macnn/electronista

03/11/2008, 11:30am, EDT

Tuesday, March 11th

LG reveals Alltel's iPhone rival

Unusually announcing a phone for a carrier ahead of the carrier itself, LG has stepped forward with the unveiling of the Glimmer, leaked flyer and reveals a design which is positioned as the best of both worlds. While a 2.8-inch, finger-driven touchscreen is normally the only interface for the phone, a slider reveals a full number pad underneath. The Glimmer is now known to have a microSD card slot that holds up to 4GB of AAC, MP3, and WMA music as well as related video formats. LG's familiar Flash-based software from the Viewty remains on top of the device.

The Korean company also supplies the phone with a 2-megapixel camera that supports digital autofocus, Bluetooth, and assisted GPS that hooks into Alltel's Navigation service. The phone is customized for the American provider with links to the company's web portal and mobile software store. Neither Alltel nor LG has disclosed the price for the Glimmer, but LG promises a release in twelve days, which would see the phone available online and at Alltel's retail locations on the 23rd.




Filed under: iPhone, gadgets
Other story tags: LG, Alltel

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ClevelandAdv
Rivals
0
03/11, 11:51am, EDT
In order to be a legitimate rival to the iPhone they need to support a full web browser (Flash please!), a simple-to-use email client and a platform as powerful and flexible as OS X. I have yet to see any of these from any iPhone clone.
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined Jul 2004
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MeandmyMac
Another Touchscreen...
0
03/11, 12:03pm, EDT
Yet proof again that phone manufacturer's had the talent, brain trust, ability and where for all to produce such a device that (may) enhance user experience but lacked vision of what could be, courage to take a chance to be different and fortitude to actually go out on a limb, expend R&D and create such a device that garnered the "ooooooooo's and wwooooowwsss" of the public. Now they rush and slapstick something together and say 'Touchscreen' we got it too! Now!!!
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gambit-7
Uh huh.
0
03/11, 12:19pm, EDT
The need for a physical keyboard is an admission that their touchscreen isnt as accurate as Apple's implementation. No thanks.

Posted from my iPhone.
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jcatma61
yaaaawn...
0
03/11, 12:45pm, EDT
Gosh, I'm sleepy.
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testudo
Re: uh huh
0
03/11, 1:19pm, EDT
Or a physical keyboard is an indication that there are people who want the tactile feel of using a keyboard, and not have to stop everything they are doing in order to do anything on the device.
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trevc
re: re: uh huh
0
03/11, 1:41pm, EDT
So true. Although quite good, you HAVE to watch what you're doing more than you do with a tactile keyboard. Even if they allowed the onscreen keyboard to be used in Landscape mode (ONLY in Safari does it do this) and the buttons a bit bigger do I feel more comfortable and efficient.
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Stogieman
What Keyboard?
0
03/11, 2:49pm, EDT
I don't see a slide out keyboard in those pics. Just a slide out number pad.
Mac Elite
Joined May 2000
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Sandman619
Touch Typing
0
03/11, 3:26pm, EDT
As an iPhone user, I can honestly say that the onscreen keyboard is awesome. My experience is that the more that you trust the iPhone's keyboard, the faster & more accurate your typing. It's great not having to aim for a tiny button on a keyboard, some smartphones have such tiny keys, that you have to use they stylus to use it. The iPhone is nothing like that and I almost always type in the vertical (portrait) mode.

As for the competition, after Apple's iPhone SDK roadmap & exchange support, I really don't see any competition. The phone uses OS X, which makes it much easier for developers since they are working on a familiar platform

Cheers!

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Guest
Does it have wifi?
0
04/15, 4:58pm, EDT
Does it have wifi? If not, this isnt a conpetition of the iphone
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