LG beats Apple to touch-screen mobile

LG releases own model months before the iPhone.

LG Electronics has introduced a smartphone without buttons months before Apple's iPhone is due to hit the market.

The LG Prada was developed with fashion house Prada to be a slim and elegant fashion phone. It has a single touch-screen, 2-megapixel camera and is just 12mm thick.

"LG and Prada have worked together seamlessly towards a shared vision to develop one of the most beautifully stylish handsets the market has ever seen," said Dr Scott Ahn, president of LG Electronics.

In developing the phone LG contributed the internal electronics and hardware, while Prada developed the touch screen interface, exterior styling and a host of accessories for the fashion conscious.

"As we do with ready-to-wear and accessories, we were looking at a breakthrough," said Patrizio Bertelli, president of Prada.

"Consistent with our approach, we are not branding an existing product; rather we have been working with LG to give this new phone a very strong character and unique style, both in its content and in its design."

The phone is icon-based for control but the screen shuts down to conserve power when not in use and presents a uniformly black exterior. The handset will be available next month at a cost of €600 ($990).

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