Weeks before Apple wowed the world with its touch screen iPhone;
LG was already showing off its KE850
PRADA. The PRADA, like the iPhone, eschews traditional hard keys for a
touch screen display which gives the device a more minimalistic look.
"We at LG are exceptionally proud of the PRADA Phone by
LG," said Dr. Scott Ahn, President & CEO of LG Electronics Mobile
Communications Company. "The two companies have worked together seamlessly
towards a truly shared vision, to develop one of the most beautifully stylish
handsets the market has ever seen."
The PRADA is actually
smaller than Apple's iPhone, measuring 98.8mm × 54mm × 12mm while
the iPhone comes in at 115mm x 61mm x 11.6mm. The difference in dimensions stem
mostly from the iPhone's inclusion of a 3.5" 320x480 resolution display,
while the PRADA uses a 3" 200x400 display.
The PRADA supports tri-band EDGE (900/1800/1900), features a
2MP camera with LED flash, a microSD slot for memory expansion, 800mAh battery,
Bluetooth 2.0 and USB Mass Storage Support. Sadly, WiFi isn't a part of the
package.
When it comes to software, the PRADA's user interface is
based on Macromedia Flash. The PRADA has a built-in music player (MP3, ACC,
ACC+, WMA, RA) and video player (MPEG4, H.263, H.264). Also included is a
document viewer (ppt, doc, xls, pdf, txt).
The PRADA will launch in Europe at the end of February while
Taiwan and Singapore will receive the phone in late March. Korean customers
will have to wait until Q2 to get their hands on the PRADA.
Pricing in the European market will start at 600 Euros or
$776 USD if you do a straight conversion. Apple has priced its iPhone at $499 for a 4GB model and $599 for a 8GB model -- both requiring two year contracts with Cingular Wireless.
