LG will be working on all the decent phone features, while Prada will be putting together crap themes, annoying ringtones and other stuff to ensure the handset is just a little rubbish. The LG Prada successor is expected to launch in Q4, 2008. We're excited. [Eprice via Unwired View]

The features the handsets will share include a 3-inch WQVGA 262K color touchscreen, 2MP camera with autofocus, HTML web browser, HSDPA connectivity, 120MB internal memory, USB mass storage mode, and up to 4GB microSD card support. Standing in at 4.25"H x 2.16"W x 0.51"D, the LG Vu is slightly on the larger side, but we can look past its inherent big bones to the 1000mAh battery, which will supply up to 3-hours of talk time. The Vu is set to go on show at CTIA, which gets underway on April 1st, or is that whole event just a well planned joke? Oh, we just can't tell. Now, hit up the link to get your eyeballs filled to the brim with Vu goodness [Phone Arena]

[Aving USA]

As for the design, the cellphones are expected to be as as "contemporary," "technological" and "timeless" as their watches. Naturally, there is no word yet on any type of advertising campaign, but my guess is that somehow Tiger Woods will find a way to make even more money whoring it out to the masses. [TagHeuer and Electronista]

It's got 3.6Mbps HSDPA and Wi-Fi B and G, and what looks like a half-way decent web browser. There will be some built-in games and video on demand, video telephony, and a media player that will read MP3, MPEG4, WAV, 3GP, AMR-NB, WMA, AAC, AAC+ and eAAC+. We don't even mind the Windows Mobile 6 part, given the fact that there's a customized interface like the T-Mobile HTC Shadow or the Sprint's HTC Touch.

I suppose the upcoming entry of Verizon's LG Voyager to the US doesn't preclude us from getting a KS20, but the powers that be might not want the competition this early, and LG's relationships with other carriers are not as cuddly. [LG via Akihabara News]

LG's 60,000 customer policy goes into effect immediately, and will give you up to 200,000 South Korean Won if you break your phone. The bad news: 200,000 Won is only $215. The phone is $700. Try not to break your phone. – Jason Chen

LG Offers Free Insurance for Prada Phones [Chosun]

According to what we heard from LG, they claim the KE850 (Prada) will not come to the States in its current form, and whatever does will not actually be called the Prada. However, we do know that Prada-ish phones like the LG KS20 are already coming out, but we're not sure if this is the weapon Verizon will be using to counter AT&T. – Jason Chen

Video Page [The Street via PC World via Crunchgear]

iPhone wins. Here's why:

The LG is smaller, sure. It's a better size, for an un-smartphone.It's the nicest LG I've ever seen. But it often uses it's touchscreen to boring effect. There is no interface advantage here. You touch buttons on screen to scroll and click around, much like a Palm or WM6 Phone. The menu design itself is similar to that on any high end LG phone, like, say the Shine. The 3-inch diagonal comes in useful as the entirety of it becomes a viewfinder in camera mode. The touchscreen let's you drag the home screen's clock around, and that fishy in the photo above is actually "touchable". And it ships with some touchscreen games. But generally speaking, it operates just like a regular phone. No revolutionary usage models here, either.

The iPhone uses it's touchscreen to zoom photos and webpages, flick scroll through long lists. iPhone has all the iTunes and data syncing integration built in, and the neato factor of coverflow. iPhone has networked widget compatibility for weather, stocks (yawn), and who knows what else is coming down the line. The Prada's sync software is rudimentary, allowing you to transfer contacts and calendar appointments. The Prada does have 3G, although that may be in Europe only flavors, while the iPhone only has EDGE and WiFi. (Since this is an import phone for the foreseeable future, it's likely.) The LG's 3-inch screen is 240 x 400. The Apple's is 3.5 inches, at 320 x 480. 8GB vs whatever you can fit into the LG's few megs of internal mem, plus the microSD slot. The browser sucks on the LG phone. LG phone has the advantage of being able to run J2ME progs. And has SMS and IM, which IMO are very obvious things that the iPhone should have. (Firmware!)

