Insider there’s a 1GHz dual-core processor paired with 8GB of internal storage, Bluetooth 3.0+HS and WiFi b/g/n, together with HSPA+ supporting up to 21Mbps downloads, network-depending. You also get 1GB of RAM and a front-facing camera for video calls, together with a reskinned UI that ditches Android’s usual colors for a monochrome, PRADA-themed icon set.

The PRADA Phone by LG 3.0 will go on sale free with a new, two-year agreement priced at £31 ($49) per month or above, on a choice of networks. We’re expecting unlocked availability from the beginning of February.

There’s also a dual-core TI OMAP4430 1GHz processor, 8GB of internal storage and a microSDHC memory card slot, along with HSPA, WiFi, Bluetooth 3.0 and a microUSB port supporting MHL-HDMI output. NFC is present for those impromptu file transfers, and the UI has been reskinned in a suitably pared-down monochrome fashion.

Back when we played with the PRADA Phone by LG 3.0, we found the display to be bright (if lower resolution than we’d liked to have seen) and the phone snappy in operation. We also had no problems transferring files over from our ICS-running Galaxy Nexus, as in the above video, though LG is likely to upgrade the PRADA Phone to Android 4.0 anyway.

LG is yet to confirm official RRP and availability, and it’s unclear if the PRADA Phone will be offered as a carrier-exclusive sometime ahead of unlocked sales starting.

To say LG has had an underwhelming year in mobile is an understatement. The company has consistently fallen in the shadow of Samsung, with the devices it expected to revolutionize the market falling unimpressively flat. Delayed software updates and mixed-messages on which Android phones would eventually get what OS version didn’t do much to encourage early-adopters to stick with LG for their next device.

Look at the company’s Mobile World Congress push, back in February this year. LG concentrated on 3D, with both the LG Optimus 3D and the LG Optimus Tab packing a dual camera array good for capturing photos and video in the third-dimension.

Now, the media has a love/hate relationship with 3D. It’s hated because it’s so difficult to demonstrate and put into context, unless of course you’re showing people who already have 3D-capable equipment in which case you’re preaching to the converted. It’s loved because it’s an easy stick with which to beat a gadget: “see, how the foolish manufacturer has resorted to cheap gimmicks to try to make themselves relevant.” It’s perhaps telling that the two Android OEMs we see struggling to find their position in the smartphone segment at the end of the year, LG and HTC, are each the companies who made a significant attempt at mobile 3D.

Neither of LG’s headline devices held up to closer scrutiny; in fact, it’s only in the past month or so that a decent phone has hit the market. The LG Nitro HD finally delivered specifications people actually cared about: no camera tricks, just reliable photography skills, a 720p HD display, and a powerful dual-core processor. LG realized something Samsung had twigged to many months before: that there’s a place in the market for superlatives that become the standards by which others are judged. Spec-sheet bingo may not be the best way to decide on your new phone, but it’s certainly the way many buyers do today, and it’s how so many of them have ended up with a Galaxy S II in their pocket.

2012 will be about quality. This past year has seen manufacturers – even successful ones, like Samsung – throwing as many different models and variants at the market in the hope that something will stick. Yet at a time when purses and wallets are clenched tighter than ever, consumers aren’t saying “yes, I’d like the phone with a 0.1-inch bigger screen than that of my friends, for the sake of 0.1-inches, and a 0.2GHz faster processor” but are instead looking to the best phone for their money. Just because that might be a phone plenty of other people have, doesn’t mean it isn’t also the best phone for them too.

LG needs to capitalize on what’s appealing with the PRADA Phone and the Nitro, and that demands a long, hard look at where its fallen flat and where it has succeeded. The PRADA Phone delivers because it feels like – whether forced by the fashion label or otherwise – LG has finally given some serious consideration to style and consistency. Yes, there may be some duff points, like the faux-leather back panel that apparently couldn’t be real leather because it was deemed not durable enough, but it at least feels like LG’s designers and engineers had an idea, put together a plan and then stuck with it until the phone gained consistency as a result.

That same concentration needs to be applied to LG’s 2012 range. No more plasticky afterthoughts, no more needless break-out gimmicks. Phones that not only live up to expectations but exceed them. It doesn’t necessarily require a PRADA label to do that, but attacking the market with the same mentality of a detail-obsessed fashion house would be an excellent place to start.

