CONS

SUMMARY
I had this phone for a few months and everything was working fine. Then there were some software issues so I took it back to the Verizon store and they replaced it. Phones should be designed to take a little bit of damage. I try to be careful with it but the second time I dropped it the screen cracked. It was sitting on my lap, I forgot it was there and it made a short drop about 3 feet to the floor. It also had difficulty charging so I took it to the verizon store and the salesman told me "It's a piece of crap" and that there was nothing they were going to do for me. I've been finding way to get it to charge by setting small counter weights to hold the cord in exactly the right position for it to make the phone charge but now it wont charge at all. The touchscreen is cracked and unreadable so you don't know what the buttons are. I was shocked at how poor the durability was. In the end the verizon guy said it all. "It's a piece of crap."]]>http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/lg-venus.aspx?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_lg-venus&utm_campaign=PhoneDog4/12/2009 8:16:02 PMPROSnone

CONS
silver on the side comes off, bad camera, battery life is bad, and everything else about it sucks

SUMMARY
i hate it. it is so so so so so so so very very very bad and terrible ]]>http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/lg-venus.aspx?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_lg-venus&utm_campaign=PhoneDog3/29/2009 9:29:50 AMhttp://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/lg-venus.aspx#comments?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_lg-venus&utm_campaign=PhoneDog1/6/2009 7:39:30 PMPROSlooks good, music player is decent, nice form factor, camera setup is nice

CONS
horrible battery life, touchscreen is gimmeky at best, keypad is terrible,C amera also horrible bad build quality overall

SUMMARY
got my venus nearly a year ago, it worked decently for the first few weeks but then the touchscreen started to go. Let's get this straight: the touchscreen isnt that good to start with, i'll touch one corner and it'll select the exact opposite or i push as hard as i can and it wont register sometimes th screen registers a click but the phone wont. Now the screen is horrible, i can barely get it to work, and i dont abuse my phones. without use of the touchscreen all you can really do is make calls(thats why i marked down ease of use, without the screen it isnt easy to use at all). The keyboard was good to start with too but now its really mushy, keys get stuck, they wiggle loose, the paint is coming off of them, once again i dont abuse my phones so i dont know why it's happening. Overall build quality was decent to start with, it had a good wieght and the back has a nice feel, however it's very plastiky. Now it feels like its falling apart, the slider mechanism feels like it'll throw the screen off of the phone if you slide it too fast. The camera is a piece of junk too. I know its only 2mp but i figured it would be a little bit better then it is. Every picture i have is horribly blurred, movie capture is just a bunch of blurs moving around, you need to have the phone still and the subject still to have any chance at getting a good shot. Now dont get me wrong, this was a good phone when i first bought it. It had extremely nice screens, it didn't feel too shabby the touchscreen worked and all of my friends were jealous of its good looks. However it seriously needs some work on the hardware side to make it worth it, and the software could work alittle nicer with the phone too. i dont know if it was just mine that fell apart or not but i hate my phone now, im ditiching it soon it's so bad.]]>http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/lg-venus.aspx?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_lg-venus&utm_campaign=PhoneDog12/7/2008 6:19:49 PMMany thanks to JustAMP for archiving this bit of mobile marketing history.

CONS

SUMMARY
Go check ou tthe LG Touch microsite at lg.ca (click on the touch banner) its AMAZING!!!]]>http://www.phonedog.com/cell-phone-research/lg-venus.aspx?utm_source=Rss&utm_medium=CellPhone_lg-venus&utm_campaign=PhoneDog4/8/2008 2:04:03 PM

All that's to say that I can't really compare Hands-On Mobile's Guitar Hero Mobile to the real thing.  But I can tell you that the mobile version is pretty awesome.  Really, all you do is press buttons on the keypad to match up with the movement of colored dots on the screen.  And yet it's somehow really fun, compelling, and addictive.  I think it's because the dots are moving down a fretboard that attracts a lot of multi-colored lightning, and they're synched up with the guitar parts to actual rock songs, many of which I actually know and like.  So it's kind of like having something to do while listening to music on your phone.  And that something is rhythmic button mashing, which is pretty fun.

