Thanks for nothing CNET! (LG voyager vs. iPhone)

[JATGA]

I read the head-to-head on cnet where they actually rated the LG Voyager better than the iPhone. So, yesterday I purchased an LG Voyager and received it today via FedEx. Long story short, it's horrible. The web browser was almost impossible to use via touchscreen. There were very few features for a supposedly feature-rich phone. Biggest problem of all was that I could not run easily the music software on the new macbook pro I just purchased. (A deal breaker considering the cost of the MBP.) I immediately called and told Verizon I'd be switching to AT&T and returning the phone. I guess I'll have to wait a bit for the new models though. :(

On the bright side, at least the guy at Verizon was very nice and said I'd get 100% of my money back since I cancelled on the first day of activation. :cool:

[tMac85]

yeah. i can see that. LG has some great products. but please dont try to be the iphone. or an apple product in general.

[nickspohn]

It gets old when i see these kids at school say "Oh, my Phone is better than the iPhone" when they have a crappy voyager or an HTC Touch

[earthsick]

I have some friends that have the Voyager and they swear they love it. My response to them is use an iPhone for a week.

The interface on the thing is gross, and the touch feature doesn't really even make sense. The reason the iPhone uses 100% touch is to account for the vastly changing interface from application to application. However, LG just threw touch into the Voyager to try to compete and for a "cool" factor. If you can do everything on the inside screen as you can do on the outside touch screen, than is it really necessary? Or is it nothing more than an NV with a silly tv antenna that sticks out of it?

[JATGA]

I have some friends that have the Voyager and they swear they love it. My response to them is use an iPhone for a week.

The interface on the thing is gross, and the touch feature doesn't really even make sense. The reason the iPhone uses 100% touch is to account for the vastly changing interface from application to application. However, LG just threw touch into the Voyager to try to compete and for a "cool" factor. If you can do everything on the inside screen as you can do on the outside touch screen, than is it really necessary? Or is it nothing more than an NV with a silly tv antenna that sticks out of it?

Yes, that was pretty much my reaction. It felt like an ENv with a touchscreen on the front. I was very disappointed. I wanted verizon service because most of my family/friends use verizon and calling is unlimited when you keep it in network.

[NC MacGuy]

I assume you didn't play with one first? I went to the Verizon store and after about three minutes working one, I knew it wasn't up to the reviews I read.
Nice try but I'd much prefer the iPhone - now only if it were available on Verizon:rolleyes:

[iMacZealot]

CNET is great for seeing videos and photos of products, but their reviewers don't always know what they're talking about, especially that guy who does the comparison bits.

[bacaramac]

Alright, who paid off cNet? and others for good reviews against the iPhone? I haven't personally used it, but based on what I am reading how could it be rated higher then the iPhone or even close?

[ruinfx]

the voyager is NOT a smartphone so i dont think it should be compared to the iphone at all. you wouldnt compare the original enV to the iphone, however the people at CNET (and the technology retarded masses) are idiots and think because they are both touch screens that they must be compared. :rolleyes:

[voyagerd]

It's sad. I'm stuck with Verizon because I'm on my family's plan. The LCD on my verizon phone is broken, but I can't replace it unless I buy a new plan. I don't even feel like getting another Verizon phone, doesn't seem worth it for the money it would cost.

[killmoms]

It's sad. I'm stuck with Verizon because I'm on my family's plan. The LCD on my verizon phone is broken, but I can't replace it unless I buy a new plan. I don't even feel like getting another Verizon phone, doesn't seem worth it for the money it would cost.

You can buy any second-hand Verizon phone off eBay and use it just fine, no need for a new plan. You only need a new plan if you're trying to get a discounted (subsidized price) on a brand new phone from Verizon.

[BongoBanger]

You know, a lot of people prefer the Voyager to the iPhone. You're somewhat unlikely to find them on an Apple forum though.

As has been said, you should try before you buy.

[ruinfx]

You know, a lot of people prefer the Voyager to the iPhone. You're somewhat unlikely to find them on an Apple forum though.

