Review: LG Prada 2

LG KF900 Prada 2 Review

Phone rating:

In a nutshell: The LG KF900 (aka Prada II) retains the minimalist chic of the original Prada phone, but adds a slide-out keyboard and a whole load of upgraded features including 3G, a 5 megapixel camera, video calling and WiFi. This is a high-spec touchscreen phone with good looks, but is rather larger and heavier than the original Prada phone.

Review: January 2009.

The first LG Prada phone was one of the first touchscreen phones ever, and is still one of our favourites. The touchscreen UI worked well, it was packed with features and of course it had looks to die for. We were very excited to hear that the Prada phone was going to be updated by LG, and here it is - the LG KF900, or LG Prada 2.

The Prada 2 adds 3G, an upgraded camera, WiFi, and puzzlingly, a slide-out keyboard. Puzzlingly because there wasn't anything wrong with the original Prada touchscreen interface. Puzzlingly too, because the slide-out keyboard adds an extra 5mm to the thickness of the phone, making it quite bricklike and killing off some of the wow factor. It's also increased the weight quite considerably.

But it's not all bad - the keyboard does enable much faster texting than with the original Prada, and the upgraded features are very welcome too. If you can get over the size of the thing, then it's a good-looking phone, and even the keyboard is stylish in a world where Barack Obama can't live without his BlackBerry.

One of the best features of the Prada 2 is the sheer size of the touchscreen. At 3 inches diagonal, and a high resolution of 240 x 400 pixels, it's huge, and this is a good foundation for a multimedia touchscreen-driven phone. We have to say that we love the touchscreen user interface. Some people may find it slow to text, but with the pull-out keyboard you can text to your heart's content.

The Prada 2 is packed with features too - no compromises have been made when it comes to style versus substance. The camera is 5 megapixels, with a Schneider-certified lens, autofocus and a LED flash. It's not in the same league as the Renoir, but it isn't far behind. Video recording is at high resolution - an impressive 720 x 480 pixels - for high quality videos. The Prada 2 now has video calling too, when used on a 3G network. The phone is equipped with a music player and an FM radio, although there's no 3.5mm headphone jack unfortunately. You can, however, use a stereo Bluetooth headset, available as an optional accessory.

The Prada 2 has a fast implementation of 3G (HSDPA 7.2 Mbps), which means that you can download data at high speed. This combined with the large screen makes the device a good platform for the mobile web. So if you can't live without the web on the move, you'll be OK with the KF900. Email is supported too, and although the Prada is no BlackBerry, the QWERTY keyboard is a definite plus here, and the phone supports MS Office attachments. We also like the addition of WiFi connectivity(the phone also supports USB and Bluetooth connectivity.)

Another upgrade is the memory: the internal memory has been increased to a respectable 60 MB, and it also supports microSD memory cards up to 8GB. Battery life seems to have been improved too, despite the power required by the enormous LCD display and the 3G network.

The new Prada 2 is a bit of a surprise. It's dropped it's sleek slimline good looks in favour of the keyboard and heavy-duty tech features. It still retains its minimalist chic, however, and is probably a more practical device as a result. If you're an original Prada user looking for an upgrade, you'll have to decide whether to go for this, or whether the iPhone 3G may be a better option.

Features of the LG Prada 2 include:

• 5 megapixel camera with autofocus, Schneider lens, light and digital zoom
• Video camera (720 x 480 pixels, 30 frames/s), video calling
• Touch-sensitive screen: TFT, 262,000 colours, 240 x 400 pixels (3 inches)
• Music player (MP3, WMA, AAC, AAC+)
• FM radio
• 40 voice polyphonic ringtones
• Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, Email (SMTP, POP3)
• T9 predictive text
• Document viewer (PDF, PPT, XLS, DOC)
• Java games
• WAP 2.0, GPRS Class 10, EDGE, HSDPA 7.2 Mbps
• Memory: 60 Mbytes plus micro SD memory card slot (up to 8GB)
• Connectivity: USB 2.0, Bluetooth 2.1, WiFi
• Phonebook (1,000 entries)
• Vibration alert
• Quadband GSM plus 3G HSDPA
• Size: 105 x 54 x 17 mm
• Weight: 130g
• Talktime: 3 hours
• Battery standby: 400 hours

LG Prada 2 Consumer Reviews

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Average rating from 38 reviews:

