LG's silver Prada gets a new on-screen QWERTY

Mmmm, the LG Prada (AKA, LG-KE850) was just turned out in silver. 18 European countries including the UK, France, Germany, Spain and Italy will see the new version of LG's touchscreen later this month. Besides the color change the phone now features a proper on-screen QWERTY, not just T9 -- thank you LG! Really, that's all we could hope for.

Gallery: LG's silver Prada gets a new on-screen QWERTY

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[Via Akihabara News]

[mac @ Jan 14th 2008 5:44AM]

The LG Viewty has a QWERTY keyboard, and has done since it was released.

[Trynemjoel @ Jan 14th 2008 5:58AM]

Ooooh, silver, that makes the phone so much more worth the price.

[Alya @ Jan 14th 2008 6:08AM]

It looks beautiful! I think it could be a good option if smbdy who's planning to buy a phone. Stylish, slim...just perfect! IMHO - more suitable for women the men.
Alya
SuTree.com

[PatrikS7 @ Jan 14th 2008 6:34AM]

fuck and i just bought the black one like 2 weeks ago :|
is there a possibility of getting a firmware upgrade or something for it to have a qwerty keyboard? :x

[Dave Mitchells @ Mar 18th 2008 12:14PM]

I just emailed LG support to find out if this is a planned firmware/software upgrade or if it was even possible and got this reply:

-----------Reply to Customer Inquiry------------
Thank you for your email There is no upgrade available as the qwerty keyboard is exclusive to the new Silver Prada only. The new prada has different technology. Best regards, LG Electronics UK Helpdesk Email: [e-mail] ----------------------------------- LG UK Customer services Tel. [phone] for Ireland Monday - Friday from 9am – 8 pm Saturdays from 9am - 5pm 68


So, I think the answer is no which is a pain as I also have the black edition and would like the additional features. Thank heaven I'm due to upgrade my phone soon! :)

[nickels @ Jan 14th 2008 7:50AM]

i want a firmware update!

[Adam Hanson @ Jan 14th 2008 9:06AM]

All firmware updates occur at the manufacturer. Unfortunately, if you currently have an unlocked phone, most likely than not, you're stuck with your firmware.

[applefreak @ Jan 14th 2008 12:05PM]

great.. now if only sammy would put one on the P2

[Carbonize @ Jan 14th 2008 3:54PM]

I have the LG Viewty which has both a qwerty keyboard and hand writing recognition. To be honest both suck and you are better off just using the T9 keypad.

[admb14 @ Jan 14th 2008 4:00PM]

There HAS to be a way to get a firmware update for the QWERTY keyboard right?!
i'm not familiar with cell phones but i JUST bought thte black prada yesterday and its through t-mobile
what can i do?

[admb14 @ Jan 14th 2008 5:23PM]

is there any way we can let LG know ?

[Carbonize @ Jan 14th 2008 6:10PM]

For those asking about firmware updates. I have an LG Shine which I owned since their release. There is a major bug (or three) in it which I have reported to LG (a year ago). They replied asking for more details and I never heard anything back. LG does update the firmware but doesn't make these updates public.

According to a site I am a member of there is a way to save the firmware on the Viewty so I assume this will also work for the Prada and let you update. The site is http://ku990.co.uk

[admb14 @ Jan 15th 2008 1:20AM]

i was unable to find it that firmware can u point me in the specific location fo it?

and to clarify, this Viewty Firmware will also work on my prada? so my prada will have QWERTY ?

[Carbonize @ Jan 15th 2008 2:26AM]

No I'm saying the software used to back up/restore Viewty firmware will possibly also work on the Prada.

[Alex R @ Jan 15th 2008 4:39PM]

QWERTY is better than Predictive Text, but I preferred the black version. Silver looks cheaper and more..."Argos Catalogue".

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5132296/Trail/searchtext%3EMIKOMI.htm

Ugh...

[Parker @ Jan 16th 2008 3:56PM]

Hi all,

I would like to reach out to you guys for some help.

I've been in the market for a touchscreen phone lately and I ran across the LG Prada. I'm thinking about getting it, whether it be the black or the new silver version. I wanted to ask you guys your experience with this phone and how it's worked out for you.

Also, one concern I have is its compatibility with service in the States - will I run into any issues? I am currently on Verizon, but because Verizon only runs on CDMA technology, I know that I'll have to switch providers. Perhaps T-mobile. Aside from that, is there anything else I should keep in mind?

And where did you buy yours? I'll be going to Germany next month and I have a friend going to China in a couple weeks - should I try to find it overseas (if it's even available) or would online prices be similar?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer!
Parker

[the999pig @ Feb 13th 2008 12:40PM]

anybody else noticed that it dosn't have prada written on it

[omnicube @ Mar 5th 2008 7:16AM]

Yes it does, view the higher res images. It's written in white, hard to see in the smaller pictures