As has been said, you should try before you buy.

i think a lot of people (read: 16 year old girls) just prefer a physical qwerty for texting. other than that the iphone takes a poop on the voyager.

[iMacZealot]

i think a lot of people (read: 16 year old girls) just prefer a physical qwerty for texting. other than that the iphone takes a poop on the voyager.

Definitely. As long as it's a shiny qwerty and can be hidden in a textbook rather easily, teenage girls don't care whether it has UMTS or not.

[wordy]

Blackberries proliferated simply because they had full QWERTY. Plus I think people like the tactile feel of real buttons being pressed.

[mkrishnan]

Did you have a reason to expect the Verizon music software to work on your MBP? It's not like you can plug a Zune into your MBP either....

It sounds to me like you acted impetuously and you want someone else to take the blame for it. Sorry.

[iMacZealot]

Did you have a reason to expect the Verizon music software to work on your MBP? It's not like you can plug a Zune into your MBP either....

It sounds to me like you acted impetuously and you want someone else to take the blame for it. Sorry.

Well, it didn't really cause him any harm, as he returned it and got a refund. However, I agree that the OP should've test-driven both of them first, since a phone is a relatively big purchase since you'll be keeping it for two years (in the States, at least.)

[voyagerd]

You can buy any second-hand Verizon phone off eBay and use it just fine, no need for a new plan. You only need a new plan if you're trying to get a discounted (subsidized price) on a brand new phone from Verizon.

Yeah, I looked at them on eBay, but they were too expensive for me to get the same one as I have or anything better. I have a Motorola E815 with a broken screen.

[grapes911]

I have a Voyager and an iPhone. The iPhone is a better device, but the Voyager ain't too shabby. I think LG did a pretty good job with it.

[gceo]

This really isn't a iPhone vs. Voyager discussion.... I think it's about how off base Cnet reviews can be... I've seen this on other reviews on their site too... those silly round by round fights where winner gets a checkbox... That being said, I almost never look at the editor rating anymore. User ratings seem to be more accurate and detailed anyway. (I trust 'us' more than them) Amazon usually has informative user ratings and comments on products.

[kdarling]

This really isn't a iPhone vs. Voyager discussion.... I think it's about how off base Cnet reviews can be...

That's true. They'll review a phone, give it low marks, yet wonder why all the actual day to day owners rave about it.

Movies, cars, food... trust yourself! Opposite sex or clothes? Trust your friends :p

[gkarris]

I would always try a phone before buying it.

I went to the T-Mobile store to try out the Wing and the AT&T store to try out the iPhone before deciding...

[BOSS10L]

It gets old when i see these kids at school say "Oh, my Phone is better than the iPhone" when they have a crappy voyager or an HTC Touch

And yet we wonder why our country is lagging behind others in education.....:rolleyes:

[Michael CM1]

First of all, I haven't ever seen a Voyager or any other touch-screen phones.

But that being said, trying to compare touch phones to the iPhone because of their touch screens is probably a lot like comparing an old Packard Bell machine to one of those new iMacs because, well, they both have a mouse and keyboard.

Software is what makes computers work! If the iPhone ran Windows Mobile, would it be near as kick-arse? I think we're going to see a lot of essentially shovelware over the next few years until phone companies learn how to write a decent OS for a phone.

[Applejuiced]

Thats like Comparing a BMW to a KIA :D

[JATGA]

Did you have a reason to expect the Verizon music software to work on your MBP? It's not like you can plug a Zune into your MBP either....

It sounds to me like you acted impetuously and you want someone else to take the blame for it. Sorry.

I'm not sure how reading reviews was really acting impetuously. There was an entire article where they compared the LG Voyager to the iPhone and gave point by point comments and the LG Voyager won out.

A few months ago I did ask to see an iPhone at an AT&T. I fully admit that I probably should have tried out a Voyager.

I would have accepted paying a restocking fee or some such, but fortunately it didn't come to that.

[JATGA]

BTW, the head-to-head is here: http://reviews.cnet.com/4370-11399_7-332-101.html?tag=lnav

Note especially the part about navigation. I found the Voyager extremely difficult to navigate when using the touchscreen, especially when it came to the web. Thus my complaint.

