Verizon's LG Dare touchscreen contender available tomorrow for $200

Verizon Wireless isn't kidding around with this new Dare phone from LG: it'll hit Verizon's online shop tomorrow (the 26th) for $200 with a $50 rebate, and then land in retail on July 3rd. We've had little time to get accustomed to its touchscreen mug, unlike Sprint's long run-up to the Instinct, but Verizon and LG have certainly done their homework. There's a whole lot to chew on here, so we're going to drop it on you bullet point style:

Hardware:

• Dimensions: 103.9 x 55.6 x 13.8 mm (that's 0.54-inches thick for us yanks)
• 3-inch, 240 x 400 touchscreen LCD with "Vibe-Touch" tactile feedback
• Rev A EV-DO
• 3.2 megapixel camera with LED flash, autofocus and exposure control
• 120 fps slow-motion movie record mode
• 3.5mm headphone jack
• microSD up to 8GB
• Proximity sensor for switching off the LCD when against your face
• Light sensor to adjust LCD brightness automatically
• Accelerometer
• 3D graphics acceleration, supports app transitions and rotations

Software:

• "Full HTML" browser (barely) with page overview and zoom functions
• V Cast store and VZ Navigator
• Cover Flow-alike music app
• 51 possible apps, 11 app "drag & drop" shortcut menu
• Shortcuts draggable to home screen
• Graphical favorites menu, drag icons to pertinent task like message, call or edit
• Contact list includes search ribbon and filtering
• Text input via QWERTY, predictive keypad or handwriting recognition
• Drawing pad includes colors, pen widths, eraser for scribbling and picture "editing"
• Background music listening
• Video editing, picture editing, panoramic stitching

Phew, these guys really packed it in. Stand by for our hands-on impressions.

[DJDevine @ Jun 25th 2008 9:27AM]

Go Go Gadget Phone!!

[Jimmy Jones @ Jun 25th 2008 9:28AM]

Not a bad phone... wish it was a bit cheaper.... and may be available on Mr. Magenta ........

[tyler @ Jun 25th 2008 10:41AM]

I agree, I wish it was a touch cheaper.

But what I really want to know is, what is the touch screen like? Is it somewhere in between? Here is my diagram:

Voyager --> (Dare)? --> iPhone

[Big Wizz @ Jun 25th 2008 9:29AM]

I REALLY don't get video/picture editing on a mobile phone.

Will 5% even use those features?

[Mycroft @ Jun 25th 2008 9:49AM]

Yes.

[Danakin @ Jun 25th 2008 1:25PM]

No.

[skulldriveshaft @ Jun 26th 2008 12:57AM]

if you're stuck with paying to move your photos from your phone to online, and you can't do it with a simple data cable, you're gonna be using that photo editing feature on your phone more often and then just BTing it to your friends.

[daaper @ Jun 25th 2008 9:33AM]

Can this do their new visual voicemail? If not, when will we start seeing that new service? I'm eligible for a new phone now, but I might wait for that feature.

[Marcela @ Jun 25th 2008 9:47AM]

I would use the photo editing everytime I got in a waiting room....yeah.... right after playing for a bit...

I would like one...pink (yeah!PINK!GOT A PROBLEM?) or purple...I'm tired of black and silver.

[John Johnson @ Jun 25th 2008 9:48AM]

No WiFi? No thanks.

My 8GB iPod Touch is the best $300 PDA ever.

[Krisby @ Jun 25th 2008 10:13AM]

Maybe some people don't like AT&T or are stuck in a contract with other carriers to be able to just go out and get a Iphone and switch carriers all the while paying for the early termination fee.

[John Johnson @ Jun 25th 2008 10:17AM]

I'm a Verizon customer. Didn't stop me from buying an iPod.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 25th 2008 11:53AM]

Why are some of you so caught up in wifi? The dang thing has Rev-A speed hence the reason it does not have "wifi". It's a shame that ATT has created a culture where people think they need wifi. Try testing a Verizon or Sprint device on Rev-A, believe me, you won't miss wifi.

[Krisby @ Jun 25th 2008 12:07PM]

The new Iphone you need AT&T and also Verizon only supports CDMA not GSM. So you wouldn't be able to get an Iphone without being on a GSM network which wouldn't be Verizon. If in fact you are using your Iphone with Verizon I would like to know how you and no one else online is able to do this?

