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Distro Issue 28: A slew of device reviews and a look back at CP+ 2012
Apple's kitty cat-flavored OS refresh may have dominated the news this week, but it was a deluge of product reviews that kept the wheels spinning at Distro HQ. Issue 28 is one of our heftiest yet, featuring Sony's stateside PS Vita, Ainovo's $99 Ice Cream Sandwich tablet, Motorola's QWERTY kin, the Droid 4, the AT&T version of Samsung's ample Galaxy Note and LG's fashionable Prada Phone. Shaking things up a bit, Zach Honig travels to Yokohama, Japan to bring you the biggest breakouts from the 2012 CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging Show. And, to round it all out, we've got a healthy helping of content you won't see anywhere else, like Ross Rubin's Switched On, Donald Melanson's Recommended Reading, our Q&A with Netbooknews' Nicole Scott and a lesson on "How to Be Happy" by cartoonist Shannon Wheeler.Distro Issue 28 PDFDistro on the iTunes App StoreDistro in the Android MarketDistro APK (for sideloading)Like Distro on FacebookFollow Distro on Twitter
Prada phone by LG 3.0 review
LG and Prada have a history of collaboration; their debut phone arrived around the same time as the first iPhone, sporting a black and white display, a petite footprint and a 2-megapixel camera. Next, the Prada II brandished a sliding QWERTY keyboard, a 5-megapixel camera and arrived at a time when WiFi functionality was a big enough deal to note on the press release. Four years on, the pair have rolled their sleeves and attempted to reclaim a place among the top devices, with classy aesthetics backed up by a strong hardware and attractively customized software. This is the team's first attempt at an Android device, and on paper it's got some respectable specifications, including a 4.3-inch NOVA Plus display, a dual-core processor and an 8-megapixel camera sensor that appears to be the same one found on LG's 2011 flagship models. Granted, LG probably wasn't ever planning to include its latest HD IPS screen on a phone where branding was dominated by the other partner, but this smartphone still wants to appeal beyond its good looks. It's now appeared in Korea and Western Europe and we were fortunate enough to borrow one from UK retailer Phones 4u for review. Are people willing to stump up the top-tier smartphone cash for a device with last year's specifications? Do people want a Prada phone? Might a fashionista be more likely to plump for an iPhone? Or is it too popular? And what about that monochrome skin? We'll talk it all out after the break.
Prada phone by LG 3.0 gets VIP treatment from Phones 4u, launches in UK tomorrow
Ready to make heads turn with its monochromatic stylings, LG and Prada's latest baby is presumably putting on a night-mask, ready to be unleashed on well-heeled types in the UK on Friday. Alongside the aforementioned custom Android skin (atop a Gingerbread OS), the Prada Phone by LG 3.0 packs a respectable dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera and LG's NOVA display -- stretching up to 4.3 inches on this fashionista phone. It's set to launch on both Vodafone and O2, free on a £31 two-year contracts, while it'll also be making an appearance on T-Mobile next month. We're planning on getting these unmanicured paws on one for review very soon, but Prada fans will be able to queue up get their assistants to queue up for the handset at Phones 4u stores tomorrow.
LG Prada II shows up in exhaustive photo spread
We've gotten a few decent looks at the LG Prada II in weeks past, but the Daily Mobile Forum has happened upon a veritable treasure chest of views of the device in glorious detail -- which, if you didn't already know -- is now on sale in Europe. Lucky devils. We've included a few of our favorites after the break, but hit the read link for all 17 (Yes, seventeen!).[Thanks, Daniel]
LG's snobbish Prada II phone and watch combo caught on glorious celluloid
We spied LG's Prada II strutting its stuff in some fancy photos yesterday, and here we are just over twenty-four hours later with a gossip-worthy video spectacular of the luxury house's second foray into handset branding. The lucky gent in the film beautifully demonstrates how the Bluetooth-enabled watch can perform such wonders as silence your ringer and retrieve text messages, all without laying a finger on the touchscreen, slider keyboard-boasting phone. We're pretty sure that you'll agree the video of the device is "not long enough," but just do what we did: watch it twice in a row (while lounging by the pool in a diamond tiara sipping a martini) after the break.
LG and Prada present potential retailers with long list of demands
It's encouraging to see LG and Prada upholding the stereotype of the haute couture fashionista by providing potential LG Prada phone retailers with a hysterical list of "retail space" demands. In order to be deemed worthy, retailers apparently need to submit both indoor and outdoor shots of the store and follow an eleven-page document (supplied by LG and Prada, naturally) to the letter to ensure that all is laid out to spec. Said document details the 17 "LG Prada Phone" commandments (calling it the "LG Prada phone" is actually one of them) including details about font sizes in your signage and background color -- "black (preferably), white, or 60-70% black (grey)". We love this attention to minutiae and are really hoping LG will have an elite group of Prada Phone Police wearing severe leather outfits ready to hand out citations to any careless shopkeeper.
LG Prada v2 to include T-DMB mobile TV?
The scuttlebutt from Telecoms Korea says v2 of the LG Prada (KE850) is already in the works. Sorry US readers, they're not adding the 850MHz band just yet, the new version expected to hit in April will sport terrestrial DMB mobile television. Makes sense, since our friends on the Korean Peninsula loves 'em some mobile TV tech something fierce. But man, how did they convince the Prada execs to approve a design-mucking, telescoping antenna typically needed for T-DMB reception in Korea? By the way, that's our rendering pictured up there -- not LG's -- but we'll bet it's not far off from the final product. Anyway, with the US in the throws of a Qualcomm FLO fest, our apparently pedestrian tastes look even less likely to be fed anytime soon. Well, until June anyway.Read -- Telecoms Korea (subscription required)