[ucfgrad93]

Yeah, I looked at them on eBay, but they were too expensive for me to get the same one as I have or anything better. I have a Motorola E815 with a broken screen.

How about this one? Its $170, not too bad for brand new unsubsidized phone.

http://www.store.motorola.com/mot/en/US/adirect/motorola?cmd=catProductDetail

[Zwhaler]

I saw the vid awhile back. If the phones are going head to head with features, the Voyager won (back then). But the iPhone is not only a better phone, once 2.0 comes out it will wipe the Voyager in you know where.

[Sal Collaziano]

I read the head-to-head on cnet where they actually rated the LG Voyager better than the iPhone.

That's what marketing and money under the table is all about. My wife wanted the Voyager - so I bought her one. Now she wants an iPhone. The Voyager is a waste of money.

[BongoBanger]

i think a lot of people (read: 16 year old girls) just prefer a physical qwerty for texting. other than that the iphone takes a poop on the voyager.


Well done on confirming a stereotype.

*Shakes head*

[gloss]

Thats like Comparing a BMW to a KIA :D

Where the KIA has way more features than the Bimmer but somehow doesn't drive quite as well.

[Neobond]

Yeah, I looked at them on eBay, but they were too expensive for me to get the same one as I have or anything better. I have a Motorola E815 with a broken screen.

They are $50 for Buy-it-Now, in good used condition, you have a MBP and Mac Tower and you can't afford a $50 replacement phone?

[grapes911]

I just went over the categories they used and selected a winner:

Sexiness - iPhone - No need to say more.

Navigation - iPhone- the iPhone's navigation is slightly easer to use, not by much.

Features - Voyager- the iPhone has Wifi, the Voyager has EVDO and a real keyboard.

Music/Video - iPhone - the Voyager's music and video players are usable at best.

Call Quality - Voyager - AT&T sucks compared to Verizon at quality and dropped calls.

That makes the iPhone my winner by a slim margin of 3-2. That sounds about right. I really don't think the cnet article was that far off.

[question fear]

the voyager is NOT a smartphone so i dont think it should be compared to the iphone at all. you wouldnt compare the original enV to the iphone, however the people at CNET (and the technology retarded masses) are idiots and think because they are both touch screens that they must be compared. :rolleyes:

Alright, who paid off cNet? and others for good reviews against the iPhone? I haven't personally used it, but based on what I am reading how could it be rated higher then the iPhone or even close?

The thing to remember about CNET is that they have an anti-apple bias. They were running articles in January of '07 explaining how the iPhone would suck and it would only sell based on the wow factor.

CNET is useful in one respect: If you're looking for a high-end, name brand electronic item, they probably reviewed it well. So if you want a several thousand dollar camcorder, or a high end DSLR, or TV, etc, chances are they loved it. If it costs what a normal person would pay, they probably slammed it for not having the features of the more expensive models. CNET has a severe bias against consumer items and leans heavily towards prosumer products. With the inexplicable exception of their iPhone/iPod hate, which I think probably comes from their ties to many competitors, and it's either a misguided attempt to stay neutral, or they're really personally anti-apple and it comes through.

[coachingguy]

If you look at all the apple "head to head" video comparisons on CNET, the only thing they always give apple is the sexiness. It'll be close but "Pow!" as the video reviewer says the non-apple product will score a win somehow...

It's bad. I look at a lot of the reviews on Cnet, but I also read the user reviews as well. I don't read any of their Mac/Apple reviews, because of the bias.

Coachingguy

[Telp]

Definitely. As long as it's a shiny qwerty and can be hidden in a textbook rather easily, teenage girls don't care whether it has UMTS or not.

And guys. I know lots of guys who complained about the iphone because they wuldnt be able to text easily in class. They got in anyway. Your welcome Apple. :D

Did you have a reason to expect the Verizon music software to work on your MBP? It's not like you can plug a Zune into your MBP either....

It sounds to me like you acted impetuously and you want someone else to take the blame for it. Sorry.

