xB Owner @ Nov 21st 2007 11:41AM

I checked it out in person last night at a local (Visalia, CA) Verizon store. The salesman looked at me like I was crazy when asked about call quality, signal strength and how many customers had picked one up. Apparently "normal" people don't ask those questions. He explained that the phone was "brand new" and he thought that they might have sold one so far.

The phone felt ok in my hand, but it was a bit awkward since it was still attached to the display tether. No way to tell how it would really feel in palm or in pocket. The touch screen was ok, but nothing all too impressive. The haptic feedback is definitely noticeable, but not nearly as satisfying as an actual button push. I don't know if there is an adjustment to the "feedback" level, but on the phone I checked out it could definitely be reduced. Smudges will also definitely be an issue. And my wife's first comment was, "It looks like the screen will be really fragile."

Navigation through the menus felt cluncky. And it could be just me not knowing the OS, or menu structure. (I'm used to a Razr on T-Mobile.) I think that the display menus on the lower touch screen are adjustable, which would definitely be a first step if I purchased the phone. Getting to the music (one of the biggest reasons to get this phone in my opinion) was kind of a pain. (Looking back, I think there was a "Music" button you could push on the side, that I never tried.) The sound quality was decent out of the phone's speakers, but the volume just wasn't there. Then again, how much can you expect out of a phone.

After my first hands-on dealing with the Venus, I'm just not sold. I actually found myself gravitating toward music enabled smart phones such as the Q after checking out the Venus. The drawback to those (for me) is the larger size, and the possibility of paying for unused features. All I really want is a compact phone that can maintain good signal strength, be comfortable in my pocket, and play a dual role as my ONLY DAP. I'm just not sure the Venus stacks up.

I left the store wishing once again that Sony/Ericsson provided more phones to the US market, and that they were willing to build phones compatible with CDMA.

Just my $ 0.02.