LG Dare Smartphone (click for larger image)

Following in the tradition of the Vu and the Voyager, Verizon Wireless customers now have another touchscreen alternative to the iPhone.

The LG Dare is clearly aimed at the casual market, but its design and features may make some mobile professionals look twice.

The 3-inch LCD touchscreen takes up most of the phone's real estate, and it has many characteristics that are similar to the iPhone's screen. It has a proximity sensor that switches the LCD off when it's close to a user's face, and it also has an accelerometer that automatically switches the orientation depending on how it's being held.

Unlike the iPhone, the Dare has tactile feedback and handwriting recognition. But the Dare lacks the multi-touch input of Apple's handset.

Users can surf the Web with the Dare's full HTML browser utilizing Verizon's EVDO Rev. A network. The phone also has access to Web-based e-mails, and can receive corporate push e-mail with Verizon's RemoSync application.

The Dare features a 3.2-megapixel camera with a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens, LED flash, and face-detecting technology. Users can also record videos, with up to 120 frames per second for slow-motion videos. The photos and videos can be edited with on-board software.

Customers can use the phone's Bluetooth capabilities to wirelessly send contact and calendar events, print pictures on a compatible device, and listen to music with a stereo Bluetooth headset.

The handset is also capable of playing music while other applications are running, has a microSD slot, and is capable of using Verizon's turn-by-turn directions product. The Dare measures in at 4.1 by 2.2 by 0.5 inches.

The phone can be purchased from Verizon's Web site for $199 with a two-year contract and a $50 rebate. It's expected to be in retail stores July 3.