From what I've read and heard from friends who'd know, Guitar Hero Mobile is pretty faithful to the console version.  There are characters and venues and a career mode, and all kinds of songs you can download to your phone as you unlock new levels. 

I tested the game out on an LG Venus running on Verizon Wireless, and the graphics, sound, and gameplay were all excellent.  Apparently Hands-On Games worked closely with Activision (publishers of the console versions) to stay true to the original, and they did a good job.  Higher-end handsets like Venus feature 3D graphics and fluid animations.

My only complaint about the game had to do with pressing the star (*) key to activate "Star Power."  It's probably my fault that it took me awhile to understand what Star Power was all about, but even then invoking my Power seemed to accidentally pause the game all too often.  Likely that has more to do with Venus' keypad than the game itself, but it was still a bit confusing.  Still, the game was really fun and way, way, way better than the one knockoff I demo'd - Gameloft's Guitar Legend.  The difference between the two games is literally like the difference between rock 'n' roll and muzak.

Guitar Hero III Mobile is currently available only on Verizon Wireless, AT&T, ntelos and Cellular South, though the game will likely soon be available on more handsets and carriers.  And a little birdie tells me that there may just be a big party at CTIA in Vegas to launch a BlackBerry version.  We'll be there.

1. Apple iPhone
   With no clear competitor in sight (yet) the iPhone sits comfortably atop this list as the number one cell phone to give or receive this holiday season. Between its incredible popularity, innovative design, increased storage capacity and overall coolness factor it really was a no brainer.
   
2. LG Voyager 
   Verizon's answer to the iPhone (not quite, but good try though). With dual displays, touch screen interface, full hidden QWERTY keyboard Mobile TV and high speed data capability the Voyager packs a lot of features into one device that is sure to be hit especially amongst hardcore text and IM users.
   
3. Motorola Razr2 V9
   The V9 is the most capable non smartphone phone on the market today. When you combine a thin form factor, 3G broadband speeds, video streaming, a full Opera HTML browser and a solid music player you definitely have a phone that is worth a look.
   
4. LG Venus
   The Venus is one of Verizon's top guns this holiday season and for good reason. The slider design inspires confidence with every flick of your thumb combined with an improved UI and interactive lower touch screen display it offers a solid feature set at an arguable reasonable price. 
   
5. Samsung Blackjack II (SGH-617)
   Need to get a new smartphone this year then take a look at the Blackjack 2. It now features a faster processor, increased internal memory, bigger battery (up to 7 hours of talk time), WM6 OS, HSDPA data speed and new scrolling jog wheel to help you navigate easily through the simplified UI. At only $79 with new service the Blackjack 2 offers the most bang for the buck of any phone on the list too bad it's just not as sexy as the others.

Honorable mentions:
HTC Touch Sprint
Samsung FlipShot Verizon
Samsung Blast T-Mobile

Please let us know which phone(s) you think should have made this list and we will post the results in a follow up article. 

Those of you wanting the LG Voyager (VX10000) a dual display with haptec touch controls and a full QWERTY keyboard will have to wait just a couple more days. The phone is still slated for release this Wednesday the 21st at the expected price of $299 with a new 2 year contract as well.

It would have been nice to get a side of Wifi to go with that order.

While the Fall CTIA Show is, as the "Wireless IT & Entertainment" moniker would suggest, more about business-to-business services than new phones for consumers, I did get to play with some cool handsets yesterday.  I also got some interesting insight into the state of the cellular world from folks as diverse as Nokia Execs, the head of Telecom for Deloitte & Touche, and some of my fellow bloggers.

The general consensus is that the line between phones and smartphones is getting blurrier by the minute here in the states.  Folks from Nokia pointed out that the working definition of "smartphone" is different in Europe - where people use advanced handsets more for entertainment purposes than in the US where "smartphone" equals "productivity."  That may be changing somewhat this holiday season, however, with a bunch of new entertainment and productivity-rich models hitting the stores.

LG showed off the Venus and Voyager, new handsets that should be in Verizon Wireless stores by the end of November.  Both models are VCast Music and Video compatible, and the Voyager also works with VCast Mobile Television offerings.  And both phones are hot - you can see them in action in the video I posted earlier today.

