Verizon's Venus and Voyager available for pre-order

Seems to be Venus and Voyager day, first more lovely pics and now, pre-orders. The LG Venus and Voyager hit Verizon's site in all of their pre-order glory today, so if you've been itching for an update, your time is now. We've been all over the Venus a few times and as predicted, it has landed for $199 on a 2 year contract and is set for release on November 19th. Pre-orders for LG's Voyager have also started, though this QWERTY set is going to set you back $299 on a 2 year stint with availability slated for Nov 21st. Follow the links below if you've a hankering to plonk down your hard earned cash.

[Thanks, lenny, anthony]

Read -- LG Voyager
Read -- LG Venus

[DickHardknocks @ Nov 8th 2007 10:17AM]

I think these phones would looks so much cooler if they didn't have that Verizon Logo on the front.

I'd buy a voyager but that huge check is the dealbreaker.

[Sir Vilhelm @ Nov 8th 2007 2:25PM]

yea because that check is sooooooooo huge

[Stefan @ Nov 12th 2007 1:35AM]

that big check? are you kidding me? i suppose i cant stand t mobiles big T or at&ts little icon either. thats ridiculous

[Alex @ Nov 27th 2007 8:41AM]

You said it right Stefan - "at&ts little icon". DickHardKnocks obviously wants a phone that does not feel the need to constantly remind the owner of who created it. It is NOT ridiculous - appearances do matter in electronics, that is a fact. Slimmer, sleeker, and phones without horrible logos displayed everywhere do much better than phones like these - end of story.

[Justin @ Nov 8th 2007 10:21AM]

As we unfortunately have to ask with all Verizon phones, how badly did Big V gimp these things, and why isn't that information in the article?

[Jongscx @ Nov 8th 2007 10:41AM]

Wait... didn't voyager go to saturn and not venus...

Well, I guess a phone called the Mariner would turn heads for the wrong reasons...

[imacmatt09 @ Nov 8th 2007 10:54AM]

Thats an iPhone kno--

*STFU Self!*

[Reader @ Nov 8th 2007 10:59AM]

I have a dream that one day no one will make a reference to apple in every single post...

[applefreak @ Nov 8th 2007 11:11AM]

than Im your worst nightmare
but I only bring up apple when i think it is related

[riggs @ Nov 8th 2007 2:10PM]

given your username i highly doubt that :D

[Ari @ Nov 8th 2007 11:28AM]

since verizon people specifically said this will "kill the iphone" i think its appropriate.

Also i thin not getting a phone because VZW put the check mark on the top is slightly ridiculous, but since these are fashion phones the it is all in the eye of the beholder.

Now i think unquestionably this is VZW best phone yet, assuming call quality can be strong, the feature set is really impressive, especially here in NYC with VCAST TV.

My only reservation, is anyone who has used a chocolate phone knows the touch sensitive buttons can go at any time, so what happens when the whole face is touch sensitive. I don't know if the 8550 improved over the 8500, and if so that should speak volumes about LG's ability to improve on touch interfaces, but really its a big gamble. I think buying this without insurance is a huge risk.

[applefreak @ Nov 8th 2007 1:37PM]

true, true

[Nate @ Nov 8th 2007 11:29AM]

My problem with this phone is the same one I have with the iPhone. If I'm going to pay this much for a phone, I'm not going to sign my life away for two years.

I'm not opposed to paying good money for a phone. I just paid retail for a Pearl. I am against shelling out large amounts of money, and not getting the main advantage of a subsidy.

Before you rip on me, I'm aware that the retail for the Voyager is 469.00. I'm just saying that 299.00 is too high for a two year subsidized price, especially for a non-smartphone. If I have to sign a two year contract for a dumbphone, it had better be damn near free.

[Joe @ Nov 8th 2007 11:54AM]

How is the mobile web on these things? "These things" being non-smart phone/pda. I have a Q with VZ now, and although the IE isn't perfect, it works well enough. Thanks

[Neil @ Nov 8th 2007 12:07PM]

Does anyone know what kind of web browser the Voyager has? Does is support "normal" desktop-style broswing (like the iPhone)?

