PRODUCT REVIEW
iPhone's Rivals Just Don't Stack Up

However, the essential lesson of the iPhone has yet to be learned: The magic is in the simplicity of using Apple's software.

That became abundantly clear as I wrestled with two new touch-based phones. They have their merits but are no threat to what Apple offers.

Handsome Hardware, Ugly Software

The LG Vu and Verizon's XV6900 (an, ahem, attention-grabbing name; another missed lesson) are both handsome from a hardware standpoint. In some respects, I prefer either to the iPhone in terms of styling. However, based on usability, they are so far behind what Apple achieved that it seems unfair to even make a comparison.

Essentially, the one thing these phones have in common with the iPhone is touch. Even that needs work.

The LG Vu

Let's start with the phone I found more disappointing because it looked more promising than the other.

There are reasons to choose the LG Vu (pronounced "view") over the iPhone, both offered exclusively by AT&T (NYSE: T) .

You can watch live television via AT&T's mobile TV service. The touch screen excels with the on-screen controls. The carrier offers mobile channels from CBS, NBC, FOX and a few popular cable channels, such as Comedy Central, CNN and ESPN.

The screen, which measures 3 inches across, is nice for TV viewing. Also, you can shoot video, and the phone is an AT&T video-share model. These are appealing features that the first version of the iPhone does not offer.

The Vu is one of 10 phones that can use AT&T's video-share feature, which allows two users to have a video chat via mobile phone as long as both parties have video-share phones. This is a great tool for families if one parent travels a lot, putting the kids a video call away.

I like the controls for dialing a call and how the home screen is set up with an intuitive menu that gets you where you want to go, both lessons learned from the iPhone.

Haptics? No Thanks

However, I don't like entering text, either for writing an e-mail or a text message. The touch keyboard is not nearly as easy to use as the iPhone's, and that's because the Vu uses "haptics" for its controls. With haptics, you feel a slight vibration when you hit a key, basically confirming the action.

It's fine for dialing a phone call because the number keys are big, but not so much with the QWERTY-style keypad. Unlike with the iPhone, I needed to press firmly, and I often hit the wrong keys because the letters are squished together.

More important, the haptics controls didn't work well for the other functions that the iPhone has made simple: scrolling through the content on your phone or surfing the Web. For instance, you can't use a finger swipe to move through pictures or, in what enthralls many iPhone owners, use two fingers to enlarge an image or Web page.

The Vu costs US$300 after rebate, with a two-year contract. Some people might find the Vu an appealing alternative to the iPhone. I might have, too, if it had come first. However, now a year after the iPhone's release, I was disappointed.

Verizon's XV6900

Likewise, I was disappointed by the XV6900, offered from Verizon and made by Taiwan's HTC. I couldn't figure out what this phone wants to be: a touch-screen phone or one operated by a stylus, like the Palm (Nasdaq: PALM) Treo. It comes with a stylus and, frankly, that's the easiest way to navigate around this smartphone, which operates on Windows Mobile 6.

Whereas the iPhone is a fun tool that is becoming a device for productivity , the XV6900 is for productivity and isn't fun.

I've reviewed Windows Mobile 6 phones in the past and think they generally are fine. However, the operation of this phone is clunky and confusing and does not reflect well on the parties involved -- Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) , Verizon or HTC.

Thankfully, they are not marketing this model as an iPhone alternative. However, HTC has embarked on a U.S. brand advertising campaign featuring a similarly styled touch phone, the Diamond, that also runs on Windows Mobile software. (You can watch the HTC Diamond online here.)

I couldn't get the phone to do the tricks the ad shows, so lets hope the Diamond, expected later this year, performs better than the uninspiring XV6900. It sells for $299, with a two-year contract and rebate.

2006 Is Calling

The XV6900 did perform some functions well, such as quickly accessing my Web-based e-mail account. Also, it runs on Verizon's quick EV-DO network , so getting online was efficient.

Yet navigating those Web pages was a pain: Do I use my finger or the stylus? Neither worked well. There is no magic here. The functional XV6900 would be impressive if this were still 2006.

Perhaps the next few efforts at a touch-screen phone, including Sprint's (NYSE: S) Instinct, will provide the fun and function Apple got right in its first effort. So far, if someone asked me to suggest a cool touch phone, there's still only one worth buying.