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- Average user rating: 3.5 stars out of 440 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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59 out of 81 people found this review helpful
2.0 stars
"Think Before You Buy"
Pros: Impressive speakerphone, looks good
Cons: Poor browser, bulky, bad value, each feature requires $
Summary: A summary of each feature offered:
- Internet Browsing: (Not Usable!) The phone must render the full page before you can scroll. Even with EV-DO this makes the internet seem extremely slow. Gimicky touchscreen means you will have a tough time scrolling once the web page is loaded, and you cannot click on links at all without going to the smaller internal screen. The iPhone is better WITHOUT even considering iPhone's wifi capability.
- TV: (Nobody will ever use it) The TV service offered is very impressive, unsurpassed on any phone in the US. They have a viewing guide and you can change a channel just like real live TV. No slow buffering or waiting. However, it still costs $15 for 6 channels and only works in cities, where TV's are already ubiquitous.
- GPS: (Overly priced) To use the GPS you must get Navigator service. The most notable feature is text-to-speech turn-by-turn directions. But it costs $10 for this service and you can now buy a quality GPS for your car with a much larger screen for $150 with more capabilities and $0 monthly. The other feature of Navigator is searching for nearby points of interest. However, a superior service is offered for free by google maps, and google can now identify your location even if you don't have a gps phone. Google maps do not work on the voyager.
- Music: (Good) The sound on the stereo speakers are fantastic. However, playing sound through the speakers is unfortunately rarely used, and the stereo speakers make the phone more bulky. Even if you chose to use this feature, it drains the battery very quickly. The ability to download songs at any time from Verizon is nice, however it costs $2 per song. There are many phones from Verizon with comparable or better music capabilities, do not purchase this phone for music. The iPhone provides a much better interface, gets podcasts, and offers iTunes which is much better than vCast Music Manager.
Price: (Average) An iPhone is really the same price and it comes with 8gB of memory. Voyager has 128m. To purchase an 8Gb microSD card will cost you an extra $125. The minimum plan for the iPhone is $59.99. However, the minimum plan for the Voyager is $39.99 and you have to pay the extra $15 for data. If you want email, it will cost you an extra $5 on top of that.
User Interface: (below average) The use of both an internal external screen means you must master 2 user interfaces instead of 1, and they are very different. The typical Verizon menus have been removed, but the same Verizon experience is still there. The touchscreen unfortunately freezes up on occasion and can become frustrating. This interface is to superior to other Verizon phones, and does not even compare to an Iphone.
Camera: (Average) The camera offers a lot of features, and 2 megapixels is at the top end of what you will get on a phone. But picture quality is still not good enough to replace your camera, therefore it should not be a factor in your decision to purchase this device.
Photos: (good) With a large screen and 8Gb of memory this is one area where the voyager excels. The slideshow feature is comparable to the iPhone with 1 glaring exception. If you tilt the phone, the image will not rotate as well. While this is not a dealbreaker, it does make viewing a slideshow a bit annoying. Still the experience is superior to other Verizon phones.
Bluetooth: (good) Bluetooth capabilities that are better than any other offering from Verizon, and better than the iPhone. You can send photos, music and other files wirelessly to you laptop. Unfortunately, the speed of transfer is too slow. 1 song will take at 2 minutes to transfer. This makes it useless for transferring pictures or music, but still functional for transferring your contacts. However, Verizon already offers a free backup service for your phone to automatically sync up your device to the Verizon server. Some people will argue that you can tether (use your phone as a modem for your laptop) using Bluetooth, but the speed of Bluetooth makes this pointless. The one advantage of the superior bluetooth capability is the ability to use a wireless stereo headset. But those devices are expensive, they are too bulky, and they drain the phones battery. (which is why this feature is not on the iPhone)
Tethering (Using the phone as a modem for your laptop) (pointless): It is against Verizon policy to tether without paying for a data plan that costs $59.99 per month. At that point, you may as well purchase the card that Verizon sells to plug into your laptop, since it's the same price and doesn't use up your phone batteries. Tech geeks will argue that they can "hack it" and connect without paying the $59.99 per month, however Verizon has computer programs that monitor internet activity. If you find a way to get away with it for the $15 per month, it won't last long.