More on the PRADA Phone by LG 3.0 in our full hands-on.

A tall, slimline monoblock handset, the PRADA Phone is fronted by a 4.3-inch WVGA LG NOVA display – complete with 800 nits brightness, for better outdoor visibility – with touch-sensitive keys underneath and a 1.3-megapixel camera above. On the back there’s an 8-megapixel camera with Full HD video support, surrounded by a leather-effect plastic cover. LG tells us that the choice of plastic over real leather was a conscious one, since genuine cow would wear too quickly. As it is, it feels reasonably grippy though not especially premium, and for our tastes – hardly catwalk-standard, it has to be said – we’d prefer some soft-touch rubber.

PRADA Phone by LG 3.0 hands-on:

Performance from the 1GHz dual-core TI OMAP4430 processor – paired with 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage – is swift, with the custom PRADA theme whipping past neatly and apps loading with nary a delay. There’s a comprehensive set of icons to choose from, even if you’re using a third-party app, along with some exclusive widgets for time and weather. Pull down the notifications menu and there’s a music control bar and power toggles.

One of those toggles controls NFC, used on the PRADA Phone to swap data with other handsets as well as read NFC tags such as used in adverts. We rubbed the LG back-to-back with our Galaxy Nexus and, sure enough, Android Beam popped up and fired over the webpage URL we’d been looking at. In Gingerbread that data is stored as a new tag record in the NFC app.

LG and PRADA are particularly pushing the design and aesthetic of the phone and the software: ironically using Android means the OS will likely be ripped, reworked and released as a third-party ROM within hours of the South Korean launch before the year is out. The physical hardware has plenty of neat details, though, like the circular stereo speakers and illuminated power/lock button ring, which should at least set you apart when you whip the PRADA Phone out of your bag.

Still, it’s a rite of passage for any new Android phone to leak like a janky faucet ahead of its official debut, and so the third-gen PRADA Phone shouldn’t be any different. The weather widget, with its pared down graphics, looks particularly good, while the Etch-A-Sketch style browser, music, gallery and camera shortcuts are neat.

The black & white color scheme should be shown off well on the 4.3-inch WVGA NOVA display, with 800 cd/m2 brightness, while inside the 127 x 69 x 8.5 mm chassis there’s a TI OMAP4430 1GHz dual-core processor, HSPA+ good for up to 21Mbps (networking depending), WiFi a/b/g/n and Bluetooth 3.0. An 8-megapixel camera good for 1080p Full HD video recording rounds out the main specs, paired with 8GB of internal storage and a microSD card slot.

There’s also NFC tipped to be present, which should keep Google happy. SlashGear will be headed down to LG’s PRADA phone launch later today, so expect all the official details soon!

Update: LG has officially confirmed the PRADA Phone [Thanks Carl!]

Update 2: Check out our hands-on with the new PRADA Phone by LG 3.0!

[via Engadget]

LG’s original PRADA phone was released back in 2007, pre-empting the iPhone with a capacitive touchscreen though running a featurephone OS rather than anything more ambitious. The two companies followed that up with the PRADA Phone 2.0, adding a slide-out QWERTY keyboard and a Bluetooth watch that could show alerts and messages while the handset was safe in your pocket.

Neither version has been a true smartphone, however, something which is expected to change in this third iteration. LG is believed to have funneled its NOVA display technology into the handset, delivering around 1,000 nits of brightness and making for a screen twice as bright as that of the iPhone, along with HSPA+ and an 8-megapixel main camera.

That could well change by the time the PRADA phone 3.0 launches, however, as could the OS versions which, last we heard, was expected to be Gingerbread. Of course, Google is on to Ice Cream Sandwich now, so we’d hope LG would keep pace with that.

Behind that bright panel lurks a dual-core processor, so the rumors say, along with HSPA+ for up to 21Mbps connectivity, network-depending. There’s also 16GB of ROM and twin cameras – 1.3-megapixels up front, 8-megapixels on the back – and a copy of Android 2.3 Gingerbread.

That’s not bad for a smartphone that’s expected to be less than 9mm thick, taking on the Samsung handset for its dual-core crown. The original Prada phone – and its keyboard-toting successor – arguably had the looks but not the functionality, being little more than featurephones, so this new K2 model may be the first to match aesthetic to ability. Release is predicted to be in time for the holiday shopping season.