[Nate @ Nov 8th 2007 12:23PM]

They call it a full HTML browser. Initial reports are lukewarm, though it seems like each time I here a new report it seems a bit better. I would imagine if it's anywhere near Opera mini, people will be very happy.

Lets face it, as long as it's better than Mobile Web, people will be happy.

[bopper @ Nov 8th 2007 12:25PM]

i have verizon and love the service but was willing to buy the voyager instead of waiting for a 3g Iphone. Not that I'm buying it for texting but i might send 15 a month. i looked on the verizon tutorials and you can't text from the keyboard, can it get any dumber than that? you can only text from the virtual phone keypad by hitting mulitple taps. that is definitely a non starter for me.

[mattbates @ Nov 9th 2007 1:48AM]

that info is definetely wrong. if you got it from verizon, that doesn't mean anything. they're wrong a lot. anyway people who have used the phone said you can use the keyboard for anything texty. you can text from the front but it uses T9 not a virtual qwerty.

[Jordan @ Nov 8th 2007 8:42PM]

I doubt this phone will remove features that were on the V and enV phones, both which allowed texting from the QWERTY. The only feature I do see missing is the flash.

[Nate @ Nov 8th 2007 12:55PM]

I wouldn't put much stock in that. The whole purpose of the keyboard is for texting.

Rest assured, you will be able to text from the keyboard on this phone.

[Peppie @ Nov 8th 2007 1:13PM]

Bopper, I almost want to accuse you of trolling. I used this tutorial http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia/mim/lg_voyager/ and it was all about the touchscreen. I actually talked to a guy who works for verizon and he says that you CAN use the qwerty for text messaging, placing calls, browsing the web, watching tv, etc... Basically, if you wanted, you could use the qwerty and not the touchscreen. I will use a mix of both. I can't wait till mine gets shipped :)

P.S. The tutorial was more of a "how to do this with a touchscreen" tutorial. I'm pretty sure Verizon is assuming you know how to type on a keyboard (albeit a mini)

[Peppie @ Nov 8th 2007 1:17PM]

Also, if you click the link to pre-order a voyager, it says on the front page that you can use the qwerty to "Quickly and accurately compose messages, with a familiar keyboard layout". Props for being lazy and forming accusations without doing research.

[Matt Krebs @ Nov 8th 2007 1:54PM]

I just tried Pre-Ordering the Voyager and wouldn't let me get pass the options page. But I was able to get to the confirmation page with the Venus. Has anyone else has this problem?

[YanksRock @ Nov 8th 2007 2:09PM]

Same problem, VZ says they are aware of the issue and are working to correct it by this afternoon.

[Matt Krebs @ Nov 8th 2007 2:13PM]

Yeah...they told me to try it tomorrow.
Thanks
YanksDoNotRock

[John @ Nov 8th 2007 1:56PM]

Now that Verizon has access to the Pearl for the same price as the venus or $100 less than the Voyager, is it really worth it? I'm a big fan of Verizon's service, but I absolutely hate the lack of phones and the crippled features. I really wish that they could come up with some more competitive data plans and getting phones when they come out rather than a year later.

[Yuli @ Nov 8th 2007 2:20PM]

I've been actually waiting for the Voyager release and just tried to pre-order online.

After going through all the online order steps, I got an error message and have been asked to contact support. 15 min later, after being transfered between different support departments I was told that the phone is not available yet!

My question as of why a phone is shown as "available" on their site when it's actually not, could not be answered. They promised me it's not personal, and that no single customer was able to pre-order. Can you imagine Verizon releasing it "by mistake"?...

Well it's definitely a way to keep people excited about the release.

[JD @ Nov 8th 2007 2:35PM]

When big V comes out with an iPhone knockoff, they are begging us to talk about it. First off, at this price point, spend the extra $100 and buy the iPhone. The network competitive advantage that V says they have is so passe. The Voyager is a clunker, and by looking at it you can tell it's software will nowhere come close to Apple. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Voyager is the original Razr redux.

