Prada phone by LG 3.0 hands-on

This is the latest fruit to be borne from LG and Prada's renewed creative partnership. It's Prada Phone by LG 3.0 and it's also an attempt to marry fashion pedigree with, if not leading technological specifications, then at least competitive ones. There's a respectable 8 megapixel autofocus camera, and LG's bright, outdoor-friendly 4.3-inch NOVA display, here projecting an 800 x 480 WVGA touchscreen. It wears its Prada branding on its sleeve, and the fashion label's creative input has even gone so far as to affect the Android OS, with understated black and white themes papered over the cheerful -- in comparison -- Gingerbread interface Under the designer shell, there's a dual-core OMAP4430 1GHz processor and 8GB of internal storage, expandable by microSD. The camera, found just above the Prada logo, is an eight-megapixel shooter capable of full HD 1080p video, and it's auto-focus, naturally, ready for those sumptuous macro shots we all love. The screen is LG's NOVA display, and it's pretty bright. In fact we had to turn it down to avoid washing out our photos. The WVGA resolution may not be world-beating, but you're going to have no trouble in sunlight and other harsh lighting. Despite the 4.3-inch touchscreen, the phone measures in at under 9mm thick, and taking a tour around that edge, you'll find an MHL port at the top, supporting micro-USB connectivity and media streaming and flanked by the two-stage camera button and power button. The volume rocker's found on the left edge, and there's also a subtle row of four Android capacitive keys along the base of the screen. Although both LG and Prada are keeping quiet on that premium price tag the moment, the phone is expected to arrive in South Korea and Europe first, and we've been told to expect a release in the UK in January 2012, alongside a medley of pouches and other branded accessories. You can expect a gallery of those very soon.