Email (poor): Email costs $5 per month for up to 7 accounts. If you have used a blackberry you will realize that this email service is very basic. Only yahoo mail, hotmail and verizon mail will work, so don't expect to use gmail. It's functional for those users who are not looking for anything very advanced. Do not expect message filters, sorting, or even the ability to search. In fact, The only service they offer in addition to any other Verizon phones is the email alert feature. It's all through Verizon's Get It Now service, so expect to click through the menus to find the email.
Design: (Above average) The phone is not huge like a sidekick, but it's probably Verizon's bulkiest phone and it's about 50% wider than the iPhone. If you are getting this to show off to your friends, keep in mind that Verizon just made 2 big announcements in the past week which will open up Verizon in 2008 to all software and all phones. And will eventually move Verizon onto GSM. Your nice phone to show off will no longer be impressive very soon.
Text messaging: The keypad is big, and makes texting very easy. If you text message a lot you will love this.
Games: (Bad) If you like to play games, be warned that the offering is significantly less than what is offered on other Verizon phones, mainly because most games were just not designed for the wide screen.
Multi-tasking: (None) Don't expect to listen to music while you send a text. Once you close the music player, the music is off. Similarly, don't expect to browse the web while you are on speakerphone. Other Verizon phones, like the Venus and blackberry phones, let you multitask.
Voicemail: If you are expected the "dynamic voicemail" that iPhone offers, think again. It will not download and list out your messages for you. It's Verizon voicemail.
Conclusion: If you want GPS, buy a GPS device for your car (it's cheaper). You obviously aren't going to pay $15/month for 6 channels of TV, and the internet is $15 per month and frustrating to the point that it's barely usable. Bluetooth functionality provides you limited advantages. And you know you're almost never going to use that external speaker for music. So you are paying extra money for a bulky phone that has email alerts, good speakerphone capabilities, and has a roomier keypad for texting and email. So if you're going to buy this phone, get it to show off to your friends for a month or 2. Otherwise, get something more practical. If you like Verizon's service, get the Venus. If you are not a diehard Verizon users, get the iPhone.
- 10 replies to this review
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I've had this phone for about 8 months and it hasn't given me any problems. Texting on it is great, the keypad is nice and big. The speaker quality is also very good, and you don't have to pay $2 per song if you have an SD card. Its not really that bulky but it is a big phone, and it fits perfectly in your pocket if your wearing jeans. I would recommend this phone to a friend!!!
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Couple of stipulations with your review. Seems you didn't do your homework all the way. I can point out at least 5 things in your review that are incorrect.
1. and you cannot click on links at all without going to the smaller internal screen.
In fact both screens are of equal size: 240 X 400.
2.the speakers is unfortunately rarely used, and the stereo speakers make the phone more bulky. Even if you chose to use this feature, it drains the battery very quickly.
The stereo speakers are always on unless im reading this one the wrong way.
You made it sound like they are not always on.
3. touch screen freezing.
If you don't move photos and music to the MSD chip then yes. it might get a little slow.
4. dynamic voicemail
Visual voicemail much? It's on my phone! I'll be happy to post a pic to you.
5. Similarly, don't expect to browse the web while you are on speakerphone.
This should not have to be mentioned.
browsing the web = data call.
speaker phone = voice call. Known fact. -
I have had this phone now for three months and it has many problems. First the battery life is super short. So you have to get the bigger battery if you are going to use it with any frequency. My last phone would last 3 to 4 weeks on a charge and this barely makes 2 days. Second the touch screen is very difficult to use. I thought I was getting the IPhone type interface and not even close. To just use it as a phone you have to try and unlock the screen by tapping away or use the unlock button on the side. Very complicated just to dial. The sound quality of the phone is average at best. The fact that google maps doesn't work is a huge disappointment and there are no free games and even the pay games are not good. The phone looks nice and the full keyboard is easy to use but that is it.
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I onky hear true complaints about the prices of Verizon. This is the best phone I have ever used and I paid full retail for a Dare and sent it back, I hated it. The Voyager is great and there is a lot of free tv and it works great. Everything on the phone works great in my opinion. I love the gps navigator for finding a good restaurant while in a new town or stores , I just love this phone and truly cant beleive he owns one.