[peternj @ Jun 25th 2008 12:10PM]

Verizon REV A EVDO is prone to be slow. WiFi is useful because it's reliable... in my opinion. Verizon's so called mobile broadband is slow on loading pages. This however might be the lousy so called full feature html browser.

Saying that Verizon never drops a call.

however LG with Verizon makes for horrible interface. LG touch technology is sticky. I used the Voyager, gave up, just a toy but this looks better.

Not sure I'd spend 200 though on something so cheap looking and I suspect underpowered.

[John Johnson @ Jun 25th 2008 12:13PM]

Dude can you read?

I DO NOT HAVE AN IPHONE.

I have an IPOD. Go to Wal Mart. Buy one. No AT&T. Really.

Is Verizon's internet free? WiFi is. I have Verizon's so called internet service on my VX9900. It sucks, costs money, and airtime.

[p3t3b2 @ Jun 25th 2008 12:18PM]

I'm not a Verizon customer I have Sprint, saying wifi is more reliable is misleading. Wifi has a limited range and it is over utilized thus slowing down connections. If you ever try to use wifi at an airport it is completely useless. Wifi is only as fast as the connection it is on.

As for the the Dare phone, it is basically an upgraded chocolate phone, from what I hear Verizon again crippled the OS.

[Za @ Jun 25th 2008 1:58PM]

Krisby, I guess you don't know how to read. He doesn't have an iPhone - he has an iPod Touch. Furthermore, not everyone can justify nearly $400 a year in data coverage to have EV-DO. Let's face it - wifi WILL be faster than EV-DO, and if he spends his time in areas where there's wifi access, then it makes a lot of sense for him.

So I don't understand how your talk of "early cancellation fees" apply. Last I checked, you don't need a contract to use an iPod. Normally, I would cut you slack and assume it was a typo, but it seems to me that you just wanted to spew misguided rhetoric the first chance you got, so you conveniently didn't read what John's post actually says.

[Leo Qin @ Jun 25th 2008 10:06AM]

great phone. I've tried it and it works.

CDMA is the antichrist as far as i'm concerned, though. But i'm a GSM zealot, so i guess that negates my previous statement

[kjb434 @ Jun 25th 2008 10:48AM]

CDMA is technically a superior network for performance and security, but GSM is more heavily used. And this comes from a GSM user on ATT.

[BluesK1d @ Jun 25th 2008 10:15AM]

VZNavigator... Guh! Is Verizon still locking down the phone's GPS receiver, forcing you to pay for their nav software?

[Steffen Jobbs @ Jun 25th 2008 10:25AM]

Almost, but not quite. 120 fps record mode? Show motion capture. Exactly what is that going to be used for aside from using up memory space?

[amoo3 @ Jun 25th 2008 10:50AM]

Pure awesomeness, thats what.

[kjb434 @ Jun 25th 2008 10:49AM]

Why can't this phone and the Instinct be GSM phones with WinMo?

I love both of the phones, but can't be strapped with the crappy non-business friendly OS.

[therealmusashi @ Jun 25th 2008 11:08AM]

That's rhetorical question, right?

[kjb434 @ Jun 25th 2008 11:13AM]

Nope!

I've used windows mobile since the Motorola MPX 200 smartphone.

The connectivity and ease of use in relation to my offices exchange is critical.

I currently used the ATT Tilt (Kaiser). Using GoogleMaps or LiveSearch with the GPS built in and adding the TouchFlo interface to it is awesome.

I'll only consider switching away from WinMo when i see an OS provide me with all the flexibility.

[BluesK1d @ Jun 25th 2008 10:50AM]

He probably already has it.

[therealmusashi @ Jun 25th 2008 11:10AM]

That's a rhetorical question, right?

[LloydChiro @ Jun 25th 2008 11:46AM]

Is a rhetorical question something that might interest you?

[therealmusashi @ Jun 25th 2008 11:11AM]

Awesome...thanks Endgadget!

[HalfJoey @ Jun 25th 2008 11:40AM]

No Wifi, No free GPS? Ugh every phone on Verizon is almost really good, then it gets knocked back to "so/so" because of a few features.