It would also be the first time that a PRADA handset would have got a carrier deal in the US; previous models have only been sold SIM-free and unlocked, and usually very expensively.  There’s also some speculation that LG will be bringing the PRADA 3 along to CES 2010 next month, where they’ve scheduled a joint event with Sprint and – bizarrely – Brooke Shields.

[via MobileOSNews]

Seung-kwon has also confirmed that a new PRADA device is in the works.  The current PRADA phone – which added a slide-out QWERTY keyboard to the original handset’s capacitive touchscreen, and introduced a limited-edition matching Bluetooth watch - was launched back in November 2008, making it somewhat old in the tooth by now.

Finally, Seung-kwon revealed that LG are considering their own Nokia Vertu rival range, a series of “extreme premium” devices.  No release details on this, however, nor the new PRADA device.

[via Gizmodo]

As well as the main, 5-megapixel camera, there’s a front-mounted second camera for video calls.  The Prada II also has haptic feedback, to confirm that you’ve selected things, which works with LG’s new “active flash” menu system, a slick update on the original Prada phone GUI.  Preloaded on the handset are exclusive Prada ringtones, clips and wallpapers, together with the fashion label’s Fall/Winter 2008 Lookbook.

There’s also a microSD card slot, and the Prada II (aka the LG KF900) is apparently happy playing DivX video files.  It measures 104.5 x 54 x 16.75mm and weighs 130g; the battery is good for 400hrs standby or 3hrs talktime.  The Prada Link watch, meanwhile, weighs 51g, has a 0.9-inch 120 x 56 OLED display, battery good for 48hrs standby and leather strap.

Both are available this month in Europe, priced at around €600 ($867).

Unlike rival QWERTY devices from HTC and other manufacturers, the Prada 2 runs LG’s own OS rather than Windows Mobile or Google’s Android.  If our experience with the first-generation Prada is anything to go by, that will mean a straightforward and user-friendly GUI but perhaps lacking in some of the customization, flexibility and detail of a more advanced OS.  Of course, having had 18 months to develop the new Prada II, LG could still well surprise us.

No word on price or whether the LG Prada II will be supplied through a carrier or SIM-free.  Attempts to position mobile devices as “premium” is difficult in the UK, where buyers are used to getting their contract handsets free.

[via electricpig]

The LG Prada II also has an FM radio and TV output, together with a full HTML browser.  It uses a capacitive touchscreen, similar to that of the iPhone, but without multitouch functionality. 

Set to go on sale in Italy, UK, France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands in Q4 2008, the LG Prada II will be priced at around €600 ($817).  That’s undoubtedly a lot for a non-smartphone (though carrier subsidies should bring it down significantly), but given the degree of interest in the first Prada handset – which continues even now - it’s likely to find plenty of fashion-conscious buyers.

[via SlashPhone]

They are calling it “Dark Silver” because “titanium” is boring, but other than the new color it still retains the 3-inch touchscreen, the same Prada UI (hopefully with the upgraded keyboard software though) and the HSDPA. However there is a new jog wheel which should give your BlackBerry thumb a little exercise.

The new silver edition should be selling for the same as the black model, and they are talking about bringing more colors to market. I agree with Chris Davies, a nice dark, metallic red would be an awesome color for this mobile phone as long as the UI was similarly colored. In case you were wondering, the Viewty is apparently selling for very close to the same price as the Prada phone, which is around $500.

[via phonemag]

The internal update comes in the form of some better QWERTY keyboard software, I wonder if that brings it closer to that of the iPhone, or if maybe it’s even better than that. This is one shiny phone, I feel sorry for the photographer that had to try and take shots of the thing without getting a ton of glare.

Since you were probably wondering, it appears to only be coming to 18 European countries, no word on if/when it will make its way to the US. Pricing though should be pretty close to the $500 USD that the older models seem to be going for these days.

New Silver LG Prada Phone [via i4u]

It also has a 2MP camera, a microSD card slot, and WiFi. It also has Bluetooth and Windows Mobile 6, which is realistically probably one of the downsides of the phone.

It’s 12.8MM thick, that’s pretty thing for a smartphone. It looks great too, but after the iPhone, it kind of saddens me to still see devices using styli. It has yet to make it to the UK, but just wait, its due there soon.

