want a multimedia, touch enabled, iPhone-like device, then taking a ride on the Voyager just might be the best way to go. Grace Aquino
WIRED Cool haptic feedback on the external LCD: Press an item on the screen and you'll feel a slight vibration. The 2-megapixel camera takes decent-looking snapshots and videos. Easy-to-access microSD slot supports cards as large as 8GB. Watch live broadcast television but only where Verizon's V CAST Mobile TV service is available.
TIRED Lacks productivity tools such as apps for viewing Word documents, spreadsheets, and PDFs. Speakerphone works only with the phone open.
$300 with a two-year contract, verizonwireless.com