LG Offers Second Prada Phone

How much will some people spend for a Prada-branded 3G phone with a 5 megapixel camera, Wi-Fi touch screen, and slide-out QWERTY keyboard?

Over a year and a half ago, LG rolled out its first Prada-branded mobile phone…and now the company is back with its second model, sporting a touchscreen, improved connectivity, integrated Wi-Fi, and a powerful integrated camera. But while the phone packs some interesting technology, it doesn’t rise to the level of “smartphone:” instead, the new handset plans to bank on its exclusive aesthetics and design…and the Prada nameplate.

The new Prada handset will boast 7.2 Mbps HSDPA connectivity, WI-Fi, a full HTML Web browser, and an integrated 5 megapixel camera with a Schneider-Kreuznach certified lens. Like its predecessor, the second Prada handset will boast a touchscreen, along with a “digitally sophisticated” interface. The phone also offers a super-thin silver slide-out QWERTY keyboard for messaging needs; the phone also features on-screen call and hang-up buttons, offering functionality without intruding on the phone’s overall minimalist design concept.

LG says it has sold more than a million of the original Prada handsets; if you want to be among the stylistic elite, the new Prada handset is set to go on sale by the end of 2008 for €600 (about $815) through major mobile phone dealers in Italy, the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and the Netherlands.