As a Voyager owner, I want to say that some of you have misconceptions about the device. Ive been an Apple fan for years because of the simplicity and reliably of their hardware and software. Is the Voyager an iPhone Killer? No way. Is it a very good phone? Definitely. Here are my opinions on the two head-to-head.
I was a Cingular customer before they merged with AT&T and Cingular was a total mess in my local area (Philadelphia area). I had constant drops and terrible connections. When looking for a new service, I checked with Consumer Reports and they rate cell service by major city. For the Philadelphia area, Verizon was hands down the most highly rated service. After being a Verizon owner in this area, I could never imagine switching back. Not even an Apple product could make me switch.
The Voyager does work with OS X, but not nearly as nice as the iPhone. I can connect to the Voyager via Bluetooth and send/receive pictures and music. I cannot natively send/receive ringtones, contacts, or calendar appointments. But by exporting Address book contacts as vCards, I can send the contact to the Voyager. It is a push not a sync, but for me that is more than enough. BitPim allows me to sync contacts, ringtones, and calendar items, so all is not lost.
While WiFi is not an option, EVDO is awesome. A friend was bragging about the speed of his iPhone over my Voyager. Needless to say, I loaded 3 ESPN pages before he loaded the first one. After he connected to WiFi (with a FIOS connection), He loaded the 1.5 pages time while I only loaded the first one. Even without WiFi, on average my Voyager is faster than his iPhone. But remember, I said the AT&T connection is pretty bad around here.
A 5 second change using the QPST phone tools (Im still not sure the legality of this), enabled DUN/tethering. I understand the iPhone can do this too, but Ive never seen it in person. Either way, I go back to my point in that EVDO kicks butt and Id much rather tether through Verizon than AT&T.
Ive heard complaints about the Voyager being way too big. Honestly, even side-by-side with the iPhone, it doesnt feel any bigger than the iPhone. It fits perfectly in my pocket or hand.
The Voyager virtual keyboard cant keep up with the iPhones keyboard. But the Voyagers internal keyboard is hands down better than the iPhones.
As a media device, the iPhone is way better for music and video. Unlike an iPhone, the Voyager could never replace my iPod. The only media thing the Voyager has over the iPhone is the MobileTV. I like it, but I cant imagine using it much so I am planning on canceling it.
The Voyagers full HTML and JavaScript browser has been excellent. It renders pages flawlessly except for ASP and ASP.NET pages which is routinely chokes on. The browser is not crippled in any way.
The battery is acceptable. I make a decent amount of calls each day and Ive only had it a few weeks so I search the web a lot (novelty purposes mostly). I charge it every night and that has been more than sufficient. About two days would probably be the max I could go between charging.
The OS is fine. Could it be better? Of course, but I have no complaints in particular. Easy, logistical navigation from feature to feature.
Im on a family plan, but my portion of the bill is 9.99 for minutes and $35 for data, email, and TV. After the rebate, NE2 discount, and tax, the phone cost me less than $300.
I think the big thing to remember here is that the iPhone is a PDA/phone/media player. The Voyager is a phone/media player. They obviously don't have the same features and one shouldn't expect them to.
Im an Apple fan, and if it wasnt a cell service provider thing Id have an iPhone. I really dont care which is better, because Ive been an Apple fan all my life. I took a risk purchasing the Voyager because I wasnt sure if Id like it. Even before I ever saw an iPhone, I knew it would fit my needs just because it is an Apple. That being said, dont write off the Voyager as a crappy, misfit, iPhone-copy. It really is a nice phone and Id recommend it to anyone.