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Thanks so much ! You seriously helped me a lot. But what would you recommend? Either the Voyager or the Dare ? I'm not sure which cell phone I should get. I mean, I sort of would want a fast, cool looking cell phone and I tend to drop cell phones easily. I don't know if dropping my cell phone many times would get my screen all weird.
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It's obvious by reading your review that you are an iPhone fanboy. I doubt that you even own a Voyager or have used it extensively, since many of your points are incorrect. For example, the browser lets you scroll while loading, which is a positive compared to other phones. You are able to get G-mail in the Mobile E-mail with no problem.
Many people use the TV on a regular basis, especially business travelers. The phone may have 128mb of storage, but you have practically unlimited storage because you and remove mini-SD cards as much as you want. Can you do that on your iPhone?
The phone was not built with motion sensing such as the iPhone, so of course tilting the phone will not cause the picture to flip. That is also why they don't have "visual voicemail" then you are kidding yourself. That is an Apple thing and the Voyager does not have it (although there have been rumors of something similar being introduced in a software update). Just as the iPhone does not have removable memory, removable batteries, or a full keypad and second screen, the Voyager does not have some of the options that the iPhone has.
And the phone is not wide at all. It is thicker, yes, because it has TWO screens with an interal QWERTY keypad.
And for the price, Verizon is offering a plan for $79.99 that includes 450 peak minutes, unlimited nights and weekends, unlimited calling to VZW customers, unlimited texting, unlimited internet, mobile TV, V-cast (which is admittedly not that useful), GPS, and mobile e-mail.
If you are instructing potential buyers to "think before you buy", then please "use before you review" when reviewing a product. -
this is the worst review i've read in a while. i am completely convinced that you do not own a voyager. most of the opinions you had, such as an "unusable" browser, were incorrect. especially when you said you must use the smaller internal screen to click links. not only is that not true, but the inside screen is the exact same size as the front. don't get me wrong, the iphone is a great innovative device, but you should really do some better research before giving such an irresponsible review of another product.
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This is one of the most thorough, honest, and helpful reviews I have ever encountered. I wanted a comprehensive view of the Voyager and a comparison to the iPhone, and that's what this review provides. I did not get a feeling of iPhone bias at all, just felt that the reviewer was calling it as he saw it. The review provided a strong enough impression of the Voyager to enable me to make a decision one way or the other, although I did not use this review alone.
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why would you even be that negative? i think the fone works great. nothing has ever gone wrong with my voyager.
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I like how you refferred everything to the "oh-so-amazing-iphone". Wow, Honestly looking at this review you don't have a Voyager. I assume your a die hard iphone fan because it looks pretty and everyone in the whole world has it.
First of all, the Voyager has 182MB, not 128, if you ever checked. Sure, nobody would use mobile TV, but nobody would use Google Maps. If i was stuck in the middle of nowhere on a busy street and i relied on google maps to get home, i'd die. Oh wait, OF COURSE. the iPhone has google maps. Hmm, lets lean towards google maps? Somebody has an iPhone. Truth be told.Your review was based on your sucky opinions. Sure, some of it is true. On email you dont have to dig through menus. The FN key at the top left is a SHORTCUT key. Your probably didn't know that you could assing shortcuts on the interior too? No ****. The GPS is 15 per month, OR you could use the 1.99 per day a la carte plan. The internet on the Voyager is much faster than the iPhone's. Sure, the iPhone does have a better browser, but the EDGE network is slower than someone trying to use the internet from an old RAZR. All in all theyre easily even'ed out. The iPhone is for people who don't have an iPod,and want to get on the internet, and dont like to text, or take pictures, or talk on the phone. The Voyager is for those who text, im, get on the internet, even if the browser isnt as good as the iphone's, so what is the music player isn't as goo as the iphone's? The iphone is an ipod, so it's like ipod with internet. The voyager is actually a phone you can use without getting tons and tons of dropped calls. And the data plan in verizon is 15, the data plan in AT&T is 20, *******.
Where to buy
LG Voyager - VX10000 (Verizon Wireless):
$135.00
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
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eBay
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$135.00 | Yes |
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