I dont think he is trying to place the blame on anyone at all. Nor do i think he did the right thing. Don't ever trust reviews alone, but if you do, atleast know what your getting into. Luckily the OP was able to get his money back, but as far as sending the blame elsewhere, no, he just made a poor decision. Live and learn.

[gloss]

The thing to remember about CNET is that they have an anti-apple bias. They were running articles in January of '07 explaining how the iPhone would suck and it would only sell based on the wow factor.


That's why the iPod touch is their highest-rated mp3 player, the MacBook among their highest-rated laptops, and the MacBook Pro the highest-rated laptop in its price class, amirite? Damn that anti-Apple bias.

[Sutekidane]

Different phones for different people. I know a good amount of people that have had iphones and hated them. Everyone's experience is unique.

[SFStateStudent]

Sorry to say, I've checked out the Voyager at a Circuit City down the road, and it had a very "CHEAP" feel to it. Too much plastic and the "touchscreen" turned out to be a hit and miss adventure. The TV thing w/UGLY antenna was not functioning and the Verizon rep. had no idea what he was selling other than a 2-year plan and porting my wife's number. He must have forgotten he was selling a phone as well, b/c he couldn't get the plan right or the actual number of minutes and text messages available. So, I had my wife call me on my iPhone and the Voyager had bad reception and static in the background and she couldn't figure how to turn the volume up, nor could the Verizon rep. for that matter. After about thirty minutes we ran out the door and back to the Apple Store. The only nice thing was the LG Voyager had a small, but decent screen. Just a reminder, it's not an easy touchscreen to move around from one website to the next, in fact it was pretty slow, and at times unresponsive to the touch, and the Verizon Mobile is the worse I've seen yet on a phone, but I'm biased by the iPhone's OS. :eek::cool:

[kdarling]

... and the Windows Mobile is the worse I've seen yet on a phone, but I'm biased by the iPhone's OS. :eek::cool:

It's not Windows Mobile.

[newyorksole]

I was watching my friend use his voyager and I must say, it didn't seem like the greatest phone.

[Jetsss]

I read the head-to-head on cnet where they actually rated the LG Voyager better than the iPhone. So, yesterday I purchased an LG Voyager and received it today via FedEx. Long story short, it's horrible. The web browser was almost impossible to use via touchscreen. There were very few features for a supposedly feature-rich phone. Biggest problem of all was that I could not run easily the music software on the new macbook pro I just purchased. (A deal breaker considering the cost of the MBP.) I immediately called and told Verizon I'd be switching to AT&T and returning the phone. I guess I'll have to wait a bit for the new models though. :(

On the bright side, at least the guy at Verizon was very nice and said I'd get 100% of my money back since I cancelled on the first day of activation. :cool:

You have 30 days to try out the LG Voyager to see if you like it....you can return it for a full refund within that time...

Do you mean to say that you bought the phone without trying it? Amazing...
What features did you "read" about that were not on the phone?

I just don't get why people care if the iPhone is better than the Voyager or vice a versa..can't people just have their own opinion. Why does the "other phone have to be "****" just to make your phone ok....if you like the iPhone buy the iPhone..if you like the Voyager buy the voyager.

Make no mistake though...Verizon is a MUCH better network. I have an AT&T phone for work and the service sucks...I own the LG Voyager and like it a lot. would have picked the iPhone because I like it better but no way was I going to switch to AT&T

[Jetsss]

I was watching my friend use his voyager and I must say, it didn't seem like the greatest phone.

