The Apple iPhone already has a competitor in the KE850, a stylish, EDGE-enabled candy bar with a jumbo-sized touch screen, a 2-megapixel camera and an MP3 player.
Looks like LG is trying to steal the Apple iPhone's thunder with the stylish KE850, a slim (0.5 inches) handset with -- you guessed it -- a large touch screen that replaces a conventional keypad and soft keys. Designed in partnership with Prada, the KE850's Flash-powered display lets you control all the phone's various functions, and the display icons go dark when not in use. No word on whether the phone has a virtual QWERTY keypad.
Besides the touch screen, the tri-band GSM/EDGE KE850 manages to squeeze some substantial features into its fashionable frame, such as a 2-megapixel camera (complete with a Schneider-Kreuznach lens), a music player that handles MP3s, AACs, WMAs and RealAudio files, a document viewer for Word, PowerPoint, Excel and PDF files, Bluetooth 2.0, USB 2.0 and microSD memory expansion.
LG hopes to launch its would-be iPhone competitor in Europe and Asia sometime in the February/March timeframe -- a few months before the iPhone's slated arrival in June. Sorry, U.S. gadget freaks; no plans for a KE850 stateside launch.
Specifications
Tri-band GSM/EDGE
Touch screen interface
2-megapixel camera
Music player
Document viewer
microSD memory expansion
Bluetooth 2.0
USB 2.0
Measures: 3.9 by 2.1 by 0.5 inches
Price and availability
The LG KE850 will be available in Europe and Asia by late February for about €600.
Related phones: More touch screen phones
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