New LG phone packed with desirable features

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The enV2, one of the latest cool phones from LG Electronics, has everything most consumers will want in a cell phone (aside from an easy to remember name, I suppose.)The upgrade from last year's popular enV, this is a popular offering from Verizon Wireless for consumers who need a QWERTY keyboard for text messaging and e-mail.I took one of these for a test drive and compared it to my trusty Motorola Q, which I have had a love-hate relationship with for more than a year.The new LG model has received a complete redesign. It has a larger internal display and a better sort of rounded feel. It comes in black and maroon and a variety of pricing packages, depending on what phase of the moon you arrive at the Verizon store, the length of your contract and any promotions at the time. I loved the phone's battery life. I got a week on standby, which was great, considering I was not syncing any mail to it. I am lucky to get a day on my Q with an oversized battery, considering I sync to Microsoft Exchange about every 15 minutes. I found the talk time to be great as well.The downside for me was lack of Windows Mobile support. Of course, most consumers won't really care about seamless syncing to Exchange servers and opening Excel attachments. But if you do, getting a PDA phone with Windows Mobile 6 should be at the top of your list.This guy is a side-opening clamshell phone. It looks like a normal phone but opens at the side for a full PDA with another color screen on the inside. It is about a half-inch smaller than the old model and feels much more sleek. It has a large dial pad. When my dad was alive, he and I were looking for a phone that older people could dial. This one could have fit the bill.It has nice large buttons. But I often dialed my friends and random people when I forgot to lock the keypad before tossing it in my jeans pocket.It has a micro-USB port, a micro-SD slot for extra memory and a 2 megapixel camera.I was very impressed with this phone. If you don't need Windows Mobile support I would give it a hard look.(James Derk is owner of CyberDads, a computer repair firm, and a tech columnist for Scripps Howard News Service. His e-mail address is jim(at)cyberdads.com)