You can tell by WATCHING your friend use his phone how good it is???? Give me a break..jeez

[Jetsss]

Sorry to say, I've checked out the Voyager at a Circuit City down the road, and it had a very "CHEAP" feel to it. Too much plastic and the "touchscreen" turned out to be a hit and miss adventure. The TV thing w/UGLY antenna was not functioning and the Verizon rep. had no idea what he was selling other than a 2-year plan and porting my wife's number. He must have forgotten he was selling a phone as well, b/c he couldn't get the plan right or the actual number of minutes and text messages available. So, I had my wife call me on my iPhone and the Voyager had bad reception and static in the background and she couldn't figure how to turn the volume up, nor could the Verizon rep. for that matter. After about thirty minutes we ran out the door and back to the Apple Store. The only nice thing was the LG Voyager had a small, but decent screen. Just a reminder, it's not an easy touchscreen to move around from one website to the next, in fact it was pretty slow, and at times unresponsive to the touch, and the Verizon Mobile is the worse I've seen yet on a phone, but I'm biased by the iPhone's OS. :eek::cool:

If the iPhone was so good...what were you doing buying the Voyager in the first place? Shouldn't your wife realized that you already had the best phone...what a joke....

[Applejuiced]

I was at the mall today and walking by a Verizon store.
I figured I'd drop in for a few to play with the voyager just for giggles.
Let me tell you, its nothing even close to the iphone.
The navigation and menus suck. Every time you use the small touchscreen the thing vibrates and feels funny. Typing on the keyboard felt funny prob cause Im used to the iphones virtual keyboard. I walked out shortly after, that LG aint got nothing on the iPhone.

[JBaker122586]

Make no mistake though...Verizon is a MUCH better network. I have an AT&T phone for work and the service sucks...

I have an AT&T phone and have dropped maybe 5 calls in 5 years.
I have friends with Verizon who b*tch about their service all the time.

Anecdotal evidence does not equal solid fact.

[Applejuiced]

Same here.
But again coverage is not the same and varies from place to place.


I have an AT&T phone and have dropped maybe 5 calls in 5 years.
I have friends with Verizon who b*tch about their service all the time.

Anecdotal evidence does not equal solid fact.

[wolfstocktrader]

I own the iphone and would trade for the Voyager any day. 3 reasons:

Can't get calls while browsing on Edge (3g iPhone will fix this)
Verizon service better and rest of family has Verizon
Since the last software upgrade(7), Voyager browser really zips along on 3 g.

[Applejuiced]

Good for you :D

I own the iphone and would trade for the Voyager any day. 3 reasons:

Can't get calls while browsing on Edge (3g iPhone will fix this)
Verizon service better and rest of family has Verizon
Since the last software upgrade(7), Voyager browser really zips along on 3 g.

[deputy_doofy]

Don't be silly. There's NO difference between touch screens. In fact, I'm willing to bet the old touch-screen ATM machines from back in the day can handle the web just as easily as the iPhone, if not better. :p :p :D

[Applejuiced]

Yep, I was at the ATM machine yesterday and I was pinching and zooming the touchscreen into my account with no problems :D
They even had the slide to unlock feature after you enter you pin.....

Don't be silly. There's NO difference between touch screens. In fact, I'm willing to bet the old touch-screen ATM machines from back in the day can handle the web just as easily as the iPhone, if not better. :p :p :D

[deputy_doofy]

Yep, I was at the ATM machine yesterday and I was pinching and zooming the touchscreen into my account with no problems :D
They even had the slide to unlock feature after you enter you pin.....

Exactly. The $5 remaining in your account doesn't look so small when you zoom in on it and enlarge the font. :D

[Applejuiced]

Yep, looked like a huge amount :D

Exactly. The $5 remaining in your account doesn't look so small when you zoom in on it and enlarge the font. :D

[daakin3]

There are people who like the voyager.... and there's millions of people who rather prefer the Iphone.

Me, being one of them.

[Project]

cnet have always had an anti-Apple thing going on. Nothing new.

[Jetsss]

I was at the mall today and walking by a Verizon store.
I figured I'd drop in for a few to play with the voyager just for giggles.
Let me tell you, its nothing even close to the iphone.
The navigation and menus suck. Every time you use the small touchscreen the thing vibrates and feels funny. Typing on the keyboard felt funny prob cause Im used to the iphones virtual keyboard. I walked out shortly after, that LG aint got nothing on the iPhone.

The Voyager has both keyboards....virtual and a qwerty one. Why do people feel they have to put down on phone in order to like the other. People chose what they like and what is available...one thing I'm sure of is that you don't even have an iPhone...and you sound like you are 10

[gloss]

cnet have always had an anti-Apple thing going on. Nothing new.

