LG Voyager vs. Apple iPhone

Ok, so for months I have been waiting for the launch of the LG Voyager because I am a Verizon customer and wanted a phone that had a lot of the features the iPhone has. I have debated buying an iPhone but don't want to switch to AT&T and get locked into another two year cell phone contract.

So today I ventured down to my local Verizon store to get a first hand experience using the Voyager. The first thing I notice was it looks a lot like the iPhone, except it is thinner and fits better in your hand. It is a bit taller and a bit thicker than the iPhone but not noticably so. Don't get me wrong, the iPhone is still a lot better looking but the Voyager is a nice looking phone and comfortable phone to use.


Photo from gizmodo.com

When you turn on the Voyager the screen looks a lot like the iPhone. The menu icons are nicely arranged and a quick tap and you are where you want to be. I could write a ten page review of the Voyager but I decided what I would do is detail the differences between the Voyager and the iPhone. So here goes.

Where the Voyager beats the iPhone

Comfort

Unlike the iPhone the Voyager is easy to use with one hand because it is thinner than the iPhone and fits perfectly in your hand. I have tried using the iPhone with one hand but it is to wide and is always slipping out of my hand.

Keypad

If you like using a T9 keyboard then the Voyager will be easier to use than the iPhone. I found that texting is much easier and faster with the Voyagers T9 touch keypad than with the iPhones QWERTY touch keypad. Using the Voyagers standard QWERTY touch keypad is just like the iPhone touch pad. I found myself making very few errors.

In addition, when you open the Voyager up it has a full physical QWERTY keyboard and a second screen. However, these features add to the thickness of the Voyager and I found myself hardly using the physical keyboard and just using the touch keyboard.

SMS Picture messaging

The Voyager can, the iPhone can not.

Camera

Both the iPhone and the Voyager have a 2.0 megapixel camera. But the Voyager camera smokes the iPhone by far and the Voyager has a camcorder (Resolutions: 1600 x 1200), something the iPhone is severely lacking. You have an array of settings that you can set (White balance, brightness etc..). The photo quality is better than the iPhone and the video quality is very nice too. I really hope Apple resolves this with the next generation iPhone.


GPS Navigation / Directions

The Voyager is the clear winner here! The Voyager has an application called VZ Navigator with turn–by–turn directions and this is a great application.

With audible turn-by-turn directions, you can locate nearly fourteen million points of interest in the U.S., including landmarks, restaurants and even ATMs. VZ Navigator uses GPS positioning to tell you where you are, what's nearby, and to give you directions - quickly and easily.

Customizing

Hands down the Voyager is the winner here. You can customize menus, fonts, colors, backgrounds, icons etc.. There are so many things you can customize with the Voyager that you simply can not do with the iPhone.

Newtwork

The Verizon High–Speed EVDO Network is supposed to be faster than the AT&T EDGE network. But honestly I could not tell a difference. The Verizon High–Speed EVDO network seemed just as slow as the EDGE and the EDGE is sloooow! So, this is a tie.

Call Quality

Both the iPhone and the Voyager have excellent call quality but the Voyager is on the Verizion network which gives you far superior coverage over AT&T. I have used AT&T and the coverage is lacking compared to the Verizon network.

Apple and AT&T have a five year exclusive agreement in place. Yes, you can hack the iPhone to work on other networks but those hacks keep getting disabled everytime Apple releases an update to the iPhone firmware.

Pricing

The Voyager is the clear winner here. It retails for $349 and you can buy it online for $299. If you are a Verizon customer and qualify for a phone upgrade it will only cost you $149 (with a two year contract). This is a savings of $250 over the iPhone. The iPhone is $399 with or without a two year contract.

Where the iPhone beats the Voyager

WiFi

Hands down the iPhone is the winner here! The Voyager does not have WiFi. This was a big let down. LG what were you thinking (apparently you were not). The iPhone senselessly switches from the EDGE network to WiFi when available and WiFi is 10 times faster than the EDGE network. This downfall alone sets the iPhone head and shoulds above the Voyager and is a major deal breaker for many looking at iPhone alternatives.

Music and Video

Hands down the iPhone smokes the Voyager when it comes to music and video. Primarily because of the simple integration with iTunes. You can play music and video on the Voyager but you have to use Windows media player (yuck) or the LG software (double yuck). Both are poor alternatives to iTunes. If you have an extensive iTunes library then the iPhone is the only way to go.


Web Browsing

Hands down the iPhone is the winner here again!

What can I say. Nothing comes close to the easy of use of the iPhone and Safari for web browsing.

While the Voyagers new web browser is 100 times better than previous versions, it is still hard to use. The pages display like they would on a regular web browser but navigating around a web site takes lots and lots of practice and is no where near as fluid and simplistic and the iPhone and Safari.

The iPhone and pinch technology rules and is patented! Safari on the iPhone is the "killer" application!

Visual Voice Mail

The iPhone can, the Voyager can not. This is a very cool feature of the iPhone and another patented technology.

Touch Screen

The iPhone is the clear winner here. The Voyager touch screen is nice and works but sometimes it needs some encouragement, like having to tap extra hard to get it to respond. The iPhone touch screen is more accurate and responsive and just works... all the time!

Memory

The iPhone is the clear winner here. The Voyager only has 160MB of built in memory, at least thats what the status page says. The iPhone has 8GB but really only about 7GB after you add OS X and all the applications. The Voyager does have a microSD Memory Port with up to 8GB Support.

3rd Party Applications

Here the iPhone shines as there are dozens and dozens of third party applications for the iPhone. Will the Voyager be a 3rd party application trend setter, we shall see.

Style

The iPhone is the clear winner here. There is no doubt the iPhone was a well thought out device and the Voyager was a "quick" answer to the iPhone. The iPhone looks great and is truly a work of art.


And the Winner is?

Some would say the iPhone because it has WiFi, better browser, visual voice mail etc.. Some would say the Voyager because it has a better camera / camcorder, physical QWERTY keyboard, GPS and is less expensive.

It comes down to what you need. If you need WiFi the iPhone is the clear choice. If you need GPS navigation, the Voyager is the clear choice.

Now if only Apple would incorporate all the cool features of the Voyager into the next generation iPhone. Or, if LG would incorporate all the cool features of the iPhone into the next generation of the Voyager. Unfortunately, neither one of these is going to happen because both LG and Apple have patents on specific technologies used in each phone. We can only dream!

Both are great phones! So, my advice is take each one for a test drive and make your own conclusion.

Personally, I am going to wait for the next generation iPhone with 3G technology and I am sure a boat load of new features like GPS etc.. At least that's what I am wishing for!

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