Reviewed by molly from England on 2nd Feb 2010
Its just the G best fone eva
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Reviewed by Robert from England on 13th Oct 2009
Rena if the touchscreen was slow for texting. Why didn't you slide that big qwerty keyboard out? it being the point of the phone and all.
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Reviewed by Brian from Canada on 21st Sep 2009
I see a bunch of people knocking this phone because its "hard to use" or "slow". I am in love with my Prada, its a fashion statement with all the bells and whistles to compete. Iphones, Blackberries, blah blah blah there all played out as it stands, and this phone does its job extremely well. If your a tech geek or some1 who gets orgasams knowing your phone peform really well, dont get this phone, if your normal want to have a beautiful phone that's diffrent and has every tool you'll ever need (not to mention total conversation starter, girls love it) then this is the phone for you. holllerrrr
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Reviewed by Rena from England on 21st Aug 2009
Hate it!! The first time i've ever had an LG and its the worse phone ever, i've had to change it 6 times to which then Orange let me choose a different make and model phone. The screen used to freeze, switch off all a sudden, battery was rubbish on it - txin used to be difficult using the touch screen because sometimes it would become really slow - would'nt recommend any1 to get 1!! The only good thing is about it is that it looks very sleek which is the reason why i got it, but after the amount of problems i had to get rid!
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Reviewed by RANDY from Costa Rica on 20th Jul 2009
Hey guys, the phone has a huge Problem with the SO, i just acquire a phone for my wife and 2 month's later get freeze in prada Logo, dont turn on. Somebody know apply a hard RESET??? please help!!!!
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Reviewed by Lauren from Uk on 21st Jun 2009
To me, it's only really good if your looking for a labeled phone, not one that had decent specs, the memory is quite poor for a recent phone, and sometimes the touch screen was just plain annoying.
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Reviewed by Michael Sean Mosley from England on 10th Jun 2009
OMG this phone is LYK SO AMAZINGGGGGGG
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Reviewed by Petar G. from USA on 8th Jun 2009
Just to add to my previous review. IT IS IMPOSSIBLE to keep your browser running while going back to a regular menu to send a text or for whatever other reason..that is absolutely ridiculous. If you do go ahead and keep your phone on the browser, the back light NEVER goes off, so that your battery can be drained quite nicely. There are ridiculous default pictures on the phone that show up when you lock it and it is also impossible to get rid of them,,some of them are very STUPID looking (the only way from what I understand is HACK into the phone, not advised if you don't know what you are doing).
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Reviewed by Petar G. from USA on 6th Jun 2009
I have had a chance to use the first one and even though I liked the phone, typing a message on it was hell, so obviously the qwerty keyboard was the main reason why I decided to purchase this. I LOVE the look of the phone and I don't think the little added bulk makes it any less better looking. The camera lives up to its 5 mp billing as well. I was very pleasantly surprised by the battery because its tougher to kill than I first expected when I found out the official talk and standby hours. The media stuff is very impressive, it's awesome to be able to edit pictures and make videos and the media player is very good for all sorts of filetypes. With all the positive being said, the browser to me is just awful. It is nowhere near an iphone, a blackberry storm or a nokia N96. My issue with is not with speed (that wouldn't be fair because I am using the phone with tmobile in the United States so I don't get the 3G speeds on it). My issues with it is functionality, the screen responds very badly to touch and the pinching and zooming idea is great but not utilized nowhere near as well as it has been on other devices. You have to pinch for a split millisecond in order to achieve something like a 20 percent zoom. If you hold you fingers for a second it will zoom in to a ridiculous amount. Another ridiculous thing is how the phone only switches to landscape mode while you are on the browser, but it doesn't when you are on a menu, I don't understand that, it surely wouldn't have been too much trouble to include that feature. The fact that the menus are not customizable is absolutely ridiculous to me. We're going back to the brick phones with this idea, why wouldn't a user not be allowed to rearrange the way their menus are. It's awesome to have good radio connection but you HAVE to buy another extra accessory in order to listen to it..just great. All of the incredible features on the phone including the potential blazing speeds with 3G are somewhat useless because it is an incredible pain in the neck to use this browser and these menus. I'm disappointed because it could have been ( SHOULD have been) much more than it is. Incredible looks, incredible features and very frustrating to use.
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Reviewed by Molly from England on 24th May 2009
Very Very good phone i find it ausome to be with, im attached to it! does it come in anyother colours? other than black-