The Prada would be a good phone, the nicest non-business user touchscreen phone, I can think of at the moment. But at $700-850 bucks, it's just way too expensive. The iPhone isn't perfect, but the amount of innovation it has pushes it into another class. This is a really stupid comparison: iPhone wins. (The better comparison is iPhone to Helio Ocean of N95. – Brian Lam

iPhone [Gizmodo]
LG Prada [Gizmodo]

Another cool feature is that the phone will have dynamic icons, meaning that the icons will move around when you tap on them, so you don't have to hit them dead-on all the time. No word on when we'll see the phone, but this one's looking even more intriguing than the Prada phone. – Louis Ramirez

LG KE850 Prada Was Just the Beginning [Unwired View]

We're not eagerly waiting for more information, but we'll let you know when we get some. It would be nice if this was a phone instead of just an MP3 player. – Jason Chen

VW Beetle MP3 player: questionable brand partnership, nice looking player [Shiny Shiny]

Goodbye Letter I—We discuss the reasons why the letter "i" must leave the tech world, and what letter should replace it.

Prada, Cheaper Than Yo' Momma—The LG Prada knows it needs something else to compete with the iPhone (There's that "i" again), so what did LG do? They made it completely free, with a 1.5-year contract.

EMI Sends Their Music Out Naked—And as you have probably heard by now, Stevie Jobs & Eric Nicoli announced that they will start selling their music catalog sans-DRM. Adam Frucci will walk you through how this fits in with last month's RIAA boycott.

Epson $25/inch 1080p Projector—And we're speaking relatively here, but Epson has a sweet price on a projector. $3,000 for a 1080p projector with a great contrast ratio, HDMI, and can scale to 120 inches.– Ben Longo

The LG Prada is out in Europe and, beyond being a good excuse to post a Laura Ocaña photo once again, the news is that it's free.

Yes, free with a $69/month (which includes 500 voice minutes and 500 text messages) year-and-a-half contract, but free. As opposed to the not-free iPhone's $499 and $599 plus Cingular two-year contract. And sure, the iPhone does a lot more than the Prada, but for most people, it will be the "it's cool, it has a touch-screen, it plays music, it has a camera, it's FREE, who cares!" phone.

Carphone Warehouse released it in the UK this saturday and, according to Peregrine Riviere, Investor Relations Director for the company: "They are selling like hot cakes". I bet it helps that the official price for this cellphone is $802 (600 euros), available unlocked in Prada shops through the Old Continent. –Jesus Diaz

Product Page [Carphone Warehouse]

LG working on a speedy next-gen Prada phone [gearfuse]

This is probably the the third time in history we were jealous we weren't in the UK. The first being the first time we saw Hugh Grant and the second being the the first time we saw Clive Owen. – Jason Chen

LG Prada phone unboxed [T3 via Crunchgear]

"This is a phone. And it's really nothing more than a phone. It's for those that are all about appearances. And there's nothing wrong with that."

– Louis Ramirez
Review: LG Prada [ShinyShiny]

Yes, I know what you are asking: who is Laura Ocaña when she's not at home? To start with, she's the unofficial Miss Gizmodo Spain and Eternal-Goddess-at-large. But most importantly, she is a normal, non-geeky consumer and one of the few who has spent a few days actually using the LG Prada constantly. I talked with her for an hour, and as well as being funny, smart and charming, she uncovered a few new things about the LG Prada and something about touchscreens that Steve Jobs should take notes on. All, with a load of unpublished photos, in the interview right after the jump.

Laura Ocaña is the brave woman who, at Barcelona's 3GSM and with just one LG KE850 Prada in hand, fought against wave after wave of drooling geeks, blank-eyed engineers and vicious telecom executive hordes.

And Louis Ramirez too.

Jesús Díaz: Laura, we have seen you caressing a cellphone in the 3GSM... do you do that on a daily basis?
Laura Ocaña: Sure I do, not caressing it, but I use it constantly for work, family, friends... I am spanish and I live in Italy, so the cellphone is especially important for me to keep contact with the rest of my world.

JD: Which cellphone do you actually use?
LO: It's a Motorola... I can't remember the name... hmmm, it comes in different colors, rounded... like... like a rolling stone.

JD: Ah, the PEBL...
LO: Yes, that's it. To be honest, I like more the Shine and the Chocolate, but when I saw those I already had bought Motorola, so that was it for me.

JD: And the computer? Do you use that a lot?
LO: Yes, that too, for the same reasons.

JD: E-mail, SMS or videoconference?
LO: Email and SMS. Videoconference doesn't work very well, it's jerky and it makes me want to throw away the computer. It makes me dizzy and, since I go to Spain a lot, I like to see my friends in the flesh.