LG KS20 – goes on sale in Europe [via Gadgettastic]

Check out the hands-on video with the Verizon Voyager after the cut…

Made by LG, the Voyager’s interface is similar to that of the Prada, only in full colour rather than the fashion-phone’s “goes with everything” monochrome; it also uses the same capacitive touchscreen, with none of the flex of traditional passive touchscreens. Where it differs, though, is in size and the haptic feedback you receive when using it: the panel is comfortably larger, and each time you press an icon or make a menu selection it pulses slightly to let you know you’ve chosen it. Tricky to explain, but in practice it works brilliantly, adding that extra degree of physicality that makes some people prefer hardware keyboards over on-screen.

Of course, if you want a physical keyboard then you only have to flip open the Voyager and there’s a full QWERTY layout, together with stereo speakers flanking the second screen. It’s not much smaller than the outer display, but since you’re expected to navigate using the D-pad it’s not touch-sensitive. As you’d expect, the Voyager supports the full gamut of messaging options – SMS, MMS, IM and email – as well as having a decent HTML browser that can either be used with the handset closed, tapping on links, or open, using the keyboard to navigate through the page. It lacks the visual flourish of the iPhone’s mobile Safari browser, but blows the Prada’s stilted, under-developed example out of the water.

First impressions, then, are pretty positive. The Voyager’s selling point – trick touchscreen and sexy clamshell action aside – will be Verizon’s high-speed cellular broadband, which will inevitably overshadow the iPhone’s reliance on dowdy EDGE. But where the iPhone excels is the purity of the user experience; it remains to be seen whether there’s simply too much Verizon in the Voyager to make it not just a “good” handset but a “great” one.

There are plenty more photos of the new Verizon handsets in the SlashGear Gallery; keep reading SlashGear for our full review of the Verizon Voyager by LG, coming soon!

More exclusive photos of the Samsung Giorgio Armani handset, plus a UI walkthrough video, after the cut

Samsung obviously see the cellphone as much a media handset as a fashion one: the Bluetooth 2.0 supports A2DP wireless stereo, while the media player itself can handle H.263, ACC+/MP3/WMA, MPEG4, AAC and e-AAC+ formats.  A high-speed USB 2.0 port should see you fill the Samsung up quickly, or you can use microSD cards; it also lets you print via PictBridge or over Bluetooth.  The whole thing measures just 87.5 x 54.5 x 10.5 mm, making it even more compact than the Prada (which came in at 98.8 x 54 x 12mm).

Price, carrier and availability of the 85g handset is as yet undetermined (although a figure of €400 [$568] for Europe was mentioned back in September), but I’m really hoping it reaches the US – I’m impressed!  We’ve got plenty more photos that wouldn’t fit in this post, so check out the gallery.

More over at Samsung Forums

Yes that’s right, now LG is working with the watchmaker to make a new phone. They recently showed it off, but photos were prohibited, so all you get is a Rolex logo for now. But, there is apparently a centerpiece on the phone which is a real Rolex watch face embedded in the casing and surrounded by luxury leather on the outside.

No word on price or availability. But if I had to guess, Rolex just consenting to putting their name on the device means it’ll probably sell for at least a grand, adding the luxury leather and the actual Rolex watch face, I’d put it at a higher price than the Prada phone.

LG Rolex concept phone [via newlaunches]

More footage and photos from the exhibition floor, after the cut…

Video 2 with explanation

More IFA 2007 coverage on SlashGear

More video footage – including a feature tour – and photos from the exhibition floor after the cut…

3G, a 3-inch 240 x 400 touchscreen, 5.1-megapixel Schneider-Kreuznach camera with image stabilisation, auto-focus, ISO 800 sensitivity and QVGA-quality video recording at up to an astonishing 120 frames per second round out a seriously media-focused phone. There’s also an instant YouTube upload function, to quickly add fresh video, and you can use the supplied stylus to edit and write on your photos.

LG Viewty Features:

LG Viewty Camera Demo:

With explanation:

LG Viewty Live Demo:

It’ll launch in the UK first, and we’ll be bringing you a review as soon as we get the Viewty in; keep reading SlashGear!

