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The day after Labor Day used to include fresh three-ring binders and sharpened pencils, but Verizon’s Sept. 8 offerings are far more modern: the Samsung Rogue and Intensity slider phones.
Both are messaging phones, though the Rogue-a dead ringer for the Samsung Impression on the AT&T network-is the more robust of the two. It offers a 3.1-inch touch-screen with Samsung’s TouchWiz interface, plus a slide-out, four-row QWERTY keyboard.
It measures 4.29 by 2.17 by 0.65 inches and weighs 4.94 inches. There’s a 3-megapixel camera with flash, video and digital zoom; Bluetooth and 3G (EV-DO) connectivity; a music player; a 3.5mm headset jack; and the ability to sync with a PC. Support for V CAST Video as well as services such as VZ Navigator, V CAST Music with Rhapsody (for a fee) and Visual Voice Mail are included.
The Rogue supports HTML Web browsing, as well as mobile e-mail, instant messaging and enterprise e-mail accounts. A widget toolbar on the home screens offers one-touch access to popular online destinations, such as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter. Users can view Microsoft Office documents, and there’s a microSD slot for expanding the memory, as well as a speaker phone and speech recognition with dictation.
The smaller Intensity features a 2.1-inch (non-touch-screen) display that shares the face of the device with a keypad. Slide open the phone, however, and you get a four-row QWERTY keypad. Smaller than the Rogue, it measures 4.25 by 2.08 by 0.65 inches.
The CDMA-only Intensity features a standard Web browser, e-mail and messaging, GPS support for VZ Navigator, built-in Bluetooth, a microSD slot for adding up to 16GB of memory, a music player and headset jack, support for V CAST Music with Rhapsody, and the ability to sync with a PC.
The Rogue, which comes in bronze or black, now sells for $99.99 after a $100 mail-in rebate and with a two-year service contract. The Intensity, in charcoal gray, is $29.99 after a $50 rebate and with a two-year agreement. Online, it’s also available in Flamingo Red (aren’t flamingos pink?) for free with a two-year contract.