The LG Venus VX8800 is a phone originally designed by LG for Verizon Wireless featuring a dual screen display with touch sensitive controls, a 2.0 megapixel camera, 3G  support, a MP3player and a V Cast support. The device is available for $200, half-price discount if the users decides for a 2 year contract with Verizon Wireless. This option placed the LG Venus in a very popular category of affordable cell phones.

The 4.00''x 2.00''x 0.62'' Venus is a solid device, resembling another popular and stylish LG cell phone: Prada. The phone seems to have a single screen, but it actually features two screens with a standard QVGA display at the top and a touch sensitive navigation screen on the bottom. The design includes nice, curved corners and a leather backing, which makes the device look sturdy and luxurious.

The feature making the LG Venus really special is the unique interface, something very far from a classic Verizon phone. The touchscreen navigation display represents the key in this very special approach of the cell phone interfaces. LG Venus is a slider phone, so if you wish to dial a number, you will have to slide the screen upwards to reveal the keypad.



Venus also features a music player, supports a microSD card slot and a dedicated music player key for a direct access to the music player. This function supports MP3, WMA, and AAC+ file formats. The phone comes with a 64MB of internal memory dedicated to music storage. If the users wishes to add more storage to the existing one, this is possible with the help of the microSD card slot, supporting cards up to 8GB  so that anyone can storage an incredible amount of music on the cell phone.

The 2.0 megapixel camera supports four kinds of resolution: 1600x1200, 1280x960, 640x480, 320x240, five white balance settings, and five color effects. A 2 x zoom is available but it`s not usable at the highest resolution (1600x1200). Venus is a sophisticated and stunning slider featuring a lower display with interactive touch navigation.

LG Venus is supporting  Bluetooth and other profiles, such as headset, hands-free, dial-up networking, Advanced Audio Distribution (stereo), A/V remote control, Phonebook access, Object Push  for V Card and V Calendar, File transfer, Basic Imaging for sending/printing non-protected images to a compatible device and basic print.



Other general features available are: speakerphone, voice commands, calendar and notepad. Tools such as calculator, alarm clock, stop watch, world clock and EZ Tip calculator. The phonebook can support up to 1,000 contacts. With Venus, you can also have speed dialing, lower screen with Interactive Touch Navigation, touch key vibration for button-like feedback, EV-DO, 1.9 GHz CDMA  PCS, 800 MHz CDMA. The Hearing Aid Compatibility Rating is M3. The device meets FCC SAR limit, as the manufacturer`s highest FCC reported SAR is 1.26 at ear, 1.2 on body, but the actual SAR may vary. The usage time goes up to 240 minutes while the standby time is up to 480 hours. A  handset insurance is also available for LG Venus.

If talking on the cell phone is not your favorite activity, maybe text messaging is. It`s definitely cheaper, and quite fun sometimes. Even though in the beginning it was not a very popular option among cell phone users, nowadays text messaging has grown to be very popular and a real phenomenon  among certain user categories, like teenagers. It`s true that this might not seem the best solution when you`re in hurry, but quick text messaging is now possible through a new generation of cellular phones, featuring a handset with a full keyboard.

One of the most popular text messaging cell phones is the Sharp Sidekick LX (T-Mobile), featuring a 3G technology for high-speed Web surfing and one of the sharpest screens and thiniest profiles you can get from a Sidekick. This text messaging phone still has the handset`s iconic swivel design, together with a GPS and a full QWERTY keyboard. LX features a world phone Quad Band, with a built-in GPS support (turn-by-turn) with BING search. For networking fans an integrated social networking application is available, so you can have a permanent access to Facebook, MySpace, or Twitter. The worse part is that high-speed Web browsing  with 3G support is available only with a separate Sidekick data service.