LG Press Release

In the mean time, just for a little teaser, here’s what we have so far. It’s supposed to be a 3G Windows smart phone with a 2.8” touch screen. Its supposed the have the latest Windows Mobile software, version 6.0 for those that don’t know, HSDPA @ 3.6Mbps.

It keeps it skinny at 12.8mm too. Part of that small profile is due to the lack of a keypad, instead the keypad will be on screen. It should also have a 2MP camera, Bluetooth, WiFi, and FM radio. There will also be a microSD card slot, does that mean this thing will have the A2DP Bluetooth profile then?

Well that’s all we have for now, until we get more info. Oh yeah, the supposed release date is some time in Q4 this year, at least that’s the release date in Europe, who knows if we will even see it stateside.

LG KS20: LG Finally Announcing Prada Phone with Windows Mobile [via SlashPhone]

LG Prada goes gold [via bgr]

The LG KU990 features five-megapixel camera with built in flash module, HSDPA data connection support, FM radio, and Muvee video editor.

SlashRumor: LG KU990 NYX 5 Megapixel Chocolate Phone [via slashphone]

Inside the phone will be running WM6 Pro, with UMTS and possibly HSDPA.  WiFi is also built-in, but according to Arne some carrier deals will see the chip deactivated (but not removed).  It’ll hit Europe first with semi-exclusive network partnerships.

I loved the capacitive touchscreen of the Prada, in fact my main lament was that the functionality of the phone was just too mainstream.  A WM6 choice could be fantastic; I just hope that they take a leaf out of Apple’s book and improve the UI to make the most of the interface.

Rumor: More LG Smartphone information[the::unwired]

Of course, in time each was slotted neatly into its niche: Apple as smartphone, Prada as over-designed fluff, and yet the promise of those initial Onyx concepts kept teasing us with just what might lurk inside the 12mm thin handset.

You might have already seen my unboxing of the Prada on Monday; if you watched it, you’ll have seen the effort LG have gone to, trying to preserve the aura of luxury surrounding a fashion house almost a century old. It’s a partial success: the box and the top layer is nicely designed and does a good job of offering up the handset as if some expensive piece of jewellery. Underneath, though, it’s less poised, with charger, hands-free and other cabling individually wrapped in basic plastic bags; par for the course in the mobile market, perhaps, but you can guarantee that Apple will go to great lengths to make the iPhone unboxing as special as possible.

First impressions are of the Prada’s lightness – just 85g with battery – and the high-gloss body which is, sadly, plastic. I’m still in two minds about the plastic: part of me wishes the phone was hewn from metal, and part of me is happy with the light, slickness of the handset as it is. Buttons are well hidden, mainly in the chrome edge strip (where there are volume, profile, keylock and mp3/camera shortcut keys) with a three-button bar on the front panel for send/end and back. Each is firm and reassuring. The rear of the phone is blank apart from an LG logo and the Schneider Kreuznach 2-megapixel lens, which sits next to an LED light and tiny portrait mirror.

There’s something of the ceremonial about turning the Prada on, with the fashion label’s logo appearing in the centre of the 3-inch, 240 x 400 screen before being eclipsed by a white glow. You’re left with a pleasantly minimalist UI entirely in black & white, with a row of four shortcut buttons (main menu, calls, messaging and contacts) along the bottom, a clock (analogue or digital) in the centre and the usual signal strength, Bluetooth, profile status, battery and time along the very top.

Your first impulse is to press things, and here the difference between a traditional passive touchscreen – as found, say, on a Treo – and the Prada’s capacitive touch-panel becomes obvious. Gone is the sponginess and flex, replaced by an almost magical feeling of buttons responding to the lightest of caress. It takes a little getting used to, but having carried it for a few days I’m reluctant to go back to an old-fashioned touch-sensitive display.

Tapping the menu shortcut brings up a simple two-column grid of monochrome circular icons, organised into four categories by tabs down the right side. Legends are easy to read and the buttons themselves are comfortably finger-sized; page changes are quick and have just enough animation to feel well-designed without going overboard. In addition to voice calls the Prada can send SMS and MMS messages (the latter containing images, sounds and video), take photos and record video clips (storing them either to the phone itself or to the included 256mb MicroSD card), play MP3, AAC and WMA audio files, MP4 and 3GP video files, tune in to FM radio, and act as a dictaphone. There’s also a basic calendar, memo store, unit converter, world clock and calculator; LG make no claims for it being a smartphone, but by using the supplied data cable and software you can transfer information and media between the handset and your PC.

