Verizon Voyager-The Iphone Killer?

Verizon Wireless on Wednesday have introduced four hot new mobile phones for the 2007 holiday season,

in ther sincere hopes that one of the four is desirable enough to shift the attention away from Apple's iPhone.

The Verizon Voyager, made by LG sports a large external touch screen and opens up to reveal a keypad.

Attracting the most attention about the Voyager, is that it resembles the iPhone in several distinct ways.

The Voyager is equipped a external touch screen that slides open to reveal a full QWERTY keypad.

This gives users a choice on how they access the phone's features, according to Verizon Wireless.

The keyboard is one advantage the Voyager has over the iPhone's touch-screen-only design.

In addition, Verizon Wireless' has a fast 3G data network that the Voyager will use to access the Internet.

The iPhone doesn't employ 3G technology. Instead, it uses AT&T Edge data network, slower alternative.

The Shortcut Menu icons that display on the Voyager's touch screen and the other set of icons at the bottom of the screen bear a astonishing likeness to the iPhone.

The Voyager also comes with an array of multimedia capabilities that include an HTML Web browser;

Verizon Wireless' V Cast mobile TV, video, and the URGE music service; MP3 playback ability, as well as WMA, and AAC files.

For more media and file storage, the Voyager has a removable MicroSD memory slot that can hold up to 8 Gbytes of memory.

"The Apple iPhone shook things up. If you look closely at the iPhone, it's just an ordinary phone in an extraordinary package," stated Jeff Kagan, a wireless and telecom industry analyst.

"That's what this Verizon Wireless phone is doing. It is competing with the iPhone in this segment of the cell phone marketplace.

It is Verizon's answer to AT&T's and Apple's iPhone. I fully expect Sprint, T-Mobile, and a variety of other carriers -- large and small -- to come out with their version."

Verizon Wireless' season lineup also includes the Venus by LG, the Juke by Samsung, and the BlackBerry Pearl 8130 by Research In Motion.

Verizon Wireless has not yet let the buying public know when the Voyager will be available for, but industry analysts are expecting the Voyager to be in stores before Thanksgiving.