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Reviewed by a reviewer from none of ur informaion on 21st May 2009
really good ffffffffooooooooooooonnnnnnnnnneeeeeee love it
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Reviewed by skizz ball from port macquarie on 9th May 2009
this is the best phone ever i think this phone is amazing i luv it how it slides out iiloveyou GET AS SOON AS POSSIBLE?
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Reviewed by unknown from eng on 8th May 2009
love touchscreen camera and keybord and internet features
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Reviewed by lin from england on 2nd May 2009
This phone has everything I want plus looks great, but it appears to be difficult to get hold of, are any networks stocking it?
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Reviewed by melissa from trinidad on 2nd May 2009
i have my soulmate !awesome!
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Reviewed by israel from ghana on 14th Apr 2009
i think prada is the best phone i have handled. i wish they improve on it to record from radio and identify the incoming caller by name. that will be superb.
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Reviewed by beautiful from australia on 3rd Apr 2009
i like this phone
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Reviewed by ROB from WALES on 19th Mar 2009
what more do you want from a phone. it does it all so easy. go buy one.brill.
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Reviewed by Merick from USA on 11th Mar 2009
Yes the phone is nice but why is it so hard to do the MMS and GPRS setting and why LG dont provide a stept by stept how to since no carrier in the US carry it
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Reviewed by suhail from uk on 8th Mar 2009
GREAT FONE!!!!!!!! BUY ITTTTT!!!!!!!!!
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Reviewed by jainie from england on 3rd Mar 2009
Omg I am in love with it If u could marry your phone i would So lush Omg Thankyou prada Beat that Armarni
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Reviewed by Nick from England on 13th Feb 2009
Love it traded in the old prada and never looked back The keyboard is so easy to use it looks amazing and i love it so much Thankyou prada
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Reviewed by natasha from scotland on 7th Feb 2009
finally got the phone two days ago and at first i loved it. I thought it was something special but after one day im sick of it cause its always freezing :O RUBBISH PHONE !!!!!!!!!!1
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Reviewed by melissa from america on 2nd Feb 2009
i think this phone is just totally ace
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Reviewed by Molly from England on 31st Jan 2009
Very Pretty :):) x
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Reviewed by Sophie Smyth from United Kingdom on 26th Jan 2009
the phone is wicked, my mum got me 1 for my birthday and I love it to bits. got mine customised by Crystal-Iced.com and it looks totally amazing. supposedly the actual phone was very hard to get hold of :) so appy av got mine!!! lol
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Reviewed by Rach from UK on 26th Jan 2009
luv that phone!
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Reviewed by Hannah from uk on 25th Jan 2009
ive just recieved this phone and was very impressed but as i was entering all my contacts it said memory full after just 13! i didnt recieve a memory card with it but phones4u said they are sending me a cheque for me to go buy one, does anyone know if this will solve my problem? i really only want the numbers on the sim and not the phone, thanks
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Reviewed by Vanessa from UK on 18th Jan 2009
Great phone! Really easy to use and very stylish ITS REALLY GOOD!
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Reviewed by Henrie from UK on 14th Jan 2009
ok ish
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Reviewed by Haider jan from Pakistan on 9th Jan 2009
nothing impressive
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Reviewed by harry from england on 7th Jan 2009
great phone.
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Reviewed by HAMZA from ENGLAND on 31st Dec 2008
VERY GOOD
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Reviewed by David from UK on 31st Dec 2008
Alot better than the 1st, the slide out keyboard is excellent :) and the camera aint too shabby either.
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Reviewed by amy from wales on 29th Dec 2008
love this phone it was complicated at 1st but figgered it out after...
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Reviewed by jatt from uk on 14th Dec 2008
prada II is much betta da prada I BUY IT SOO GD
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Reviewed by camillle x from uk on 12th Dec 2008
greattt fonnnne gett itt:)
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Reviewed by Sophie from UK on 10th Dec 2008
Got this phone very recently off the internet after searching long and hard to find a price that wasnt going to completely bankrupt me! So far have no complaints apart from the slight downer...ive found the touchscreen to be quite unresponsive...after having the LG kf750 secret (which is also a great buy!) it seems slightly lacking in touch response..but otherwiese, a very sexy phone for the fashion lovers...buy :)
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