Photos are clear and colour balance is good even under fluorescent light, although the LED light is no replacement for a flash. They’re easily transferred by MMS, Bluetooth or cable connection. Videos can be recorded in up to 400 x 240 resolution, with negative, grey or sepia effects added in real-time. The Java support means most downloadable games should run, though there’s no guarantee that they’ll work with the touchscreen in lieu of a directional or numeric pad.

American readers will be disappointed to hear that, since the Prada lacks the 800MHz band (it’s tri-band 900/1800/1900MHz only) it won’t be sold in the US. To be honest, I can’t see LG’s logic in this; I’ve no doubt that the phone would go down a storm, especially given the premium price it would likely sell at (as opposed to, say, the UK, where the cut-throat mobile industry has already seen the Prada offered free with a new 12-18 month contract). Voice calls are generally clear and have pleasing depth, with the Prada clinging tenaciously to a signal. Another notable absence, however, is any form of 3G, with data limited to GPRS and EDGE connections that, given the array of music-centric phones on the market who flaunt their on-the-go downloads, begins to negate any attempt by LG to position the Prada as a 21st century music-phone.

The lack of 3G won’t bother you too much after a couple of fumbles with the phone’s browser, however. Hopelessly outdated in comparison to, say, the Nokia browser on the S60 platform, it’s hard to say whether site rendering is slow because of the connection speed or the software; either way, navigation and display options are very poor. Particularly confusing is the almost entire lack of touchscreen utilisation; to select a link you must scroll through them all by tapping a down-arrow, whereas the obvious method of simply tapping the link itself doesn’t work. What should, then, be a glorious surfing experience, with that colourful and high-resolution display shown off to its best, ends up losing out on screen estate with two rows of buttons at the bottom.

It’s here that the Prada problem rears its ugly head: a simple lack of consideration for how the UI should evolve to match the interface. You should be able to drag a photo around with your fingertip, just as you should be able to scroll through a webpage in the same way; neither is possible. What happened to the Onyx’s floating volume dials and intuitive graphic controls? There’s a pervading sense that, beneath the classy skin, LG’s engineers have merely recoded a more traditional phone’s OS for use with onscreen buttons; coincidentally, the same can be said for the manual, which at times refers to “opening the flip” and is obviously intended for some other handset.

What’s frustrating, then, is that while the Prada is undoubtedly a good phone – and trust me, it’ll take a long time to tire of that gorgeous capacitive touchscreen – there’s the potential for it to be a bloody fantastic one. A little more thought to the software as to how best to take advantage of the new interface would be a good start, as would squeezing in HSDPA and upgrading the browser. Then you’d have a phone that worked as well as its hardware deserves.

The LG Prada (also known as the LG KE850) is available now; many thanks to O2 UK for the loan of the review unit. You can see our full Prada gallery here.

Rating:

4 out of 5 gears

[flv]http://www.slashgear.com/media/slashgear_prada_unboxing.flv[/flv]

Questions abound: is the touchscreen interface easy to use? Is the Prada influence more than skin-deep? Is that really my accent? Two-thirds of these questions will be answered in our full LG Prada phone review, later this week!

From what I can see, it features a small LCD display, revealing info such as battery, volume and perhaps caller ID. And of course, the Prada logo is proudly display for all you label whores.

If I had to guess at the price, I’d venture to say it’s around $179 mark.

Prada Headsets Coming Soon [MobileKorea.tv]

According to deeply reticent LG reps this is not the final casing for the phone, and when pushed they refused to say whether the handset will be the commercial version of the Prada handset, another variant in the line or a completely different model altogether.

Small, with a joystick and two discrete buttons on the front, the cellphone’s crowning glory is HSDPA.

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

It’ll be interesting to see how sales figures compare to the amount of hype these two phones – and maybe now the Samsung F700 too – have gathered since announcement.

Will a Microsoft/LG deal give Apple a run for its money? [MYiPhone]

Expect this fashionable phone to launch in early 2007, starting in Europe and Asia. US is left out as always. Haute mobile couture anyone?

LG Electronics Wears Prada [Via: Aving]