*slam. head. on. desk.*

[BongoBanger]

*slam. head. on. desk.*

+1

[butterfly0fdoom]

cnet have always had an anti-Apple thing going on. Nothing new.

Not really, they tend to favor the MB, MBP, and iMac while frowning upon the iPods and iPhone.

[gloss]

Not really, they tend to favor the MB, MBP, and iMac while frowning upon the iPods and iPhone.

Highest-rated MP3 players: The iPod touch and Archos 605 wi-fi, at 8.7.

The iPhone doesn't make their list of best phones mostly because, say what you will, it's relatively feature-poor and the phone itself, judged separately from the browser and iPod functions, is not all that spectacular. Despite that, it still earned an 8.0, which is consistent with the range of ratings for their favorite phones (8.3-8.0).

Not spazzing out about the iPhone, and making legitimate and truthful criticisms of it, is not tantamount to 'frowning on' or 'anti-Apple bias'.

[butterfly0fdoom]

I was actually referring to their editorials, not their ratings, when I was talking about c.net's biases.

[Lostsaint]

I own the iphone and would trade for the Voyager any day. 3 reasons:

Can't get calls while browsing on Edge (3g iPhone will fix this)
Verizon service better and rest of family has Verizon
Since the last software upgrade(7), Voyager browser really zips along on 3 g.

I have a LG Voyager, its about 2 months old. I would gladly trade ya.

Let me know what you think?

Lostsaint

[Siron]

I was in the warehouse of a company that distributes Verizon phones when the first Voyagers came in. After hearing that it was a iPhone killer I couldn't wait to see one. They always fire up a few phones from each batch for QA purposes so I wandered over to check it out. It became evident after a few minutes that it was no where near as good as the iPhone let alone an iPhone killer.
On another note (and I know this is off subject), my wife has a Blackberry and I have used it a few times and I hate it. When I first got my iPhone I was up to speed in a few minutes as it is extremely intuitive. Want to forward an email - just click on "Forward" and up pops your address book. I tried it on the Blackberry and after three minutes and in desperation I tried typing in the first letters of the persons name and voila the address book opens. And how anyone can use those tiny tiny qwerty keys is beyond me.
Just my 2c worth.

[mixmacface]

i've have a friend who got an iphone and absolutely hated it. of course she isn't exactly up on technology very well. i offered her my motorola razr for her iphone and she said yes. although i knew i couldn't do that to her, still she said yes. she complained it was too hard to text on with fake nails on.
i just looked at her in amazement as she complained about her shiny new iphone. i wanted to punch her in the face. but to my amazement, she still has it. she "got used to it". ah, but any phone that claims to be an iphone killer is bound to fail in some aspects to apple-lovers' expectation.
but don't just go buy something like a phone based on one website's reviews. read user reviews as well. . but i think it's silly to go buy something based on one review. and always try before you buy.

[Kblakeshot]

This might be the wrong place to praise Verizon, but I owned an iPhone for 2 months. Shortly thereadter I left Att and now am with Verizon for two weeks now. I now own the enV2, and its honestly the best phone I have ever had! Yes, and I did say I owned an iPhone, and many other PDAs. I am however somewhat biased because I am one that HAS to have my "real" keyboard. And I am not some teenie bop girl that sends more texts than minutes she sleeps in a day, I am a 24 year old male. I am only posting this because people are bashing the Voyager saying its "just" an enV with Touch Screen, implying the enV isn't good. I really do not care too much for the Voyager, or the enV's lame browser, but I can tell you although the iPhone took internet on phone to another level, it also in my opinion may be the single most over-rated electronic (notice I said electronic and not cell phone) device ever.

Ill take my enV2 and have all the features any cell phone in 2008 should have including MMS and a real GPS.

P.S. I do not hate the iPhone by any means.. and maybe seeing that I am on a plan with my sister who is a Verizon Customer service specialist and I get the unlimited everything plan for $40 ($10 more than just the new price of the iPhones data plan itself).. that might have something to do with it too.. :D