LG Prada Is No iPhone But It's A Must - Or So They Say

While being held by Laura Ocaña gave it semi-divine status at the 3GSM show, apparently the LG KE850 Prada is "just a phone". Although not any phone, according to the Trusted Reviews' hands-on. It's a "stylish, sexy, well thought out, well featured phone..." but it's not an iPhone, it doesn't have smartphone capabilities and there's no QWERTY screen keyboard. Plenty more, including its - surprisingly low - price and more pics, after the jump.

The "only thing" that it shares with the iPhone is a gorgeous screen (not judging from the photos, though), lack of 3G support, 2 megapixel camera, multimedia player, games and the same kind of sliding unlock on-screen bar. So, umm, I guess it is like the iPhone but without all the things most people are really never going to use. Except Apple fanboys like me, that is.

Still, at 2,99 oz. and 0,47 inches thin, the Prada seems to be The-Must-Have-If-You-Want-To-Be-Cool-Although-It's-Not-an-iPhone Phone™ of the year. Until you realize that, at $60 with a 200-minute contract in Europe, everyone will have one. Personally, I don't care: Laura played with one and that's enough for me. And yes, I guess I'm that sad. – Jesus Diaz

Hands On With The LG Prada Phone [Trusted Reviews]

4:30 AM on Mon Mar 5 2007
By www.gizmodo.com
26,777 views
19 comments

Comments

kliide at 04:49 AM on 03/05/07
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er...LG sues Apple, Apple sues Meizu....Meizu sues LG??
toyo at 05:11 AM on 03/05/07
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Guys, get the fact straight, Meizu(Meichou or whatsoever this silly Chinese rip-off is called) is just "another cheap Chinese knockoff"; all they can do is churn out cheap "inferior" imitations for easy money. As you know, the Chinese have been "blatantly" ripping off every imagineable products known to humankind, including everything from songs to automobiles. For information on "Chinese piracy" (and the scope of its impact on the global economy), check the following links out:

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/2007011...

http://www.engadget.com/2006/11/24/keepin-it-real-fake-par...

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200611/2006112...

http://english.chosun.com/w21data/html/news/200701/2007011...

Hope this help.
toyo at 05:37 AM on 03/05/07
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Maybe LG can sue Apple for making a phone of similar design. And Both LG and Apple will definitely sue the "Chinese rip-off companies" of ripping off their designs as well.

Here's another interesting site on "Chinese piracy":
http://www.therawfeed.com/2006/11/chinese-buyers-think-ori...
brikeh at 06:30 AM on 03/05/07
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mmm, I dont think its supposed to be an iPhone Giz.
kibets at 07:03 AM on 03/05/07
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@toyo

Meizu may borrow a few design features but theur products are of the highest quality. I have been using one of their M6 Mini Players for 9 months and it is close to perfect. far higher quality then a similar iPod.
strider_mt2k at 07:46 AM on 03/05/07
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Don't release info on your product super early, generate a ton of hype about it and then cry when it becomes emulated.

"If you're gonna shoot, shoot. Don't talk." -Tuco
toyo at 08:23 AM on 03/05/07
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I think it is "sad" that most poor people around the world (esp. those in Africa, China and S. America) have to be satisfied with cheap "inferior Chinese knock-offs". And according to the latest quality survey from CR, iPod is not known for having audio/build quality either.
evildoug at 09:47 AM on 03/05/07
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Umm...
If memory serves the Ipod is built in China. Would that make it a cheap Chinese knockoff of itself?
sean world mayor at 10:16 AM on 03/05/07
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What are the three phones in that one picture? I don't recognize the middle one.
soul_grind at 10:50 AM on 03/05/07
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sigh... it'll become the new ultra-chav accessory.. like the RAZR and the ipod Shuffle (v1) before it. What a waste...

Frankly I think the global patant and copyright systems are a huge scam.. so good luck to meizu or whoever.. especially considering most chinese buyers would have no chance of owningan overpriced ipod phone..
preaves at 10:58 AM on 03/05/07
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Sean, it's the LG Shine.
justsayyes at 11:34 AM on 03/05/07
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Hey soul_grind, visit Shanghia, Biejing, Guongjou, HK or Macau sometime. The Chinese upper middle class, though a very small portion of the overall population, is ginormous. More importantly, EXTREMELY brand conscious. And don't forget the little Emporer syndrome brought about by the one-child policies - whatever junior wants, he gets. City streets in the chic portions of these places are choked with shitty BMW 5 & 7 series. The only way to stand out now is to hit the local Ferrari or Lambo dealer...
erockO at 01:57 PM on 03/05/07
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The Chinese don't make knock off good. While I was in Beijing silk ally, I hypothesized that since everything (including apple iphone, ipod etc, etc) is made in china, the people already know how to make good quality products. Like a gas station employee here making meth!
Calaverius at 02:06 PM on 03/05/07
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60 bucks??
This might just be the least expensive thing ever made with a Prada logo on it.
Seriously.
Jesus Diaz at 04:23 PM on 03/05/07
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When you consider that the 60 dollar price is with a 200 minutes/month contract, it's not _that_ inexpensive. The phone will sell for around 600 euros/400 pounds unlocked.

BTW; about the same price as an iPhone but without the big features and certainly not as much power.
RxistKJ at 04:53 PM on 03/05/07
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@toyo:

"I think it is "sad" that most poor people around the world (esp. those in Africa, China and S. America) have to be satisfied with cheap "inferior Chinese knock-offs"."

Uhhh...I think most poor people around the world are more concerned with finding their next meal instead of being satisfied with cheap "knock-offs".
M e d i a d d i c t at 06:38 PM on 03/05/07
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@toyo:
"Meizu(Meichou or whatsoever this silly Chinese rip-off is called) is just "another cheap Chinese knockoff"; all they can do is churn out cheap "inferior" imitations for easy money."

Are you joking or are you just stupid? If you look up reviews of Meizu's products, you'll see that although they borrow design cues from iPods and Creative Zens, their quality is actually quite good. Seriously, read a fucking review or somethnig.
sean world mayor at 08:55 PM on 03/05/07
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Thanks, Preaves!
tnkgrl at 01:49 AM on 03/06/07
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"Meizu(Meichou or whatsoever this silly Chinese rip-off is called) is just "another cheap Chinese knockoff"; all they can do is churn out cheap "inferior" imitations for easy money."

Hmmm, *toyo*... Isn't that what people used to say about Japanese products in the '60/'70's?

And look at Japanese products now!

I've imported a few chinese (tri-band) mobile phones and they've all been decent for the money.