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LG Prada

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PRADA Phone by LG
ManufacturerLG Electronics
Availability by regionMarch 2007[1]
SuccessorLG Prada II
RelatedLG Chocolate
Compatible networksGPRS/EDGE Tri-Band (900/1800/1900)
Form factorSlate
Dimensions98.8×54×12 mm
Weight85 g
MemorymicroSD Internal Memory Slot, behind the battery.
Rear camera2 megapixel, video CIF (30 frame/s), flash
Display256K color TFT touchscreen, 240 × 400 px
ConnectivityBluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0

The PRADA Phone by LG (KE850), better known as the LG Prada,[2] is a touchscreen smartphone made by LG Electronics, created in collaboration with Italian luxury designer Prada.[3] It was first announced on 12 December 2006[4][5] and was made official in a press release on 18 January 2007.[2]

The Prada was the first smartphone with a capacitive touchscreen, thus not requiring the use of a stylus.[6] Its black minimalist look, designed by Kang-Heui Cha,[7] was an evolution of LG's popular Chocolate.[8][9]

The LG Prada was announced shortly before Apple CEO Steve Jobs announced the iPhone on 9 January 2007.[10][11][12] After the release of the iPhone the head of the LG Mobile Handset R&D Center was quoted saying he believed Apple had stolen the idea from the Prada after it was announced as part of the iF Design Award, where it won a prize in September 2006.[13][14]

Features

[edit]

The LG KE850 phone featured a monochromatic user interface based on Flash, and there are influences by Prada not only in the interface but some pre-loaded content on the device such as ringtones.[15] There is a Micro SD slot for expandable memory, Bluetooth, and a few other extras include the ability to view PDF and Microsoft Office documents.[16] Four games were pre-loaded: Halloween Fever, Photo Puzzle, Virus, Pipe.

Korean Prada model with the DMB antenna

The model released in South Korea also featured a DMB TV receiver.[17]

Release

[edit]

The KE850 Prada was first released in the UK, France and Italy in March 2007,[1] retailing for 600 euros, followed by other European territories as well as Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea.[18] It was not released in American territories.[19]

A silver coloured model of the Prada was released in January 2008. It also featured a virtual QWERTY keyboard in place of T9.[20]

Reception

[edit]

The KE850 sold 1 million units[21][22] in the first 18 months.[23] The touch slate design of the Prada would then influence those of other phones by LG, including the LG KS20 Windows Mobile smartphone,[24] and the LG Viewty in 2007.[25]

A successor, the LG Prada II (KF900) was announced in October 2008,[26] as well as the LG Prada 3.0 (P940) in 2012.[citation needed]

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "LG Prada Mobile Phone to Roll Out in the European Markets Soon". 14 January 2008.
  2. ^ a b "Mobile Innovation Meets Avant-Garde Design" (Press release). 24 October 2007.
  3. ^ "LG unveils iPhone-like Prada mobile phone". MacDailyNews. 19 January 2007.
  4. ^ "LG, Prada to Start Selling Mobile Phone at Start of Next Year" (Press release). 11 December 2006. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007.
  5. ^ "The LG KE850: touchable chocolate". 15 December 2006.
  6. ^ Temple, Stephen. "Vintage Mobiles: LG Prada – First mobile with a capacitive touchscreen (May 2007)". History of GMS: Birth of the mobile revolution.
  7. ^ Yamada, Takashi (9 June 2007). "Interview with Prada Phone Designer Kang-Heui Cha - Yanko Design". www.yankodesign.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  8. ^ Tech co uk Staff (30 April 2007). "LG Prada Phone review". TechRadar. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  9. ^ Advertiser (13 December 2006). "It's mobile phone couture, darling". Appliance Retailer. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  10. ^ Dolan, Brian. "Timeline of Apple "iPhone" Rumors (1999–Present)". Archived from the original on 15 April 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2008.
  11. ^ Jobs, Steve (19 January 2007). Macworld San Francisco 2007 Keynote Address. San Francisco: Apple, Inc. Archived from the original on 22 December 2010.
  12. ^ Cohen, Peter (13 March 2007). "Macworld Expo Keynote Live Update". Macworld. Archived from the original on 24 July 2010. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  13. ^ Wright, Aaron (20 February 2007). "The iPhone Lawsuits". Apple Matters. Archived from the original on 3 April 2007. Retrieved 25 June 2007.
  14. ^ a b "iF product design award 2007 - 01. Consumer Electronics/Telecommunications". Archived from the original on 14 January 2012.
  15. ^ Mike Hanlon (20 January 2007). "PRADA and LG launch touch screen mobile phone". New Atlas. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  16. ^ "LG Prada KE850". PCMag UK. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  17. ^ Deleon, Nicholas (18 April 2007). "Korea's LG Prada Has DMB-TV, Europe's Doesn't". TechCrunch. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  18. ^ "LG KE850 Prada goes official". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  19. ^ Peter. "Flashback: the LG KE850 Prada had the first capacitive touchscreen, not the iPhone". GSMArena.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  20. ^ Sherwood, James. "LG's Prada phone goes silver". www.theregister.com. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  21. ^ Christian Zibreg (23 February 2009). "Second-gen LG Prada, not the iPhone, rules the fashion cellphone market". TG Daily. Archived from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2010.
  22. ^ RobK (20 November 2008). "LGPradaWatch: Naming of the phone, sales and miscellaneous musings". Mobile Industry Review.
  23. ^ Telecoms Korea article from 2008/09/24
  24. ^ "LG KS20 Gets Smart".
  25. ^ Lim, Andrew. "LG KU990 Viewty review: LG KU990 Viewty". CNET. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  26. ^ Ganapati, Priya. "LG Announces Pricey But Elegant Prada II Phone". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  27. ^ Iohana Georgescu (19 March 2007). "LG Prada Wins 'Best of the Best' Award". Softpedia.
  28. ^ "LG's Prada wins prestigious European design award". Mobile Tech News. 19 March 2007.
  29. ^ "Best phones of 2007 unveiled at Mobile Choice Awards". 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 6 December 2008.
  30. ^ "What Mobile Awards 2007 - 2006 Winners". Archived from the original on 11 May 2008.
  31. ^ "Best-Looking Phone - Mobile Devices - CNET Asia Readers' Choice Awards 2007/08". Archived from the original on 15 September 2008.