Verizon Debuts Apple iPhone, Reality Distortion Field Knockoffs

“We think it’ll be the best phone … this year. It will kill the iPhone.” That’s what Mike Lanman, Verizon Wireless’s overenthusiastic chief marketing officer, had to say about Voyager, the LG-manufactured handset with which the company hopes to unseat Apple’s iPhone, or at least temper its mindshare.

Expected at market before Thanksgiving, the Voyager, with its touchscreen (which folds out to reveal a full QWERTY keypad), Web browser and multimedia capabilities is clearly crafted in the iPhone’s image and aimed at prospective iPhone customers.

But is it slick enough to kill Apple’s iconic device? Observers aren’t so sure. “If you have your heart set on an iPhone, I don’t think that the Voyager–or LG’s brand–is strong enough to overcome that,” said Current Analysis analyst Avi Greengart.

No iPhone killer here, it would seem. “… This is not, nor is anything else without an Apple logo, anyway, an iPhone killer,” said Farpoint Group analyst Craig Mathias. “Apple is unique in high tech, in that they are not just a manufacturer, marketer and brand. They are, rather, a destination, and many people would simply never consider buying a product competitive with Apple’s rendition of same. We’ve seen this with the Mac, and the iPod, and we’ll see it with the iPhone as well.”