Something of a successor to the enV, Voyager features horizontal clamshell design - there's a 3" touchscreen display on the outside and a smaller display and full QWERTY keyboard on the inside.  A two-megapixel camera and dual stereo speakers make this phone an entertainment monster as much as it is a messaging maven.

Venus, on the other hand, is a slim slider with a large display split into standard and touch-sensitive sections.  What's cool about Venus' design is that there's a standard keypad for dialing and texting, but the touchscreen area can be programmed for different application-specific controls.  It's an interesting way to raise the tech/feature level without sacrificing much in the way of style or bulk.

LG was also showing the Sprint Rumor, a messaging phone that looks kind of likeLG's F9200 for AT&T.  Rumor is interesting - it's a sleek, nice-looking device that marries a small screen to a slide-out QWERTY board, packs a decent feature-set, but doesn't do 3G data speeds.  Instead of buzzing along on Sprint's EV-DO network, it's relegated to the slower 1xRTT data path.  Rumor will be inexpensive, though - $79 with contract, so it could turn out to be a good choice for messaging addicts on a budget.  I tapped a few sentences out on it and generally liked it - I'm looking forward to getting a review model to play with awhile.

Speaking of Sprint, I got a Palm Centro in my paw for the first time and I was pleasantly surprised.  Currently available for under $100 with contract, Centro is a total 180 from the old days of big, bulky, PDA phones that screamed "Geek!"  Centro is stylish in that "functional" way like Nokias are, and in addition to phone, email, and Web functionality it also supports Sprint TV. And while the QWERTY board on the Centro looks tiny in photos, it actually seemed pretty usable in hand.  Even with my giant thumbs.

T-Mobile had their new Sidekicks - the Slide and LX - on display.  The LX is also now available for purchase, as well.  I liked the Slide's smaller, lighter form factor and new sliding display/keyboard cover.  Slide also features a 320 x 240 resolution display to the LX's 400 x 240.  Both models also feature cameras and music players.

And while the Nokia booth on the show floor was primarily geared towards showing off their Ovi ecosystem of Web 2.0 services (more on that in another post soon), they did have handsets, too of course.  The N95 8GB is slick.  Finished in black with a larger LCD display than the original N95, the 8GB model is a total powerhouse.  I also checked out the N81 8GB, and came away really impressed by its graphics performance during gaming.  Nokia's serious about rebirthing N-Gage, and while the new NGage is a platform and not a specific handset, the N81 was a good choice for showing it off.  FIFA soccer, in particular, looked terrific on the S60 slider.

Motorola had the Z6tv and Q9h (amongst others) on display at their booth.  The z6tv is a Verizon Wireless slider that supports VZW's MediaFLO-powered VCAST Mobile TV service.  What's nice about the Z6tv is that it's the first VCAST TV handset without an ugly external antenna.  It's basically a RIZR done up in a nice, black and chrome finish.

The Q9h is the forthcoming GSM variant of Moto's newest smartphone - the Q9m has been available on VZW for awhile now.  Aside from with a few cosmetic differences, the big differences are under the hood.  Q9h will run Windows Mobile 6 and feature HSDPA support for 3G data along with a 2 MP camera.

Leading the way are two new phones from LG the Voyager and Venus scheduled to be available before Thanksgiving. The Voyager features a large touch screen display along with a slide out keyboard to compliment its high speed internet access and full HTML web browser. The Venus sports dual front displays; like the Voyager display the lower touch screen features vibration feedback. Both phones share the same 2.0 megapixel camera an expandable memory card slot up to 8GB.

The Juke by Samsung scheduled for release on October 19 is not geared to the internet browsing / email checker every two minutes type, but rather a more practical and dare I say "fashion conscience" individual who wants to combine a dose of style with a dash of function.  With its 180 degree swivel display and 2GB of internal memory the Juke carves itself a nice little niche in todays ever changing market.

Rounding out the new line up is the all too familiar Blackberry Pearl 8130. Not much has changed from the original Pearl announced over a year ago, but never the less Verizon customers will now be able to get there hands on the first Pearl that supports high speed internet access (EV-DO).

Read the full press release after the jump here