LG Prada
| Industry | Consumer electronics |
|---|---|
| Founded | October 5, 1958 in South Korea |
| Headquarters | South Korea |
| Products | Mobile phones, consumer electronics |
The LG Prada (KE850), officially named the PRADA Phone by LG, is a touchscreen mobile device created through a partnership between LG Electronics and the Italian luxury fashion house Prada. Announced on 12 December 2006 and launched in early 2007, it was pioneering as the first phone to utilize a capacitive touchscreen, which removed the necessity for a stylus.
Conceived by designer Kang-Heui Cha, the handset's sleek black design drew inspiration from LG's earlier successful LG Chocolate lineup, aiming to merge technology with high-end fashion for an upscale market.
The LG Prada was revealed just days prior to Apple CEO Steve Jobs introducing the inaugural iPhone on 9 January 2007. After the iPhone's debut, LG's Mobile Handset R&D chief implied that Apple’s design may have been influenced by the Prada phone, which had already earned an iF product design award in September 2006.
Features
Equipped with a glass-covered touchscreen, the LG KE850 featured a monochrome interface powered by Adobe Flash Player. Prada’s branding extended to both the user interface and pre-installed elements such as ringtones. The device supported expandable memory via a Micro SD card slot, included Bluetooth connectivity, and allowed users to view PDF and Microsoft Office files. It came preloaded with four games: Halloween Fever, Photo Puzzle, Virus, and Pipe.
The version released in South Korea also incorporated a Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) TV tuner.
Release
The KE850 Prada was introduced to markets in the UK, France, and Italy in March 2007, priced at 600 euros. It subsequently became available across additional European countries as well as in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, and South Korea. The phone was not launched in North or South America.
In January 2008, a silver variant was launched featuring a virtual QWERTY keyboard that replaced the original T9 input method.
Reception
Within its first year and a half on the market, the KE850 achieved sales of one million units. Its touch-based slate design served as a foundation for subsequent LG models such as the LG KS20 running Windows Mobile and the LG Viewty released later in 2007.
Later iterations included the LG Prada II (KF900), announced in October 2008, followed by the LG Prada 3.0 (P940) debuting in 2012.
Awards
- International Forum Design—Product Design Award, 2007
- Red dot design award—Received "Best of the Best" distinction in 2007
- Fashion Phone of the Year—Awarded by Mobile Choice in 2007
- Best Fashion Phone—Honored at What Mobile Awards, 2007
- Gold for Best Looking Phone—CNET Asia Readers' Choice Award for 2007/08
See also
- LG Viewty
- LG Chocolate
- iPhone (1st generation)
- Samsung P520 Giorgio Armani
- Samsung Ultra Smart F700
- Motorola Razr2