JD: If you could get any cell number, who would you call? Almodovar for a role?
LO: Nah, not really. Hmmm... nobody, really. With the ones I have I am happy enough.

JD: And would you hang up on anyone? Any designer? One who's a very bad, bad person...
LO: [Laughs] Sure I would... or maybe not. I will just tell him a couple of things. So no, seriously, I wouldn't hang up on anyone, no matter how bad. Really.

JD: You haven't hung up on me, so I trust you on that one.
LO: You? Why? You are not bad.

JD: Well, maybe I am bad too. I mean, like... ringtone or vibration?
LO: WHAT? [Laughs] Ringtone! OK, maybe ringtone and vibration. [Laughs] But only cellphones, ok?

JD: Did the LG people gave you a Prada?
LO: No, but I wish they had. The phones [at 3GSM] were all prototypes. As far as I know, there are not in the market yet [they will come out on March 22]. The software was not complete and sometimes the operating system got stuck and we had to reset the phone. But of course, it was in development...

JD: Of course.
LO: ... they briefed us on what to use and what not to use, because there was stuff that didn't work at all, so we couldn't show that.

JD: And if they gave you one... would you have preferred Prada boots instead of the Prada phone?
LO: [Laughs] Prada boots of course! I love shoes, it's one of my passions.

JD: I know, my wife is also full of lust. For shoes.
LO: [Laughs] Me too. That said, if I can choose, I'll pick both of them. I won't say no to the phone, that's for sure, but I prefer shoes to a cellphone. You enjoy the cellphone less.

JD: I understand that, kind of. Shoes don't vibrate... anyway, after your time with the Prada, what do you think about it?
LO: I liked it. The phone is good... however, I think there will be people who won't like the touchscreen. I don't like the touchscreen myself. I want to touch real buttons, a traditional keyboard, real keys. [hey Steve, are you taking notes?] Maybe I am used to real keys and I have to get used to this...

JD: Why would you have to get used to it? People should be able to use whatever they like most.
LO: Well, I prefer the keyboard, but of course, the LG Prada is beautiful, the screen quality is great, it's well designed and it has functions which I like very much. However, the virtual on-screen keys make it less than perfect. I would choose another phone just for that. [Jon? Phil? Steve? Anybody home?]

JD: You think people went to the LG booth to see the Prada or to see you?
LO: [Laughs] No, they came for the phone. They didn't stop, some came to see it several times [for sure, Louis belonged to that group - for work reasons, he says]

JD: OK, so lots of flies around - just to see you.
LO: [Laughs] No, no, but it was a continuous invasion of people. People kept arriving and everyone wanted to see the Prada and touch it.

JD: Yeah, that's what Louis told us. He also said that you were always cleaning it... how many times did you have to polish it per minute to make it shine? [no dirty jokes here]
LO: [Laughs] A lot, constantly. There was a moment in which I didn't stop polishing. The thing is that LG told us that there were going to get really dirty because they were prototypes. They also told us that the final version will have a screen with a special coating so it doesn't get dirty so quickly.

JD: I should ask for one those coatings myself. So, what's your favorite gadget, then? iPod, camera, phone?
LO: I don't really have many, so I guess it's the cellphone.

JD: I guess work has you too absorbed to use silly gadgets like us... do you still model and do advertising?
LO: Sure, I model. I also organize fashion events. I'm preparing for Fall now, but everything is still up in the air.

JD: Well Laura, I wish you the best for that. Good luck and thank you for being so open and charming with us and our stupid questions.
LO: Thank you! And my best wishes for you and the readers of Gizmodo.

So there you have it. Laura likes the LG Prada but she prefers other phones with real keyboards. And Prada boots. This is something that seems quite common among normal consumers (not the boots, the real keyboards). Is Laura an indicator of the potential success or disaster of cells like the iPhone and the LG Prada? Will people sacrifice functionality for style? Perhaps this will be a problem with the LG Prada's implementation and not with the iPhone's?

