Hands-on Review: LG's Prada Phone

So here it is, the first of the big Apple iPhone competitors. After catching the odd glimpse of LG's touch-screen handset at various trade shows, I finally had the chance to spend some quality time with the so-called Prada phone this week. I have to admit, I enjoyed taking it out in public and watching jaded New Yorkers stare with naked envy—for now, at least, the all-black, practically featureless KE850 is a phone like no other. But while it's aces in the "wow" department, the LG Prada handset serves, unfortunately, as a prime example of how not to design a touch-screen phone.

First off, let's just say that the Prada phone—which is available unlocked though web importers such as Dynamism for about $850—is outrageously priced. Hey, it's Prada, what did you expect? Also, my LG contacts tell me that a version of the KE850 (minus the Prada branding) may eventually make its way to the States, and with carrier subsidies, that $850 price tag will drop substantially. So consider this a sneak preview of a possible U.S. version of the KE850, rather than a serious consideration of whether it's worth 850 smackers.

Anyway, the phone looks gorgeous. Yes, back at CTIA I felt a little disappointed seeing the phone in the flesh, but this time, when I watched the black-and-while menu icons slide into place, I felt a definite thrill of excitement. The phone itself is a nice size; it fit comfortably in the palm of my hand, and it's thin enough to slide into a jeans pocket. The KE850 is also surprisingly light at just three ounces; again, back at CTIA, I thought it felt a little too light, as though it were cheaply made, but after toting the Prada around the city for a few days, I definitely warmed up to its fly-weight feel.

Now, let's talk about the touch screen. One of my first concerns was how it would handle fingerprints—indeed, most phones I test are fingerprint magnets, and I'm constantly wiping the screens to get the unsightly smudges off. To my delight, the KE850's was surprisingly resilient; yes, you can see the fingerprints if you look closely enough, but they're not nearly as noticeable as I'd feared. (We'll see if the iPhone's screen is as fingerprint resistant as the Prada). That said, scratches are a problem; I had the phone out of its box all of two minutes when it suffered its first scratch, on the right side of the screen. It's not all that noticeable, and you can't see it when the screen is on, but it's there.

Once the initial excitement of tapping the on-screen menus and watching them slide open and closed had worn off, I quickly realized that using the Prada's touch-screen interface was much more difficult than I initially thought. Part of it is just the natural learning curve; it's weird tapping a flat screen and getting no tactile feedback whatsoever (having the phone beep every time you hit a "key" is, indeed, essential). When striking a key, I found that I often aimed too low and hit the option below the one I wanted; aiming high is, well, the key.

But even after I grew more proficient at the touch screen, navigating the KE850's menus was still an arduous, confusing process. That's because time and time again, the phone misses opportunities to exploit the possibilities of its touch-screen interface. For example, when you're in a call and another friend rings through, you have to tap into a submenu to join the calls; why not just have a "Join Calls" option appear? Isn't that the whole point of a touch-screen phone: the ability to morph the interface at any time, for any given situation? Also, while I was browsing the mobile Web, I kept trying to touch links and scroll down the page with my finger, but no; instead, you must tap the four navigational arrows below the page and tap the "Select" button. Worst of all is the lack of a virtual QWERTY keypad when keying in text messages; instead, a numeric keypad appears, and believe me, texting with touch-sensitive numeric keys is quite a chore. And just trying keying in your POP e-mail settings or a URL that way. Not fun. I can only hope Apple does a better job with the iPhone.

The KE850 regains some ground with its rich set of features, including a two-megapixel camera with auto-focus (images looked a little washed-out, but otherwise fine), Bluetooth, a solid MP3 player (although you can't play music in the background), an FM radio, a slot for microSD memory expansion (inconveniently placed behind the battery cover), an e-mail client that collects messages from POP/IMAP accounts, a voice recorder, and a cool document reader for Microsoft Word and Excel files (again, though, you can't zoom in and scroll around documents with your finger; you must tap navigational arrows instead).

But how is the KE850 for plain-old calls, you ask? A bit confusing, actually. Yes, I could hear callers just fine, and they reported hearing me with no problems, but when another call comes in and you answer using the physical "Send" button, you have to drill down two menu levels to create a conference call. Also, the phone's key-lock turns on automatically when you're in a call; so, to engage the speakerphone, you must press the lock button on the side of the phone and then tap the speaker button. And after a few sends of talking, the screen goes completely dark, so if you don't know the key-lock trick, you're pretty much out of luck. Now, remember the iPhone's promised ability to lock the screen when it's resting against your cheek, and then unlock when you pull it away? Sounds like a pretty good idea right about now.

Overall, I have to give LG credit for breaking ground in the tricky touch-screen market—at least the company tried something different. But the whole point of a touch screen is to make your phone as easy to use as possible—anyone should be able to pick up your handset and zoom around all its functions, without a manual, thanks to all the dynamic, contextually relevant controls popping up on the display. In those terms, the KE850 falls well short.

Related:
Hands-on with LG's Prada Phone [Yahoo! Tech]