LG Prada 3.0 Review

At a glance

+ Premium design

+ Unique monochrome UI

+ NFC-ready

- Monochrome UI drowned out by colourful icons from installed apps

27 April 2012 – Manufacturer LG and designer label Prada’s partnership can be traced back to 2007, when the two companies released the first LG Prada device, which proved surprisingly popular, as one of the earliest devices to feature a capacitive screen.

Fast forward to 2012, the LG Prada 3.0, as the name implies, is the third iteration of the series, so let us see if it manages to retain the glory that its predecessors once had.

Exterior, Controls and Screen

True to the Prada name, a lot of effort has been put into the design of the phone itself, with its premium look and finish. However, the construction material could have been better, as it felt somewhat plasticky for our tastes. Still, it serves as a great fashion accessory to the brand name-conscious, just as its designers had intended.

This black slab is adorned with classy round buttons at the top, which adds to the overall aesthetics of the device. The capacitive buttons that appear when the phone is unlocked also meshes well with the theme of the device.

The 4.3-inch WVGA display is a rather standard affair for smartphones of this size, although we would appreciate a higher resolution than the 480 x 800 one on the LG Prada 3.0. Still, the less than optimal resolution is offset by the rather nice monochrome user interface, which trumps pretty much any default ones we have seen by other manufacturers.

Software, Application and Games 

Joining the long line of devices that have yet to migrate to Ice-Cream Sandwich, the LG Prada 3.0 will still have you munching away at whatever the Gingerbread has still to offer. To their credit, LG took special care to include a load of rather decent applications that not only takes full advantage of the aging version of Android but the UI as well.

The Desk Home, for example, is a simple flip-over clock which meshes really well with the monochrome theme, while Car Home, is an alternative home screen that is tailor-made for when driving, should you ever have the need to.

Taking a cue from HTC, the LG Prada 3.0 also included its own weather app.

Camera, Video and Audio 

The 8-megapixel shooter fitted onto the LG Prada 3.0 is not exactly the best we have seen, but it will do a fine job of taking photographs under most conditions. The controls are very intuitive, although we would have preferred more options in terms of filters to play around with.

Video playback on the phone proved to be a relatively enjoyable affair, as while the resolution could have been higher, the audio was loud and crisp.

Connectivity

The LG Prada 3.0 excels in this part, with Wi-Fi b, g, and n connections, Bluetooth 3.0 and A-GPS at the core. There is also DLNA, which is always welcome, especially if you have compatible devices to use it together with.

Then there is the implemented Near Field Communications (NFC) - While at this point there is not much use for it at the moment, you can expect to see it being prevalent in the coming year. With 1080p video recording possible on the phone, a mini HDMI connector would have been a good addition, but alas, there is none.

The battery life on the device was fairly reasonable, as we managed to squeeze a full day's usage out of it with moderate usage, including making calls, tweeting and listen to music.

Verdict

With specifications that would have made it a great contender last year, the LG Prada 3.0 does not bring too much to the table in 2012. Still, it is a very solid device that has been given a cosmetic enhancement that is bound to please even the most fussy of fashionistas. Get it if you want a high end device that also doubles as a fashion statement.