LG's Versa iPhone

Verizon Wireless and LG Electronics MobileComm U.S.A., Inc. (LG Mobile Phones) announced that the LG Versa Smartphone will be available on the nation’s largest and most reliable wireless voice and data network.he phone comes packed with Verizon Wireless’ V CAST Music with Rhapsody and V-CAST Video services. VCAST Music with Rhapsody allows customers to choose from more than 5 million songs over-the-air, download the master copy of their songs to their PCs free of digital rights management (DRM) software and sync their favorite tracks, albums and playlists from their PCs to their LG Versa cell phones using the included USB cable. V CAST Video allows customers to download or stream video from the best names in news, sports, entertainment and more.

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The LG Versa is an attractive touch-screen handset with an animated user interface, plus it has options for additional modules. The Versa also has a full HTML browser with Flash Lite support, EV-DO, GPS, a 2.0-megapixel camera, and a music player. It comes with a QWERTY keyboard module, which doubles as a case.Depending on your needs, it can be configured as a standard candybar-style phone -- similar to the LG Dare reviewed here a couple of weeks ago -- or as a horizontal flip-style messaging device with the addition of a keyboard that doubles as a case to protect the device while it's in your pocket.

The LG Versa can take on two entirely different configurations, depending on how you want to use it.With the plain back plate installed instead of the keyboard, the Versa is similar to many other devices on the market today. It is relatively long and narrow, measuring 4 1/8" by 2"and is right at 0.5" thick. The device is refreshingly sleek, with very few hardware buttons and controls. There are a few on the left edge of the phone, but most functions are managed by software via touchscreen controls.The LCD display is a 3-inch touchscreen that has a resolution of 480 by 240 pixels. I found it to be quite good overall, with sharp graphics and rich colors. It does wash out a bit in direct sunlight, but it is still readable.

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The screen offers tactile feedback in the form of a brief vibration when you hit an onscreen key.In just a few seconds the Versa can transform into a powerful messaging device with the addition of a removable QWERTY hardware keyboard.Simply pull down a switch on the left edge of the phone to remove the back cover, then align the right edge of the phone with the contacts inside the keyboard case and snap down the left side of the phone.
The user interface seems to be a slightly updated version of the one on the LG Dare, and the changs are both subtle and welcome. Overall performance is quite snappy, and the system is more responsive overall. This is particularly true of finger scrolling, which on earlier devices would sometimes have you inadvertently choosing something on the screen when you were just trying to scroll down to the bottom of the list.

More advanced features include mobile e-mail, mobile instant messaging (AOL, Yahoo, and Windows Live), voice command and voice dialing, voice recording, USB mass storage mode, an RSS reader, and GPS functionality via Verizon's VZ Navigator. Mobile e-mail can only be accessed via the browser interface, and is limited to certain Web mail services like Windows Live, Yahoo, AOL Mail, AIM Mail, Verizon.net and a few others, but certainly not Exchange, so the Versa can't quite compete with a smart phone.

The most surprising thing about the LG Versa so far isn't that the detachable keyboard isn't the flimsy craptacular dongle I thought it'd be. It's the OS. It's really, really fast.The LG Versa has a rated battery life of 4.83 hours of talk time and 17.9 days of standby time. According to the FCC, the LG Versa has a digital SAR ratingof 1.38 watts per kilogram. It supports productivity tools - such as Visual Voice Mail so they can prioritize their messages - while Verizon Wireless’ VZ Navigator(SM) service transforms the phone into a navigation device at a fraction of the cost of most GPS systems. In addition, the LG Versa is compatible with Mobile Broadband Connect to allow customers to use their phones as a modem by linking their laptops to their phones to establish a broadband connection anywhere within Verizon Wireless’ Mobile Broadband rate and coverage area.

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Multimedia is an app that looks very good on the LG Versa, but after some frequent use, comes up short. The phone gets music from Verizon Wireless and Rhapsody's online store, and though the selection is both deep and current, the $1.99 pricing is still too high. Verizon also makes it unnecessarily difficult to load tracks onto the device.The LG Versa is one of the first cell phones we've seen to incorporate Flash Lite 3 into the mobile browser. The browser looks very good, though again, once we started using it (or trying to use it), we ran into serious problems. Here, screen responsiveness became an issue. The phone isn't perfectly responsive in any app, but in the Web browser, the screen was downright obstinate.

The camera experience on the LG Versa was mediocre all around, which is surprising considering the auto focus capabilities and snazzy touch interface. We found the 2-megapixel shots to be blurry, with washed out colors. White balance presets didn't help much, either.

The LG Versa with Cool modular design , Excellent interface design with plenty of useful shortcuts, Flash-enabled Web browsing is available online and in stores at US $199.99

Whatever. It's a step in the evolution of phones. The first touchscreens weren't perfect either. Hopefully they use this concept and perfect it.

It's like duct-taping that logitech mini keyboard to a touchscreen phone, just a bit more elegant.

It still looks awful. Would have rather had an eNV-2 form factor with a dare touch screen and a clamshell opening to a second internal screen and keyboard . Evenyone who wants the keyboard wants it ALL THE TIME (otherwise they would just be better off picking up a dare). The modules are ridiculous looking and silly. Correct me if I'm wrong but navigating the phone with the keyboard attached seems like you are FORCED to navigate in a landscape mode, which is plain inconvenient.