Tech bytes for tea?

PRADA and LG Electronics today launched in Singapore their jointly developed Android 2.3 Gingerbread smartphone. Pre-orders from the three local Telcos begin tomorrow.

To buy the phone without contract (S$1,088), head down to the LG LIVE Store at Marina Bay Sands on 21 January for a one-day-only sale.

PRADA Phone by LG (S$1,088 without line contract)

LG and Prada announced the PRADA Phone by LG 3.0 at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Singapore.

The PRADA Phone by LG targets those who desires both shic design as well as technical performance in their smartphones.

The phone will be upgraded from Android 2.3 Gingerbread to Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich in Q2 2012.

A small number of units will be delivered prior to the Lunar New Year (23 Jan) while the rest of the orders will be delivered in February.

Early birds get a free limited edition PRADA-branded cradle worth S$228, while stocks last.

I like the design of the phone. The NOVA display of the smartphone looked brilliant even under the bright spotlights at the function hall.

The 800 nit display must be the brightest I know among the current crop of smartphones.

Physically, the phone is wide and thin, measuring 127.5 by 69mm, with a thinness of only 8.5mm.

The back of the phone is covered in PRADA’s signature Saffiano pattern, while the UI – designed by PRADA has a black and white theme and includes fonts and custom designed line-drawing icons to replace the normal app icons.

Black and white themed user interface designed by PRADA and customised line-drawing icons for apps.

My personal favourite was the covered socket for the cradle.

Instead of a plasticky cover, it is a metallic sliding cover that you can slide to one side to expose the socket.

The inertial for the slide is just right – not too loose or tight.

I suppose these are the little subtle design touches that people pay a premium for to won a PRADA-branded handphone.

Mind you, the premium is actually not very steep, considering phones with comparable technical specifications that are being launched range in price from S$800 onwards.

The closest smartphone with a similar target market segment is the Porsche Design P’9981 from BlackBerry, which was expected to be launched in January 2012 as well and has been estimated at US$1,700.

PRADA Phone by LG 3.0

After Korea and Japan – which have already begun taken pre-orders – Singapore, Hong Kong and Taiwan are the earliest countries to accept pre-orders for the PRADA Phone by LG 3.0.

This is the third generation of the collaboration between PRADA and LG, which began in 2006 with the PRADA Phone by LG 1.0.

PRADA provides the aesthetic design while LG provides the technology and technical expertise for building the phone.

Here are the main technical specifications of the PRADA Phone by LG 3.0.