association is not entirely easy to make. For instance two phone manufacturers will never associate their brands (only if one company is bought by the other company, then a temporary period starts ~ 2 years until full takeover). It is highly unlikely to see Nokia Samsung, or LG Sony Ericsson, and even more it would be pointless. However, some manufacturers are trying everything just to sell more products (exclusive products). This process started back in 2007 when Apple announced the first generation of iPhone.
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By then LG wrapped up in no time a partnership with Prada, launching the first Prada phone and the first LG touch screen device. Since then the market has changed a little bit and an upgrade to LG Prada was mandatory. Announced on October 2008, LG Prada IIor KF 900 was launched in December 2008. For the optimistic people out there this month, October 2009, means the announcement of Prada III.
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By then LG wrapped up in no time a partnership with Prada, launching the first Prada phone and the first LG touch screen device. Since then the market has changed a little bit and an upgrade to LG Prada was mandatory. Announced on October 2008, LG Prada IIor KF 900 was launched in December 2008. For the optimistic people out there this month, October 2009, means the announcement of Prada III.
However, LG hasn't yet approved 9officially) of any replacement of the Prada II. As you may already know, this phone includes an excellent design, by all means exquisite, with a flawless build quality. Even more, LG understood that a fashion phone with the latest specs would mean a market success. Therefore, starting from the Prada I design and including features like QWERTY keyboard, Wi-Fi and HSDPA, LG successfully created one of the best stylish phones on the market. In terms of success, this phone has reached its expectations. However, we can't talk about great sale numbers, since this phone is rather exclusivist and so is its price. With the latest Samsung Armani announcement (also addingQWERTY keyboard to the feature list) LG could still surprise us before Christmas with a Prada III. Until then, let's review the LG Prada II, because this year it is going to be on sale on this year shopping season.
Before taking into consideration its main disadvantages, let's take a look at the key features, such as the 3 inches WQVGA touch screen, QWERTY keyboard, excellent communication and connectivity, 5 megapixel auto focus digital camera, improved interface, office document viewer, accelerometer sensor, and support for the DivX / XviD video formats. Its main disadvantages are not that heartbreaking at all. If you know very well the Prada I, then Prada II will seem very familiar in terms of design (but then again all the iPhones lookalike so no need to complain about the familiar design), no GPS, not the latest multi touch features, relatively bad video recording (LG really has a problem with video recording, it is not a Prada II problem, rather a LG problem), and no flash support in the web browser (very second generation operating system for iPhone mobile platform from LG).
The only real disadvantage is the material used in the Prada II build, plastic, and too much plastic for a fashion phone. In terms of design, the Prada II doesn't look to different than Prada I. the upgrade was more in terms of hardware and software, rather than style. The Prada II is made entirely out of plastic, with a combination between glossy black plastic and silver matte plastic. Also, you get really nice chrome finishes elements that will improve the overall look. The build quality is good, even if we are talking about a QWERTY plastic phone; you get no flex or weir noises when pressed to hard. The design is now style business, rather than fashion only. If you are looking for a complete new design, you still have to wait for the third generation, because if you let a side the QWERTY keyboard the visual differences between Prada I and Prada II, are similar with the visual differences between iPhone 3G and iPhone 3GS.
With a height of 104.5 mm, wide of 54 mm, deep of 16.8 mm, the Prada II weights about 130 grams. All the above values mean that this phone is neither the lightest nor the thinnest on the market. The front side sports a nice glossy black look with silver finishes like the "Prada" logo and the front panel keys. Above the touch screen you get the earpiece and the second digital camera for enabling video calls. Under the touch screen you get the back key, the call key and the end call key with the power on and off function. All these three keys are really great to use (a little undersized in terms of height), but offer sufficient feedback (no matter how hard you press them).
