LG Dare Ain’t No iPhone

So a family member just got a LG Dare (cuz they have Verizon, and we all know that when it comes to touchscreens, only AT&T offers the iPhone).

I have played with it, and have concluded that it just doesn’t meet my expectations as being a phone worthy of an “iPhone killer”.

Now, I’m sure that it has its fans.  But after owning both an iPhone and an iPhone 3G, I believe the functionality is just too clumsy.

For one, the touchscreen is not sensitve enough.  You literally have to pound on it with your fingers to make it do what you want it to do.  And if you are like myself, and have large fingers, its even more frustrating.

Another problem is that the texting feature is ultra convuluted.  To get QWERTY (which by the way should just be standard for all phones), you have to flip the phone into “landscape” view, by utilizing the accelerometer.  I can see how one may think this is a good feature, because you can have it both ways, whereas with the iPhone, you have just QWERTY functionality.  Also, the LG Dare does get one thing right-in texting in landscape view.  iPhone as of now doesn’t have this capability, which I find strange.

Other problems are the clumsy way in which you answer calls.  Unless you know how to disable the unlocking feature, you have to unlock your phone before you can answer a call.  For the iPhone, when you receive a call, auto-lock is disabled, and you can answer your call in one click.  Two or three clicks to answer a phone is insane.

For those less-tech saavy and weening themselves off “analog” unsmart phones for the first time, the LG Dare might be viable option, especially if you are not too concerned about having a phone and PDA and internet access.  Otherwise, try a Blackberry Storm or a LG Vu instead.