A 3.2 megapixel camera with auto-focus with a LED flash is available, and the possibility to record, play and share music using e-mail services or via social networking sites. You can also watch videos on YouTube. LX is also a music player with streaming audio and video. Sidekick LX is available in two colors, carbon and orchid, or in the limited-edition Tony Hawk version, and it features a 3.2 -inched screen displaying a high-definition LCD technology (on a 854x480 resolution). The screen is a high-quality support for email, SMS (text messaging), MMS (picture messaging), or IM (instant messaging) with chat clients among you can find the well-known AOL Instant Messenger, Windows Live and Yahoo! Messenger. This model is equipped with an intuitive user interface providing the possibility of quick search across all applications. Other accessories include a Network address book, an included 1GB microSD memory card, a short range Bluetooth 2.0 Wireless with A2DP, supporting also stereo Bluetooth, Bluetooth file transfer to other devices of the same kind.  The software and other services belong to the Microsoft Subsidiary, DANGER.

The battery of  Sidekick LX can last up to 5.5 hours of continuous talk time (in a 2G mode), or up to 8 days of standby time, without using it at all. For the 3G mode, the battery can last about 3 hours of continuous talk time and 6 days of standby time. The 5.2x2.4x0.6 inch LX phone is different from its Sidekick siblings through its newly-added 3G speed, a sharper screen and a thinner design.

Motorola Droid (Verizon Wireless), boasts an amazing display and the benefits of Android 2.0, together with a faster Web browser, Google Maps Navigation applications,  better messaging and contact management. Excellent call quality is provided, a long talk time, and an obviously improved speed over previous Android devices. Unfortunately, the QWERTY keyboard is a bit flat and the dialpad control is restricted to the home screen, while music and video capabilities remain behind competitors` level. The Motorola Droid lacks dual-mode functionality for world-roaming capabilities and does not support Bluetooth voice dialing, but in spite of its design issues and some missing features still remains one of the strongest and fastest Google Android platform devices offering Verizon customers a very competitive touch-screen smartphone.

Palm Pre (Sprint) demonstrates unparalleled multitasking capabilities and notification systems covered by a vibrant display with multi-touch functionality, a solid Web browser and good multimedia integration.  Pre also offers a good call quality and a few wireless options, including 3G, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS. Still, the keyboard remains cramped while the battery life drains quickly making the smartphone really sluggish at times.Palm Pre has a few minuses, lacking expansion slot, video-recording possibilities, onscreen keyboard and Flash Support. The Application Catalog is in a beta stage, having a limited number of titles and a limited number of features and performance issues which makes it less ideal for on-the-go professionals. The hardware could need some improvements but Palm has developed a solid OS, capable of competing with its rivals and setting a new standard in the handling of smartphones and information managing.

LG Vu (AT&T) is a very appealing touch-screen phone with a 3-inch display and haptic feedback. Features include AT&T Mobile TV, HSDPA speeds, a 2.0 megapixel camera, full HTML browser, and a qued-band support. The 2.0 megapixel camera is flash-lacking and involves a learning curve with the touch-screen. Video streaming might be a little choppy. LG Vu has a few remaining touch-screen ambiguities but its full features and quality performance makes it one of the most desired LG models.

Samsung Eternity is another attractive smartphone, with an intuitive touch-screen interface, offering a solid assortment of multimedia features and definitely good quality of the calls sustained by an impressive battery life. Eternity`s virtual keyboard isn`t available when entering message recipients, is flash-lacking, without Wi-Fi and voice dialing and a week 3G connectivity. The new Samsung model can be considered a multimedia success but due to its lacking of full e-mail support it`s not quite a business-friendly device.

RIM BlackBerry Bold (AT&T) has one the sharpest displays seen on a smartphone and offers a very satisfying multimedia performance. The smartphone features a HSDPA support, more productivity tools and an updated OS. Wi-Fi , GPS, Bluetooth and a very strong e-mail support are included and can be accessed through the full QWERTY keyboard. Still, the Bold can be quite bulky and expensive with a Web browser not very easy to navigate. The brilliant display and other enhanced features, like productivity tools and multimedia performance deliver a well-rounded smartphone suitable for mobile professionals.

Embarq is a regional phone company that serves costumers from 18 countries, which is a spinoff from Sprint since 2006. The company has over 18,000 workers and ranks No. 3 on the Kansas City Business Journal’s list of area public companies. The company’s activity evolves around selling telecommunication products and services, among which are residential landlines and wireless services. After she split from Sprint in 2006, we can reckon that Embarq company had a greater success than its Sprint partner had since then. However, we may also need to realize that due to the different directions the two companies headed to after the split can later generate another success twist in their evolution on the market.



