LG's KS20 and KU990 vs. the iPhone

The silent, yet eerily palpable rivalry betwixt LG and Apple continues, secretly, growing subtlety with every new phone release (as you can see in the Windows Mobile-based KS20). Or maybe these two companies just love this design -- certainly Nokia is fond of it. It's hard to say really, but what isn't hard to say is that these phones do look alike, and there's no way around it. Please forgive the German showgirl for the upside down iPhone handling -- they haven't had the fortune of holding them here. After the break, be sure and note the UI of LG's KU990 -- the company's other widescreen touch phone -- and its familiar look. One thing's for sure: they all smudge the same.

[AlexP @ Aug 31st 2007 1:16PM]

Clean your screen, you dirty ape. :0

[Mr Angry @ Aug 31st 2007 1:16PM]

OMG the iPhone is upside down!!!! what a noob, she shouldn't be allowed near cell phones!!

[hickhamt @ Aug 31st 2007 2:28PM]

let's turn her upside down!!!

[sebo1990 @ Aug 31st 2007 1:18PM]

Those germans with a durrty iphone... cleen it mofo

[Julio @ Aug 31st 2007 1:18PM]

How does the touchscreen typing compare to each other?

[Kunikos @ Aug 31st 2007 2:07PM]

Yeah, that's what I want to know.

[ferry @ Aug 31st 2007 1:20PM]

What Iphone design? It's a touch screen LCD with no physical buttons, how can they help but be alike? FFS most TV's look alike too.

[Natedog @ Aug 31st 2007 1:28PM]

They won't listen to you. From now on, any touch-screen phone is going to be an iPhone ripoff. It's a sad world we live in.

[LegendZ28 @ Aug 31st 2007 1:38PM]

It's been that way since Apple announced the iPhone, it was like touchscreens never existed before the iPhone to some people now. Oh, and I own an iPhone and love it, so I'm not an iPhone or Apple hater by any means, it's just the facts.

[Dragod @ Aug 31st 2007 2:21PM]

Kinda like how anything that plays audio files is an iPod-clone. And how any control on a pmp that is circular is an attempt at copying the click wheel. People think Apple is God. So, when they produce something, everything before it just doesn't exist and everything after it is inferior.

[John @ Aug 31st 2007 7:01PM]

Well, the whole DAP with a circular control interface thing, that I can understand as being thought of as an "iPod clone"... especially if it shares the Apple fetish of brushed metal and shiny white.

[Nikitas @ Nov 12th 2007 8:59PM]

Sorry guys but i have an LG KE 850 Prada Phone... it was released 3 months before the iphone !! So LG can't copy Apple . . Apple can copy LG !

[Rex @ Aug 31st 2007 1:24PM]

Considering that touchscreen phones will look physically alike no matter what, is like saying all TVs or Monitors look physically alike. There's no other way beyond this design concept except changing up the UI. Which is what I think most companies that want to create touchscreen devices are doing.. Focus on the User Interface instead of who's copying who based on physical design.

[Fox McCloud @ Aug 31st 2007 1:24PM]

It's like comparing Vista to Leopard; They may have many of the same features, but in actual daily use the difference is ginourmus.

P.S. Apple makes great software. I love my iPhone!

[LegendZ28 @ Aug 31st 2007 1:39PM]

Have you actually tried using Vista on a daily basis? Sure doesn't sound like it. Vista works just fine.

[LegendZ28 @ Aug 31st 2007 1:39PM]

Oh, and when did you get your release of Leopard? I wasn't aware it was out yet to be compared to anything.

[SeditioN VII @ Aug 31st 2007 2:07PM]

Who cares if he's never used 10.5, He's probably educated enough to know that 10.4 kicks the snot out of Vista and that apple unlike Microsoft doesn't replace a decent OS for a $hitty one. Oh and I do believe that the LG Prada and the like use an on-boarded numerical Keypad for T9 use when entering most forms of text, so the keyboards really don't compare.

[Kunikos @ Aug 31st 2007 2:10PM]

Yes, I use Vista on a daily basis and it's fine. The only problem is that many hardware manufacturers have dedicated so little of their resources towards developing more stable drivers for it. The Nvidia drivers are finally starting to mature a bit, but the Creative sound drivers are still pretty flaky (not to mention that you have to shell out $10 for Audigy, or install a free extra program on X-Fi, to get the 3D audio goodness in a limited number of supported games that use DirectSound3D for interfacing with EAX).

[Scott @ Aug 31st 2007 4:52PM]

You mean like how Vista throttles your gigabit LAN when attempting to play a multimedia file?

[Andir3.0 @ Aug 31st 2007 5:29PM]

"You mean like how Vista throttles your gigabit LAN when attempting to play a multimedia file?"

Vista couldn't handle it otherwise. Too much going on. It gets confused easily.

[purezerg @ Sep 2nd 2007 5:41AM]

if OSX is so good, then why dont they support nvidia 8800 series? the yummiest UI for the slowest hardware. that's apple for you.

[Fox McCloud @ Sep 2nd 2007 6:32AM]

They have some pro graphics card options, but if you expect wider graphics card support, use a pc.

Slowest hardware is a dumb statement. My Mac Rox! Dual 3.0 with 4GB ram and a x1900. It works swell.

[Aaron @ Aug 31st 2007 1:31PM]

You mean to tell me the LG phone is even SMALLER than the iPhone?!?!

Pretty soon they are going to be so small they are going to disappear into thin air.

Call me crazy, but I like something I can hold on to.

[Homeboy @ Aug 31st 2007 1:34PM]

That I find to be better with the LG is that it has dedicated buttons for answering and hanging up the phone. That makes it a whole lot easier to answer the phone at the moment you touch it and making hanging up easier too. I think that apple should implement those buttons as well next to the home button at the bottom.