[xxdesmus @ Nov 8th 2007 2:46PM]

No wifi, no deal. End of story.

I am leaving Verizon in December. I am sick and tired of crippled phones.

[Alex M @ Nov 8th 2007 3:06PM]

Guess who's glad they just ordered an xv6700 :D

[Nate @ Nov 8th 2007 3:13PM]

Wow. Talk about being late to the party.

[Alex M @ Nov 8th 2007 6:24PM]

Nate it doesn't matter. I had the e815 for 2 years and "upgraded" and got an lg8300. I didn't like it and wanted a smartphone w/wi-fi....so i got this. some old stuff is good.

[Art @ Nov 8th 2007 3:26PM]

these look great but $299 for the Voyager with a 2yr contract, and I'm assuming $399 with a 1 yr contract is too much money.

[Liveify @ Nov 8th 2007 3:47PM]

Umm so the microsd slot can only hold 8mb thats weird

(in the features section for voyager)

[Scott Futryk @ Nov 8th 2007 4:04PM]

If this had WM 6 I would have bought it - instead I stayed with Sprint and got the brand new Touch ... it's absolutely awesome !!

[EMT @ Nov 8th 2007 4:34PM]

NO WI-FI NO GO!!!!

[downsouth821 @ Nov 8th 2007 4:40PM]

I got mine for 199 with new every-two. And the reason it only hold 8gb cause thats the biggest microsd out now. Wifi is so overated. Its not everywhere and its not secured. I rather have my evdo and now verizon is only charging 15 dollars for web on this thing, i dont need wifi.

[mrmimis06 @ Nov 8th 2007 5:10PM]

Adding the carrier logo is common for all carriers. I dont know why the guy about wouldnt buy it for the reason. I guess he isn't buying any phone at all. As far as it being an iphone killer. Do we really know if Verizon stated this or was it the media company's. Now im personally on verizon, but only because the coverage is by far the best of any out there in the states. Im in the L.A area. Unfortunately they have some of the worst phones a carrier can offer. Until someone else offers better coverage, im sticking to them. What good is it having an expensive phone (iphone) and having crappy coverage.

[Mutt @ Nov 9th 2007 1:03AM]

I am a Verizon customer I was trying to decide between getting an iPhone or the Voyager. I was thinking if the Voyager was much cheaper I would get it....but it is not.

If you get a memory card for the voyager an 8 gb microSD card will run you $100 + easy. This puts the Voyager just as much if not more expensive than the iphone.

With the voyager not being cheaper than the iPhone and with Apple putting out an SDK for the iPhone in the spring the iPhone could get even better...

I guess I have made my decision....

[AKBlade13 @ Nov 11th 2007 12:50AM]

So...what new phones are the other CDMA carriers going to get?

:(

What the heck SPRINT!

AKBlade13

PS: The phones look awesome but the money has me aching.

[Isaiah @ Nov 8th 2007 8:11PM]

Umm... have you seen the Sprint Touch? It's comparable or better then what Verizon has to offer.

[AKBlade13 @ Nov 8th 2007 4:42PM]

I have, but it's out of my range.

What I meant is that Verizon has CONSTANTLY been able to lock down exclusives from left to right, I have yet to see Sprint do NEARLY as much. Granted the HTC series is a part of their exclusitivity ring (I think).

AKBlade13

[Captain Ed @ Nov 14th 2007 6:18PM]

Sure wish somebody would build me the
* the real estate of the iPhone (320x480),
* the PDA of Microsoft (I use Notes and Excel a whole lot on my PDA), and
* the nice network of Verizon,
* WITHOUT the physical keyboard.

My choices:
* my current Samsung i730--has the keyboard, just dead space, dead weight, and additional opportunity for device failure--small 240x320 screen;
* iPhone--no Excel, Word, or Notes, and no VZW network;
* Voyager: still small screen (240x400) and still clunky keyboard.

Am I missing another product somewhere?