On the right side of the phone you get the covered micro SD memory card slot, the shutter key, the dedicated camera key and the multitasking / launcher key. On the left side you are only going to find the volume controls. All these keys are chrome finished adding an extra value to the overall design of the Prada II. On the top of this phone you will find a connector with double function, both charger function and headset function (this too is covered with a protective cap). The glossy black plastic cover case sports on the upper left corner the 5 megapixel digital camera lenses, the dual LED flash and a mirror for self portrait. The Prada II slides to the right to reveal the QWERTY keyboard, the opposite direction of the GW 520; besides having a different design and layout this keyboard is in terms of construction and feedback very similar to the QWERTY keyboard found on GW 520.
These keys are 7 mm wide with a 1.5 mm space between them. The backlit lamination is adequate in intensity and color. When you slide the QWERTY keyboard out the display will automatically switch between the portrait modes to the landscape mode. In terms of software, the included operating system and user interface are evolved from the Prada I. even more, the user interface works faster, and the multitasking includes no glitches or freezes. Overall, the software upgrade is definitely a plus. However, there are some hardware changes that provide the software improved performances, such as the capacitive touch screen, which means no stylus is necessary for a complete user experience.
Even more this user interface is fully customizable (although there are available four pre-installed themes). If you are familiar with the LG Cookie, then you will find this user interface logic and intuitive since it's a close version to the user interface found on the LG Cookie. However, the Prada II is limited to only seven widgets such as music player, FM radio, analog clock, notes, and others. Overall, the user interface found on the Prada II is not exactly as good as the Samsung Touch Wiz. The phonebook, call log, music player, video player are all good applications, with sufficient to features to provide to the user. Even more as a business feature you get the office document viewer. All Microsoft Office documents and PDFs can be opened on the Prada II.
Therefore, Prada II packs enough features from the multimedia line and the business line. The LG Prada II works in 2G network GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and in 3G network, HSDPA 900 / 2100. LG included in this phone a 3 inches TFT capacitive touch screen display with a resolution of 240 x 400 pixels (WQVGA), capable of rendering about 256000 colors. LG also included an accelerometer sensor for auto rotate.
The brightness offered is not exceeding the Prada I values. You only get good brightness in artificial light environment, while under direct sunlight the colors on this display will easily get washed out. The included memory is only 60 MB. However, you can easily expand this value by using micro SD memory cards or Trans Flash memory cards up to 16 GB. The connectivity is ensured by GPRS Class 10 (with 4+1 / 3+2 slots) and a varying speed from 32 Kb per second to 48 Kb per second, EDGE Class 10, with a maximum speed of 236.8 Kb per second, HSCSD, Wi-Fi with 802.11 b/g profile, HSDPA up to 7.2 Mb per second, Bluetooth version 2.1 with A2DP, and USB 2.0 connection. The primary camera included has a 5 megapixel value, with Schneider Kreuznach optics, providing a maximum photo resolution of 2592 x 1944 pixels, with auto focus and dual LED flash.
Even more, you get sufficient editing features for photos before you take them, and even after. This camera can also record videos in 720 x 480 pixel resolution with 30 frames per second. The second video camera enabled video calling. Unfortunately LG included only a 950 mAh Lithium Ion battery. This unit will provide at best 400 hours in standby mode, or 3 hours of talk time. For an average user these values should mean about two days of autonomy, within normal usage. LG definitely thought the advertising of this phone will not improve sales without a complete retail package.
Therefore, you get an excellent designed leather cube retail box, with the Prada phone on top (very iPhone like), underneath it being included the accessories, such as mandatory charger, cleaning cloth, CD software, USB cable, user manual, leather case engraved with "Prada logo", stereo handset with music controls remote including a 3.5 mm jack on the remote, and last but not least, the 1 GB micro SD memory card. Other accessories can be found on LG's portfolio, but keep in mind they cost extra.
Overall, the LG Prada II is truly a good phone. It packs into a stylish, excellent branded, package all the features you might need, including excellent camera, great connectivity and a capacitive touch screen. If you are looking for a two branded phone, then for less money, then maybe you are looking for a Prada II with an original price tag reduced (since this phone is almost one year old, more precise 10 months).
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