Verizon “Dare”s to take on Apple iPhone
The Dare by LG is Verizon’s newest answer to the Apple iPhone threat. It has a full touch interface, an impressive 3.2 megapixel camera, a fast web browser using the 3G Verizon EV-DO Rev Network, and it comes with VZ Navigator for all your turn-by-turn direction needs. Plus, it has a customizable homepage, it’s capable of multitasking between applications, and it will be sold at $199 at Verizon stores starting next week.
One of the most noticeable features of the Verizon Dare is its full touch interface. It’s completely devoid of a pop-out physical QWERTY keyboard. Instead, simply turn the phone to the landscape view and run a virtual version of the input device.
Although, some reviewers claimed that the touch interface has a few problems. They had a difficult time using the keyboard and scrolling up and down pages, since the phone kept recognizing scroll commands as the same thing as a tap event, according to InfoSync.
Therefore, since the device relies so heavily upon this UI, it becomes difficult to use in some places. Fortunately, not everyone has had problems with the touch screen. So, if you buy one, you may turn out to be one of the lucky ones.
Another one of the Dare’s impressive features is its powerful mobile camera. Granted it’s not better than a classic point-and-shoot camera, but with its 3.2 megapixel camera and Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens, its one of the best phone cameras on the market.
The camera also comes with a wide array of software to improve its image capabilities. It has face recognition, SmartPic technology, manual ISO adjustment for better quality, and a panorama shooting mode for wide landscape shots. Plus, it has a video mode capable of shooting 120 frames per second.
The phone’s multimedia capabilities are ok at best. It does come with a 3.5 mm headphone jack and great sound quality/speaker. Plus, it’s capable of being synchronized with Windows Media Player as an MTP device. Video playback is also very nice, due to its bright and colorful 240 x 400 pixel resolution screen.
However, there are some bugs and bad design decisions in the multimedia programs. According to InfoSync, when they tried to sync the Dare "none of our album artwork came through, though the covers appeared in WMP, and the process was very slow." They also complained about the lack of playback control.
Overall, the Verizon Dare by LG is a great phone. Its full touch interface, strong camera capabilities, and other smaller features, like the VZ navigator and EV-DO network for fast web browser, make it a solid option for Verizon customers who are thinking about getting an iPhone. For more reviews and stats on the Verizon Dare, check out the review by the editor of Wireless and Mobile.
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