LG Venus VX8800 (black, Verizon Wireless)

Pros: Great screen resolution, feel, camera, features and UI

Cons: Lower battery life and finger print magnet

Summary: The LG Venus (VX8800) is an incredibly stylish yet capable phone. Some of the more impressive features include: a 2.0 megapixel camera, touch screen with haptic feedback, clean UI system (tons better than Verizon's redundant red theme design), a MP3 only mode for those boring flights, support for microSD high capacity flash memory and other now standard features with new Verizon phones. Of course, with all this cool stuff, the phone has to look the part too.

LG's new toy takes an obvious cue from Apple's own iPhone with a slick black paint job and silver trim. The sliding function works elegantly and the phone sits very nicely in the hand; so much so that I'd have to say it has one of the best grips I've ever felt on a phone. The dual screens are also a nice touch (pun intended) and from the minute you turn it on, the phone begins utilizing both screens (with a Verizon logo of course). Though, I think the most important feature to note is the bottom screen and its capabilities.

The touch screen works wonderfully and LG has put a lot of effort into making sure the consumer knows that they're pressing a button. This is done with a vibration for each button press. The screen is surprisingly responsive and very easy to get used to; it's a massive step above the clunky Chocolate touch pad.

Even with all these great features I have, unfortunately, some small gripes with this magnificent phone. The touch pad is great but it would have been nice to include a virtual numeric keypad so that if I wanted to keep my phone closed, I could. The rear of the phone, on the camera side, is a bit dull looking and lacks a stylish design ala the Voyager. The battery life is a bit low at four hours talk time where most phones have an average of seven hours. Last but not least, I would have loved to have seen the phone be a Voyager mini with a full touch screen on the front and the keypad used only when I feel like it.

Even with these small problems, the LG Venus is a solid slider phone and blows me away with its incredibly appealing design. It is well worthy of a 9/10 from me.