It doesn't matter as long as Laura keeps so charming and purty. The answers to those questions will be revealed on March 22 for the LG and June for the iPhone. – Jesus Diaz

Laura's photos property of Laura Ocaña

Prada Launch Date [Mobile Today]

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]

Some people call them iPhone clones, others call them showing up in the same touchscreen. Whoever started developing first doesn't matter anymore; we just want to know which sexy iPhonish smartphone deserves our children's "college fund" the most. Hit the jump for our Frankenpreview of the different "iPhone clones" coming to the market, and see how they stack up against the Vision of Apple.

iSoftPhone
Price: $100
What??
It's not actually a phone. It's VoIP software that just looks like a phone.
But!
Hold your Macbook up to your ear, and that hipster chick eyeing you up at Panera will never know the difference.

Neonode N2
Price: N/A
2-inch 176 x 220 display
2 Megapixel camera
GSM Quadband
GPRS
Mini-SD slot
OS: Proprietary

What? ?
The N2 uses a innovative, but non-intuitive gesture interface. But its bigger problem is its limited data capability since it lacks newer, speedier transmission standards. And without WiFi as backup, there is a limit to just how "smart" this phone can be.
But!
It's only half the length of the iPhone and weighs just a little under 2 Nanos (about half the weight of the iPhone). You have to appreciate the aggressively small form factor coupled with an interface that, at the very least, confronts the issue of impossibly small buttons.

Teclast T59
Price: N/A

3.5-inch display (VGA)
3G
Wi-Fi & GPS
OS: Windows CE

What? ?
The T59 is 100% concept renderings at this point. As far as we can tell, they haven't even built a mock-up for beautiful models to pretend to be talking to us on yet. So until we see it...let's just say we've been hurt before, ok?
But!
The largest model (as in product, not the hot model mentioned above) is said to hold a massive 16GB of music and videos, which is double that of Apple's phone and bigger than any company's options on this list. But more importantly, it sports an FM radio!

LG Prada
Price: $778

Specs:
3.0-inch display, 240 x 400
GSM Quadband
EDGE data
2 megapixel camera
microSD
OS: Proprietary

What??
The Prada lacks both WiFi and built-in storage—considering the hefty price tag (you are charging even more than Apple, LG), these features will be more than missed. Plus, Europe and Asia get the Prada first while we convince ourselves that the pink Razr is still all the rage.
But!
The Prada is a bit smaller than the iPhone, can't be worse than the Chocolate and...it's not the iPhone—as they made clear. And Apple has become so bourgeois...

Meizu M8/MiniOne
Price: N/A
3.3-inch VGA touchscreen
GSM and TD-SCDMA
3MP camera (back), .3MP camera (front)
TV-Out
OS: Windows CE 6.0

What??
This product is the real deal knock-off, actually changing their design post-iPhone announcement. Consider the MiniOne the technological equivalent to breast implants. Sure they look may look good, but do they really offer the same user experience? (That question isn't rhetorical, btw).
But!
720x480 video playback at 30fps might mean we'll actually use the Meizu for porn daily tasks, especially with its TV-out option. Maybe the more important aspect of PMPs is less regarding the 3-inch screen clarity, and more about the device's ability to interact with home theater equipment—wherever you may be.

However, the long and short of it is that most of these Apple alternatives won't see American releases soon, if at all. So even though it may seem like the market has flooded abruptly with thousands of magical touchscreen phones, the choice may (unfortunately) be easier than you'd think. – Mark Wilson

Apple Mentions Compact Bluetooth Headset [MacNN]

LG Prada Bluetooth Headset to Go with Prada Phone [Ministry of Tech]

KU970 [iDNES.cz via CrunchGear]

Why would I want to fold out this big adult diaper looking thing on the street? How is that any easier or more intuitive than fidgeting with T9 or one of those phones with a flip out keyboard, like the Sidekick or LG enV? I'll concede that it looks nice when closed (and we could use more gray-colored electronics for a change... not everything has to be black), but otherwise it looks too cumbersome to use on-the-go. Maybe if you sit at a desk all day it could work, but I live a very active life; I can't be expected to be near a coffee table all day where I can set this thing down upon. – Nicholas Deleon

Nalu Origami Mobile Communicator [My iPhone]

NTT DoCoMo D800iDS
Yeah, they're ripping off the Nintendo DS, but where else will you see a phone with two touch-screen displays. Unfortunately, the D800iDS was not only under glass, but it wasn't even turned on. Lame.

LG Prada
It doesn't get any sexier than this, folks. Miss Spain finalist. Prada. LG. Touch-screen display. Part of my heart will stay at the LG Barcelona booth forever.