[Kunikos @ Aug 31st 2007 2:12PM]

Yes, it seems an odd omission since there is obviously room there on the sides of the home button for two additional buttons.

[msi @ Aug 31st 2007 1:39PM]

German girl with thumb ring on left hand.... you know what that means.....Nice.

[Tim @ Aug 31st 2007 2:06PM]

International Champion Thumb Wrestler?

[James @ Aug 31st 2007 2:00PM]

"German girl with thumb ring on left hand.... you know what that means.....Nice."

??

[Preston @ Aug 31st 2007 2:00PM]

No, what does that mean?

[Ayle @ Aug 31st 2007 2:04PM]

I want to know too....

[Michael Moran @ Aug 31st 2007 2:07PM]

No. I do not..... What is that supposed to mean?

[Kunikos @ Aug 31st 2007 2:13PM]

Is that some kind of Euro code for being a lesbian?

[John @ Aug 31st 2007 7:05PM]

You're either a diabolical genius who just managed to puzzle half of Engadget's readers with a single comment, or, presumably, some sort of pervert. Which is it?

[unuser @ Sep 1st 2007 8:57AM]

"Is that some kind of Euro code for being a lesbian?"

clap clap, it's not restricted to Europe tho, and the meaning of wearing on the left or right thumb is inverted in some places, but as a general rule, only people who are into the same sex wear it, so, the sides are sort of irrelevant.

[yumyum @ Sep 2nd 2007 8:24AM]

Booh.
Never heard of that one before.

[stewart @ Aug 31st 2007 2:16PM]

looks like the iPhone already has a scratched screen (left side).

[Matt @ Aug 31st 2007 2:03PM]

WHAT? I can't believe LG is copying Apple. I'm so sick and tired of every company just copying Apple on everything. Apple should sue everyone. Come up with something new other companies! *Sarcasm*

[joe23521 @ Aug 31st 2007 2:04PM]

"what isn't hard to say is that these phones do look alike, and there's no way around it."
You ARE being sarcastic, right? (If so, please ignore the following comment.)

Please explain the 'undeniable' similarities between these phones without using the words "black" and "rectangular", which can be used to describe almost any phone.

These iPhone comparisons really are getting old. I'm even boring myself pointing it out.

[Hollywood Ron @ Aug 31st 2007 2:15PM]

Blacktangular?

[Apple Legal @ Aug 31st 2007 7:12PM]

Dear Mr. Hollywood Ron and Engadget:

We represent Apple, Inc. in intellectual property matters.

Please be advised that the term "Blacktangular" is the exclusive property of Apple, Inc. We are concerned that the use of "Blacktangular" infringes Apple’s trademark rights and dilutes its famous iPhone brand.

Accordingly, we must ask that you immediately abandon the use of "Blacktangular", agree not to use the "Blacktangular" or the like or any similar terms in the U.S.
or elsewhere. Provided that full cooperation is forthcoming, Apple is willing to provide you with a reasonable time in which to phase out use of the term "Blacktangular".

Respectfully Yours,

Apple Legal

[Patrick @ Aug 31st 2007 10:39PM]

lol, blacktangular

[aberracus @ Aug 31st 2007 2:19PM]

So you Apple Haters still insist in Real keyboards? So the iPhone wasn't revolutionary ? Making a trend is something the iPhone is making...

[joe23521 @ Aug 31st 2007 2:26PM]

My Tungsten T also didn't have a real keyboard.
I guess the iPhone must have set a trend 8 years ago without even knowing it.

I'm by no means an Apple hater, just pointing out things. :)

[Dragod @ Aug 31st 2007 2:28PM]

No, the iPhone wasn't revolutionary. It's a multi-media cellphone with a touchscreen. People just need to get off of their Apple kicks. Yes, the iPod was revolutionary.. Something like 9 years ago. Now there are better players out.

This isn't the case with the iPhone. All it did was build hype. There are many phones that do more than the iPhone, but they're not wrapped up in that 700mb OS or have an Apple logo on its backside.

[aberracus @ Aug 31st 2007 2:45PM]

Since when a Tungsten T is a phone? Palm Tungsten was a PDA Stylus touch interface (aka windows mobile), btw palm pdas like Tungsten where great on their time.

And the iPod was revolutionary too for his easy of use and for delivering music to your pocket and digital format from the web.

So you dont have an iPhone Dagod?, just kidding.

[Dragod @ Aug 31st 2007 3:06PM]

Haha, No. I have no iPhone... I have no cellphone. I used to have a Kyocera Slider Remix that I loved... but I ended up moving and lost my Cricket service, and can't afford to buy another cellphone right now.

[joe23521 @ Aug 31st 2007 4:09PM]

I realize the Tungsten T was not a phone. Was just pointing out that buttonless (almost) interfaces were not invented by the iPhone or Apple.

Also liked your personification of the iPod..."for his ease of use."
If I ever buy an iPod (maybe next Wednesday?), I'd want a girl one, I think. :P

[John @ Aug 31st 2007 7:09PM]

the iPhone doesn't have a 700MB OS, the capacity of "7.27" is due to the difference between GiB and GB (a gigabyte is actually 2^30 or 1,073,741,824 bytes, not 1,000,000,000 bytes, so the os only takes up about 7.45-7.27 or ~180 megabytes of space.

[Dragod @ Aug 31st 2007 2:18PM]

I'll take the one on the left.

[Brandson @ Aug 31st 2007 2:28PM]

I wonder if anyone will ever devise some sort of smudge-free coating for portable electronics. That would be big money for sure.