Messaging

The Rogue's on-screen keypad is large, almost too large -- taking up space that could be used to see what's being typed. The "multi-tap" predictive text is also cumbersome, so users will most likely prefer the slide-out keyboard.

The keyboard is easier to use than on-screen typing. Aside from seeing more of the screen, it has large keys and and dedicated buttons for numbers and letters. By contrast, consumers who use the on-screen keyboard have to inconveniently select different menus to choose symbols, letters, capitalized letters and numbers.

One drawback of the physical keyboard is its space bar, which is placed in an unconventional location -- in between the "V" and "B" keys on the bottom row.

Users can use threaded text message to keep track of conversations easily, similar to viewing a chat window -- again, like the iPhone -- or chat on instant messenging clients from AOL, Windows Live and Yahoo.

The handset also keeps track of three email accounts at once -- a corporate email, a personal email and a mobile Web mail account.

Consumers can view, but not edit, email attachments from Microsoft Excel, Word, PowerPoint and Notepad documents and even PDF files. The handset also reads HTML, JPG, GIF, BMP and ASCII files.

The Rogue also offers Verizon's Visual Voice Mail, which takes spoken voice mail messages and turns them into word messages. Users can call back instantly or reply in a text message. Text messages can even be sent to a landline.

The messaging options are plentiful and simple to use, helping users keep in touch through multiple avenues.

Entertainment

The Rogue's media center offers music, pictures, videos, ringtones, a Web browser, games, and download opportunities.

A few games come standard with the phone -- Dice, which is more of a two-second diversion than a game, Tetris, Need for Speed Undercover and a trial version of Resident Evil: Degeneration.

Verizon's VCAST Video service offers plenty of videos, but only in clip form, and the streaming quality is far too pixilated. The selection and streaming quality isn't as extensive or high-quality as some other services -- Sprint TV, for example, which offers movies and TV shows -- but Verizon's game selection offers everything from new favorites to old classics.

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