We also know that landlines became more and more unnecessary since the invasion of cell phones nowadays, used especially for voice communication. However, Embarq is known for its preference to continuously develop the landline communication area, and this might cause their fall behind Sprint. As the key executive from CEO, Dan Hesse always emphasizes, the conclusion that Sprint might raise its success in front of Embarq might represent a mislead for some readers. He recently said that “We would not be in the wireless business just to sell wireless to customers,” he explains. “We are in the business because we think there is an untapped need to have wireless and wireline work together.” Of course, no one really knows the reason why, because he doesn’t point it out.

However, as the records had shown, the carrier, which has about 6.8 million local lines, is losing about 6% each year. More and more people want to give up to the wireline, and get a smart phone. Studies had shown this cell phone orientation will expand more in the next years.



It seems that the double service focus of Embarq, through which it sends voicemail notification to both the landline and cell phone, doesn’t have too much success either. Nevertheless, there are clear signs that the landline services are no more considered to be a good choice for many costumers Embarq has. Once more Dan Hesse has a solution for this problem also, making use of the so called concern that Embarq would have for its customers: “When you come home at the end of the day, we want you to turn off your cell phone”. Even so, clients know better what suits them best, and their option would be to have only one phone to switch off, their cell phone.



Consequently, Embarq believed that at the end of the year 2007 the number of subscribers to their services would exponentially grow. Needless to say they were wrong once again, the total number of clients summing up to 110,000. However, Embarq doesn’t seem to get notice of this reality and says it will continue to serve the wireless clients for one more year, and after that may transition them over to another carrier. What Embarq still want is to continue developing and selling products that combine home and wireless phone service.

Motorola Krave ZN4

Motorola has released some time in the U.S. by Verizon Wireless phone with a touch screen innovative solid. Although about touch screen might seem another competitor for iPhone, Motorola Krave ZN4 is different because it has a unique design, besides being extremely handsome. Motorola known as road opener in terms clamshell phone brings a new innovation, namely, full interactive flip touch, which we could say that somehow the new Moto Krave ZN4 gets two touch screen displays.



Motorola Krave ZN4 is a phone Clamav-shell type, which actually has only one internal 2.8-inch touch screen with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels, but because throttle transparent touch screen can be used when it is closed, indicating that when going to change their resolution 240 x 320 pixels. Weighs 130 grams and measures 105 x 51 x 19 mm and being a full touch screen phone has a full QWERTY virtual keyboard. 2 MP camera has digital zoom and video recording support. In terms of connectivity, Moto ZN4 doing well going into 1X/EV-DO (800/1900 MHz) and has Bluetooth 2.0, USB and GPS. Internet is at home with an HTML browser and email and IM service. It includes a 3.5 mm headset jack, and memory can be expanded by memory cards up to 8GB. Autonomy phone is up to 260 minutes talk time and 400 hours standby. Motorola Krave ZN4 cost $ 150 on a 2-year subscription to American operator Verizon, which offers a discount of $ 50.



Nokia 7020: hidden external display and panther pink

Nokia handsets entering the market with a clamshell affordable, stylish and comes in pink color makes it very attractive for the fair sex. Housing has a shiny appearance and hidden external display is activated when you touch twice (sort of double-clicking finger) and displays pertinent information like new mail, or post it on the next classic watch that you have all clamshell mobile phones. Once inside open the Nokia 7020 has a 2.2 inch screen, which you can view one of the Ovi Nokia Store or the new Opera Mini included. 2 MP camera you can save your pictures on an external microSD card or direct you to a social network like Facebook or MySpace. At the same, watch and listen to clips on YouTube, and Nokia 7020 also includes radio and MP3 player. And as Li-ion battery technologies have improved it seems that the autonomy of the Nokia 7020 is 15 days standby time and up to 4.5 hours talk time. Nokia 7020 is expected on the market in the fourth quarter of 2009 and, as I said, it will be very affordable price of 90 euros is estimated without any other taxes included.