LG unveils Prada phone, preempts iPhone
updated 08:45 am EST, Thu January 18, 2007
LG Prada Phone Unveiled
LG on Thursday morning introduced its eagerly anticipated Prada phone. Also known as the KE850, the handset was designed in tandem with the Italian fashion designer and is said not only to bring the design to the exterior but also the Flash-based interface, which is consciously drawn in high contrast black and white and selectively fades out icons when not in use. The Prada model is the first to ship with a completely touchscreen-based control system, LG says: aside from basic call buttons, every menu is controlled through the touchscreen.
While the LG device bears striking similarities to Apple's iPhone, the Korean cellphone maker takes a different approach by downplaying built-in storage and size: media is stored primarly on microSD cards, while the 3-inch, 400x240 screen reduces the overall size compared to the Apple model. Nevertheless, media support is broad with the option of playing videos in MPEG-4, H.263, and H.264 formats as well as music in AAC, MP3, WMA, and even RealAudio standards. A 2-megapixel camera is built in for capturing both photos and video clips.
Read through for more details and images.
Crucially, LG's Prada phone is due to launch as soon as late February in France, Germany, Italy, and the UK, outpacing the iPhone by several months. Chinese and Singapore launches are expected in March, while LG's home country of Korea will receive the phone by the second quarter of this year. A North American launch is currently unlikely as the tri-band GSM phone lacks the essential fourth frequency for the continent's cell networks.
that's pretty hot . . .
01/18, 02:39pm reply
. . .the phone is just ok though :)
Actually, comparisons with the iPhone are inevitable but there should be a "basic" iPhone from Apple.
I'm sure this phone can't touch what the iPhone offers but it's probably not anywhere near $599 either.
benhur
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Jan 2001
yeah! it actually costs
01/18, 03:03pm reply
You are right.... it actually costs 600 euros ($780) and will not be sold in North America because it does not support CDMA or GSM at the N.A. frequency. It will also not be sold in China or Japan who also only support CDMA.
Sorry Prada, my glasses may be Prada, but my phone will be iPhone.
jhawk95
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Oct 2006
that's hot
01/18, 03:55pm reply
the phone too. Very stylish. Could give iPhone a run for its money, but it's too expensive and I wouldn't buy it if I can't use it in North America too.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
storage
01/18, 03:56pm reply
I love the idea of placing storage on flash cards rather than on the phone itself.
climacs
Fresh-Faced Recruit
Joined: Sep 2001
hmmm..
05/25, 01:44pm reply
Well, I really do like the Prada phone. But it's gonna be missing the HW/SW connection which is what makes the iPod so great...
Anyone know if Apple is gonna be using iTunes for sync info to the iPhone?
eldarkus
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Joined: Feb 2004
Prada or iPhone......
05/30, 07:25pm reply
Screen size 3.5” vs 3.0” (winner - iPhone) Resolution 320 x 480 vs 240 x 400 (winner- iPhone) Internet - Actual Internet vs WAP (watered down internet) - (winner - iPhone) Talk time up to 5hrs vs 3hrs (winner- iPhone) No Wi-Fi on Prada! No accelerometer on Prada! No GPS! No Google Earth! No photo ‘touch’ expand and minimize! No Visual Voicemail! No OSX operating system!
gigaflare
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Joined: May 2007