FASHION house Prada and South Korea’s LG collaborates for the third time to put out the P940, or much popularly known as the Prada Phone by LG 3.0. Monochrome in black and white, this handset is definitely a looker.
I particularly liked its good-looking design and NOVA display. However, its specifications are average for its price, not to mention that it’s expensive (P29,000++).
Predominantly black plastic with metal highlights here and there, its back features the Prada signature “Saffiano” pattern. The only easily visible logo on the body of the device is that of Prada. There’s an LG logo on the back, but you’ll have to look closely just to see it. A Prada branded dock and Bluetooth headset will be sold as optional accessories, along with a Prada bag to store the phone in. The phone is just 8.5mm thin and weighs only 138 grams.
A 1GHz dual-core processor and 1GB of RAM provides the Prada Phone 3.with fast processing speed, although it still doesn’t have the latest version of Android, 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich. LG explains that the Prada 3.0 currently comes with the 2.3 Gingerbread, although an upgrade will be available “later in 2012,” although it didn’t specifically say when. The phone is also NFC-enabled.
I liked the clear 4.3-inch NOVA display, similar to the one on the LG Optimus Black. A basic resolution of 800x480 means text clarity won’t stack up highly against top quality alternatives, but its outdoor brightness is almost twice the brightness of most other smartphone screens. I downloaded an interactive aquarium screen display that added to the phone’s attractiveness.
The top side has the 3.5 mm jack, microUSB port, hidden by a sliding cover, and the power/lock key. There’s another button on the top, sitting right above the front facing cam. What it does is to launch the camera app, with the front-facing cam active. Press it for a second time and it takes a picture of a “surprised” you.
Other features include an 8-megapixel rear camera that doubles as a full HD 1080p video recorder, a front-facing 1.3-megapixel camera and 8GB of internal memory that comes with a microSD card slot for extra storage. LG says the Prada Phone 3.0’s 1540mAh gives it around five hours of talk-time, which doesn’t sound too appealing. But I downloaded an Android battery booster app which sure did wonders to the phone’s battery life.
Call quality is clear and precise, texting is a breeze. I also liked the RichNote app that comes bundled with the phone; it was particularly useful for taking down notes.
If you want to look smart while talking on your smartphone, better get the Prada Phone 3.0 by LG.
