LG Voyager more searched than iPhone

LG Voyager number one in Web site views on major carrier Web sites in November

With the holidays rapidly approaching, the LG Voyager may be the more popular gift to give than Apple’s iPhone this year. Compete's newest holiday shopping data indicates that the Voyager was the number-one phone viewed in detail at the major carrier Web sites in November, while the iPhone came in fourth on the list.

Verizon revealed the LG Voyager in early October to the tune of much market buzz and publicity. Slated to be the first true “iPhone killer,” the handset has continued to garner a lot of attention since it was announced one month prior to the launch. Priced at $300 after rebate, $100 less than the 8-GB version of Apple’s multimedia phone, the handset combines an iPhone-like touch screen and the QWERTY keyboard of the Blackberry.

Despite the fact that many reviewers found the phone to be lacking in user experience, the LG Voyager Web site has continued to bring in curious customers. According to Compete’s Elaine Warner, who wrote the report, the site’s traffic as an indicator of overall interest is most strongly related to the promotion the phone received. The much-hyped iPhone was an anomaly for even staying on the list so far after its launch, she said.

“Part of the reason that you see higher interest [in the Voyager] in November versus the iPhone is because the Voyager is new,” Warner said. “The trends we typically see are, when a phone is launched or sometimes pre-launch if the phone is announced before it goes on sale, there are huge spikes in traffic, and then it drops off very quickly.”

As the number-one most searched handset, the Voyager saw an increase in viewing of 131% over last year's top device, the Samsung t609. Furthermore, the mix of top 10 most-viewed devices indicates a shift from trends of previous years. Smartphones, still less than 15% of the overall market, are beginning to become more popular with consumers – an opinion the NDP Group echoed in November as smartphone sales rose from 4% in the third quarter of 2006 to 11% in Q3 2007 – a 163% year over year increase.

The iPhone, although not coming in first in the overall market, did take the lead as the number one Smartphone shopped at U.S. carriers’ Web sites. The LG didn’t even make the top ten, suggesting that while a feature-rich multimedia phone, it doesn’t make the cut as a Smartphone.

“I think there has been too many comparisons between the two models, because they are different,” Warner said. “Technically, we don’t even consider the Voyager to be a true smartphone because it doesn’t have third-party applications or an operating system.”

Three versions of T-Mobile’s Sidekick, on the other hand, landed in the Top 10 this year. Along with Sony Ericsson’s Walkman series, the Sidekick series is one of the only brands found in the top ten both this year and last. According to Complete, this is due to the popularity of messaging-oriented devices and the active user community that surrounds the Sidekick series.

The results, which include pre- and post-Thanksgiving numbers, are somewhat skewed due to the timing, with holiday shopping increasing after Thanksgiving, Warner said. The upcoming weeks leading up to 2008 will be the true indicator of which handset will come out ahead.