Monday, April 14,2008 @ 4:30pm
LG Voyager to reach AT&T, Sprint?
LG's Voyager touchscreen phone has been successful enough at Verizon that the Korean company is looking to introduce it at other major US carriers, says a new report from the Electronic Times. An unnamed LG official states that the handset's success has been 'surprisingly' strong with its exclusive offering at Verizon and that versions for both AT&T and Sprint will be available sometime this year. Over 1.1 million Voyagers have sold to date despite being limited to the second-largest carrier.
The LG representative doesn't say when the new versions will be available or whether any changes will be made to the AT&T and Sprint editions. AT&T's example would require a switch to a GSM-based phone network and HSDPA-based 3G access, while Sprint will either need to launch a broadcast digital TV service or else strip out the MediaFLO TV tuner that would be supported both by AT&T and Verizon's existing network.
Current and future sales of the Voyager should help boost sales of the AT&T Vu, which also focuses on its touchscreen and mobile TV, according to the LG official, and should help LG's competition against Apple's iPhone.
Update: LG tells Electronista that it denies the claims and intends to maintain an exclusive contract with Verizon.