LG KE850 Prada Review

Ever since LG gave birth to one of the tastiest phones on the market, the KG800 Chocolate, and followed it up with the marriage of technology and style that is the KE970 Shine, it's become clear that consumers really are hungry for more stylish and innovative handsets.

LG's collaboration with Prada is another step up, and this time the quality extends beyond the phone to its very packaging. The handset arrives in a Prada-emblazoned box, complete with 256MB memory card, Prada leather pouch and Prada cleaning cloth. If you did not know of the LG-Prada relationship before, then after purchasing the phone, you can be in no doubt.

But it's not all labels and accessories. As a fully touch-screen model, LG has introduced a pioneering handset, beating even Apple to the full touch-screen experience. But has LG compromised the phone's features for the accolade?

If you're looking for a super stylish yet smart candybar handset with the usual roster of ‘must-have’ features including a 2-megapixel camera, MP3 player, Bluetooth, FM Radio, great Internet access, video camera as well as extras like a voice recorder, document viewer, an impressive Google Earth-esque world clock and a currency converter then look no further.

The most striking aspect of the Prada handset however, is the all-colour touch-screen keypad. With a large, bright screen measuring 40x65mm, the LG Prada phone is instantly attractive. Minimal styling and the addition of only two buttons on the bottom edge of the handset give hardly anything away about this product's function; it's only when the screen comes to life that the handset takes on the personality of a mobile phone.

The touch screen, though pretty, takes some time to get used to. There's no stylus included in this package and the screen only responds to what it perceives to be a finger. When accessing menu features or dialling out, the touchscreen poses no problems. However, when sending a text message you may find yourself extremely frustrated with a keypad that is not always 100% responsive, or that responds, but with the wrong letter or word.

Another drawback of the super-slick screen is that it does attract fingerprints and grease at a phenomenal rate and, for the sake of not appearing like a tramp on the make, most users will be forced to use their Prada cleaning cloth regularly.

The screen, though bright, does unfortunately drain a great deal of battery power and that's our main gripe with the LG KE850 Prada phone. The handset needed charging every day and when in constant use, even more often. You can save a little power by reducing the brightness of your screen and entering silent mode, but who wants to do that when exclusive Prada themes and ringtones are there to be seen and heard? You wouldn't lug your Prada handbag round in a Tesco carrier, after all!

Power consumption aside, this is a must have for fashionistas everywhere.

LG KG850 technical specifications.