LG Prada

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

This article is about the KE850. For the KF900, see LG Prada II. For the P940, see LG Prada 3.0. For other uses, see Prada (disambiguation).

PRADA Phone by LG
ManufacturerLG Electronics
Compatible networksGPRS/EDGE Tri-Band (900/1800/1900)
Availability by regionMarch 2007[1]
SuccessorLG Prada II
RelatedLG Chocolate
Form factorSlate
Dimensions98.8×54×12 mm
Mass85 g
MemorymicroSD Internal Memory Slot, behind the battery.
Display256K color TFT touchscreen, 240 × 400 px
Rear camera2 megapixel, video CIF (30 frame/s), flash
ConnectivityBluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0

The Prada was the first mobile phone 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 January 9, 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.[13][14]

Features

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

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

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.

Awards

See also

References
  1. "LG Prada Mobile Phone to Roll Out in the European Markets Soon". 14 January 2008.
  2. "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".
  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 (January 19, 2007). Macworld San Francisco 2007 Keynote Address. San Francisco: Apple, Inc. Archived from the original on December 22, 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. "iF product design award 2007 - 01. Consumer Electronics/Telecommunications". Archived from the original on 14 January 2012.
  15. https://newatlas.com/author/mike-hanlon (20 January 2007). "PRADA and LG launch touch screen mobile phone". New Atlas. Retrieved 14 July 2023. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help); External link in |last= (help)
  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. https://www.stuff.tv/news/touchscreen-lg-ks20-gets-smart/. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  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.
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