When two worlds collide, you get a marriage between fashion and tech. LG’s third and latest collaboration with Prada is one such example. Dubbed “Prada Phone by LG 3.0”, this Android smartphone might be targeted at the fashion crowd, but it does have some impressive hardware along for the ride.
We were half-expecting a hard tine with the Prada phone’s generous 43-inch display. Fortunately, the device
fits quite well in our hands and doesn’t feel overly heavy thanks to the plastic construction. Sadly, the material didn’t match the premium feel we expected out of the Prada brand. Its sliding cover for the micro USB port is definitely a nice touch though.
Having the camera button relocated to the top keeps the side profile clean. This isn’t exactly an improvement, as we fumbled with the shutter button in the midst of taking a picture. Four (very elusive) capacitive touch buttons are situated right below the 4.3-inch display. Within 5 seconds of leaving the phone alone, the buttons disappear from sight, with no indication of exactly where the buttons are. Try as we may, we couldn’t seem to find a setting to prolong the buttons’ light timeout.
LG chose to go with Google Android 2.3.7 for the Prada Phone, with a black and white custom user interface. Preloaded apps are given the same UI theme with a white outline on a black background. Though downloaded apps are displayed with its original colors, LG has added a few template icons that you can swap in for these apps.
Powered by a Texas Instruments dual-core 1GHZ processor, the loading times and transition between apps on the Prada phone are surprisingly fast and smooth. The same can be said for video playback, which is pretty bright thanks to LG’s Nova IPS display. The Prada Phone’s 8-megapxel camera proved itself well, returning sharp detail with minimal noise across the test images.
On a full charge of its 154omAh battery, an endless loop of a 480x800-pixel video played on the Prada Phone reported a below average timing of 218 minutes. We did manage to squeeze nearly a day’s worth of usage out of the Prada Phone, though this was only possible with minimal data services engaged.
We were half-expecting a hard tine with the Prada phone’s generous 43-inch display. Fortunately, the device
fits quite well in our hands and doesn’t feel overly heavy thanks to the plastic construction. Sadly, the material didn’t match the premium feel we expected out of the Prada brand. Its sliding cover for the micro USB port is definitely a nice touch though.
Having the camera button relocated to the top keeps the side profile clean. This isn’t exactly an improvement, as we fumbled with the shutter button in the midst of taking a picture. Four (very elusive) capacitive touch buttons are situated right below the 4.3-inch display. Within 5 seconds of leaving the phone alone, the buttons disappear from sight, with no indication of exactly where the buttons are. Try as we may, we couldn’t seem to find a setting to prolong the buttons’ light timeout.
LG chose to go with Google Android 2.3.7 for the Prada Phone, with a black and white custom user interface. Preloaded apps are given the same UI theme with a white outline on a black background. Though downloaded apps are displayed with its original colors, LG has added a few template icons that you can swap in for these apps.
Powered by a Texas Instruments dual-core 1GHZ processor, the loading times and transition between apps on the Prada phone are surprisingly fast and smooth. The same can be said for video playback, which is pretty bright thanks to LG’s Nova IPS display. The Prada Phone’s 8-megapxel camera proved itself well, returning sharp detail with minimal noise across the test images.
On a full charge of its 154omAh battery, an endless loop of a 480x800-pixel video played on the Prada Phone reported a below average timing of 218 minutes. We did manage to squeeze nearly a day’s worth of usage out of the Prada Phone, though this was only possible with minimal data services engaged.
Putting the Prada name aside, the Prada Phone by LG 3.0 is a decent Android smartphone. If money is no object, the $1,088 pricing won’t be a deal breaker. But, you’ll have to overlook its cheapish plastic chassis and below-average battery mileage if this device happens to tickle your fancy.
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SPECIFICATIONS NETWORK GSM 850 / 900/1800/1900,HSDPA 900/ 1900/2100/1 OPERATING SYSTEM Goole Android 2.3 Gingerbread // PROCESSOR Texas Instrument OMAP 4430 dual-core 1GHz // BUILT IN MEMORY 512MB RAM // DISPLAY 4.3-inch IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen / 480 x 800 pixels // CAMERA 8.0 megapixel / Autofocus / LED flash // VIDEO SUPPORT MPEG-4 / H.263 / H.264 / Windows Media Video 9/ AUDIO SUPPORT MP3 / AAC / WAV / MIDI / Windows Media Audio 9/ 3.5mm audio output jack // CONNECTIVITY Built-in GPS with A-GPS and Google Maps / Bluetooth 3.0 with A2DP support / microUSB 2.0 / WLAN 802.11a/b/gin / WiFi Direct / DLNA / NFC / HSDPA 21Mbps // STORAGE TYPE 8GB internal / microSD expandability / SDHC supported (Up to 32GB) // STANDBY /TALKTIME Up to 330 hours / U to 300 minutes // DIMENSIONS 127.5x69x8.5mm // WEIGHT 138g |