In the geological record of cell phones, there’s before the iPhone and after the iPhone.

Had you placed the enV2 cell phone in my hands two years ago, during what one might shout the industry’s Jurassic period, I’d have been amply wowed. What’s not to like about a full-blown keyboard and a big color screen tucked away neatly inside an incredibly slim handset? And with the enV2, it’s clear that LG Electronics has improved dramatically on the prior two iterations of that somewhat revolutionary line of phones that it’s developed for Verizon Wireless.

But the enV2 arrives in a vastly different world than its two predecessors. The debut of the Apple iPhone a year ago is the industry’s equivalent of that gigantic meteor that’s believed to have ruined everything for the dinosaurs. The iPhone has kicked up a colossal cloud of dust that’s caused profound dismay across the handset industry, becoming the benchmark for what is possible

on a consumer wireless device.

Frustrating Design Feature

It nearly seems unfair to be critical. Compared with the enV2, the original V from late 2005 looks like an absolute brick. And let’s be clear: I was rather taken with the V, and rather impressed when the next generation arrived last year with the enV. The enV2 is even smaller in size and weight than its predecessors. But the appropriate comparison is no longer yesteryear’s accomplishments. The iPhone has shown us what’s possible — and all that a lazy handset industry floped to produce on its own.

That said, whether your wireless provider is Verizon and you want a full keyboard, the enV2 is worth a look. To manufacture it smaller than its forebears, LG has shrunk the external screen, leaving room for four lines of text. Tiny as that looks, it’s adequate for a menu of basic tasks…

Orginal post by Top Tech News