[chickenator @ Jun 25th 2008 12:05PM]

*yawn*

[M3Ls @ Jun 25th 2008 12:08PM]

Phone looks ok. Still waiting for the touchscreen BlackBerry. I have a love hate relationship with Verizon. Love the service but I hate the phones. Currently using the Voyager (smh found it on the floor called the guy who lost it and he said keep it "lucky me") I would love to upgrade to a real smart phone because my job. I hate waiting. :-(

[Krisby @ Jun 25th 2008 12:13PM]

Ditto. Love the service. Hate the phones. I've been waiting for Dare just because I was hoping it was at least better than what they already offer.

[eric @ Jun 25th 2008 12:26PM]

Wifi: Free.
Evdo data: Fuckin' not!

I would never consider a device like this unless it has WiFi.

Some of you may be rich trust fund kids and daddies with the money to buy a data plan, but for many of us that is out of the question.

[JSM @ Jun 25th 2008 1:21PM]

wow, uh, no, some of us just have jobs and can pay for a data plan that is fast, available everywhere and doesn't have any of wifi's other liabilities.

Look, I think the iphone is a nice piece of kit, and I know cdma is a technological dead end, but RIGHT NOW Verizon offers the best voice network (by far, and I've used them all, and I travel around the country monthly) and the best data network (rev a, + verzions coverage advantage over sprint) and if this is the best writable touch phone they're going to make available (no x1, no touch pro) than so be it, let's see some reviews.

[DJDevine @ Jun 25th 2008 1:45PM]

I hardly think your a trustfund kid if you think 50 cents a day is too much for internet browsing ($15/mo VCAST)

[DJDevine @ Jun 25th 2008 1:47PM]

i dont think your a trustfund kid to say 50 cents a day is out of the question ($15/mo for VCAST). Besides WiFi is on verizon's smart phones, I don't know how many people really need WiFi on a regular phone. If you need the internet that much get a phone with a better interface like a Blackberry

[EN @ Jun 26th 2008 4:34AM]

JSM, have you ever tested evdo rev-a? You make it seem like its flawless. I know its an upgrade to EVDO, but how much better is it exactly? and don't quote me, but I'm almost %100 that I read somewhere that the iphone's 3g speed is updateable.

[DP @ Jun 25th 2008 1:19PM]

Not too shabby, not too shabby at all.

[jovenmedia.com @ Jun 25th 2008 2:07PM]

what the %@#* is a "full html browser (barely)" mean?

kinda like the iphone but not really?

dude south korea is blowing out the uk and the us in the mobile market, can we get out of the mobile flintstones era and get at least stay (barely) ahead of the curve of do the cell phone providers have the states by the cahones.

[Tomahawk @ Jun 25th 2008 7:50PM]

I think it means that it uses a weak proprietary HTML browser, no mini Opera no WinMo, no Safari, etc. Figures......it's Verizon......what can you expect! The only thing good about them is their network.....everything else sucks, especially their customer service.

[ctSF @ Jun 25th 2008 9:58PM]

Can't these schmos come up with an original icon for Settings that doesn't obscenely mimic the one on the iPhone?

[skulldriveshaft @ Jun 26th 2008 1:06AM]

Settings has always been gears on phones that use icons.

Maybe Apple ripped off VCDGEAR for their settings icon.

[Sofunnytom @ Jun 25th 2008 7:25PM]

sweet. the interface definitely looks better than the regular red bars UI. can't wait to get mine with high speed EVDO rev. A and not wifi. oooh take that!

[logan thompson @ Jul 1st 2008 12:08AM]

id like to buy this phone on this website for 200 dollars how may i do this

[logan thompson @ Jul 1st 2008 9:44AM]

id like to buy this phone on this website for 200 dollars how may i
do this

[Lauren @ Jul 15th 2008 4:45PM]

This phone looks awesome but still skeptical. How good is the touchscreen? i want a new phone..and im leaning a lot towards the BB curve. and then this little gadget came out. not sure what to do!

[tah @ Jul 17th 2008 6:56PM]

if you want fuckin WIFI buy a god damn laptop. its a phone its ment for calling or texting people not surfing the web.