Samsung F700
I arrived at 3GSM with dreams of holding the touch-screeny F700. Well, Samsung had a nice big bucket of ice waiting for me cause not only was the F700 a no-show, but they wouldn't even let me touch the prototype.

Samsung FGH-F520
The only company to smack me twice, Samsung's second slider, the F520, was also locked under glass, and no matter how many times I pleaded, they just weren't having it. The sucker remained under the glass (and turned off) during the entire show.

iMate Ultimate 7150
A full VGA screen, QWERTY keyboard, and WM6. This smartphone is oozing with style and power, but unfortunately the goons at iMate had it locked and secured, denying me a grope. – Louis Ramirez

No LG Prada phone for ex-Tampax model (and Miss Spain '03), Eva Gonzalez. – Louis Ramirez

What did they say? They said The LG Prada phone has never, and will never run Windows Mobile 6. It runs a proprietary OS made by both LG and Prada. Who knew Prada had software engineers? There you have it. Rumor smashed. – Jason Chen

LG Prada Running WM6? [Gizmodo]

While it looks exactly like the phone of the moment, it doesn't appear to carry any identifying remarks, Prada logos, etc. Rumblings point to LG developing two different, near identical looking touchscreen phones: the Prada that we all know and love and a phone optimized for Windows Mobile 6. We'll have our man on the scene scrounge for more info on this little development. – Nicholas Deleon

My iPhone Exclusive: LG Prada running Windows Mobile 6! [My iPhone]

Shiny at 3GSM: a first look at the LG Prada phone [Shiny Shiny]

We consider that Apple copycat Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006.

Let's just say they were both developed at around the same time and neither of them took significant design details from the other, shall we? – Jason Chen

LG R&D Head Officially Arguing "Apple Phone Copied Prada Phone" [Telecoms Korea via Textually]

10. Possio GRETA
When it comes to ballsy innovation, no touchscreen or banana phone beats this combination fax machine, printer, copier, scanner and cellphone in one. Why they painted it the color of maroon nail polish is a question that can probably only be answered by a regional manager for Dunder-Mifflin.

9. Motorola Q9
The Jay Leno chin is gone, the color is much, well, blacker, and it's a true global phone. Sometimes it's the little things that make all the difference.

8. RIM Blackberry 8800
The jury is still out on SureType, so RIM took all the best features of the Pearl (including the nipple-like navigator) and combined them with a full QWERTY keyboard. Crackberry-licious.Gallery.

7. Nokia 6110 Navigator
A GPS phone with 3.6 Mbps throughput will keep you one step ahead of pursuers, that's for sure. The $600 price tag, however, means that you are being chased by debt collectors. Gallery.

6. Samsung U100
Two words: Wafer thin. 5.9mm. Gallery.

5. LG Prada
The LG Prada is so hot right now it could take a crap, wrap it in tinfoil, put a couple fish hooks on it and sell it to Queen Elizabeth as earrings. It's going to be break-dance fighting with the Samsung U100 later tonight. Gallery.

4. Motorola Z8
A hinged slider phone that automatically switches into landscape mode? Everyone is going to want to try it once. Gallery.

3. Nokia N77
The great thing about Nokia is that they can take a bunch of features that everyone has seen before—mobile tv, push-to-talk, FM radio, micro SD slot—and freshen it up by turning the phone sideways. Gallery.

2. Samsung SGH-F520
This side-to-side and up-down slider with a touchscreen wins the award for the most iPhone-competitive handset at the show. Its Achilles heel? It will probably never be released outside of Korea.

1. Neonode N2
This phone, which uses an open software platform, probably has a snowball's chance in hell of being used outside of the homebrew mobile phone club. But the 3-inch tall, gesture-controlled phone is also a true harbinger of phones to come.

–Noah Robischon

The interface is really easy to use—it's quick and responsive, but the screen picks up smudges way too fast. In fact, the model kept swiping it down every minute or so. The phone's also pretty lightweight, though not in a cheap way. One thing that struck me was that unlike the iPhone, the LG Prada lacks a bit of color. The reason? Well, according to LG, they deliberately made color minimal cause the monochrome interface complements the "Prada experience."

So what's the conclusion? This is definitely a worthy competitor to the iPhone that we should keep our eye on.

LG Prada [Gizmodo]

– Jason Chen