Flashback: the LG KE850 Prada had the first capacitive touchscreen, not the iPhone 

10 January 2021
Makers were trying to tap into the popularity of fashion brands to sell more phones back in the aughts. One of them beat the iPhone to the punch.

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  • ?
  • Anonymous
  • jZ@
  • 24 Aug 2021

Apple also copied Jeff Han's multitouch technology that stunned the world with his TED presentation back in February 2006, which he was developing for many years earlier.

    • ?
    • Anonymous
    • jZ@
    • 24 Aug 2021

    @Ex Phone journalist
    You are dead wrong. You're only talking about the public announcement in January 2007.

    The LG Prada had ALREADY won the prestigious iF Design Award in September 2006, so the LG Prada was the 1st with the modern smartphone design. Later on, the iPhone 4 was even MORE of a copy of the LG Prada.

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      • Ex Phone journalist
      • 3iv
      • 26 Mar 2021

      It was announced on Jan 18, 2007 - 9 days after the iPhone. In dec they announced only the model name KE850 and that it will somehow collaborate with Prada. They didn’t even call it LG PRADA back then. Don’t believe me? Ask the senior GSMArena writers (or CEO) who remember it.

        • X
        • XTR
        • Kg{
        • 13 Jan 2021

        Sohail, 12 Jan 2021Hi prada is the first touch mobile phone because I'm m... moreWhat are you talking about? There were already touchscreen phones way back, remember Sony ericsson's P-series PDA phones? But the first CAPACITIVE touchscreen phone is Prada.

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          • AnonD-844232
          • m5u
          • 12 Jan 2021

          his was the first smartphone NOT crappy iphone

            • S
            • Sohail
            • Fvh
            • 12 Jan 2021

            Anonymous, 12 Jan 2021When the first iphone was released it had a massive screen,... moreFor your information 😜 the first messive touch screen is (( ibm ))

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              • Sohail
              • Fvh
              • 12 Jan 2021

              Anonymous, 11 Jan 2021It doesn't take very long to copy and modify something... moreHi prada is the first touch mobile phone because I'm mobile technician in UAE and I changed the touch glass screen with heat iron many times and

                • ?
                • Anonymous
                • nxg
                • 12 Jan 2021

                Anonymous, 11 Jan 2021Applr invents viral marketing. the 1st iphone was a lemon... moreWhen the first iphone was released it had a massive screen, it was an ipod (big thing back then), and had a massive list of games and apps that all other phones envied. When iphone users were playing fruit ninja most people were playing snake. I had a nokie n95 then better in every single way on paper. The iphone was something special though and I wish I had one. It’s similar to what a tesla model s was when it was released. Nothing special to look at, crazy expensive but it’s different and it IS the future. All cars will be more like teslas just like most phones tried and became more like iphones.

                  • ?
                  • Anonymous
                  • 7kk
                  • 12 Jan 2021

                  Mobile business is running because of these companies only(Sony, Samsung, Apple, LG). Otherwise chinese brands are like twins. All same blue, green colors. Same 48 MP sony/samsung sensor, same designs, nothing new.

                    can we have a flashback of the lg viewty?

                      Android-Never-Again, 11 Jan 2021This is why I love Apple haters. They simply cannot piece t... moreYou are aware of the 6 months long delay between the on-stage "demo" and the actual start of sales, aren't you?

                        • ?
                        • Anonymous
                        • 70d
                        • 11 Jan 2021

                        Android-Never-Again, 11 Jan 2021This is why I love Apple haters. They simply cannot piece t... moreIt doesn't take very long to copy and modify something. Not sure what you mean by manufacturing. Once the design is complete, why can't you mass produce them? Not saying that iPhone copied Prada, but your arguments have no weight.

                          I give these credits to Apple:

                          1. use of Gorilla glass for screen,
                          2. copy of Sony's designs,
                          3. removal of headphone jack,
                          4. non-removalable battery,
                          5. screwing users with apps store locked in,
                          6. annual price increases,
                          7. new naming scheme for phones each year,

                            Edu Pintilie, 11 Jan 2021It's an old phone that's has 15 years///whoosh

                            The joke... you...

                              I was here with gsmarena back in 2006! And earlier. Gsmarena is very old. used to be only vertical sheets of gsm specs. No news and articles. This is like 2000 year around

                                LG has a lot of "first" things actually. And nowadays what happened :( I had several LGs all brilliant phones. But now I was forced to else.

                                  • ?
                                  • Anonymous
                                  • D$b
                                  • 11 Jan 2021

                                  It's funny to say that the iPhone was inspired by Prada because Prada used the same navigation philosophy as any other mobile of that time but all in touch instead of physical trackpad and keyboard. Surely, it was innovative enough, although there were touch screens around in smartphones and other devices already but none entirely with a touchscreen. That was their innovation. Their OS was like any mobile of that time.

                                  The iPhone brought us the multi gestures touch screen and that was the revolution that made navigation fluid like using a computer. Swipe, scrolling, pinch to zoom in and ot, this is the way all smartphone are used today and Apple was the innovator. And Apple copied the multi gestures from their very own Mac trackpad, not LG. Even the layout of Apple first OS and even today resembles that of a Mac, a grid of apps, multiple home screens that you swipe with gesture (as on Macs you swipe with a trackpad gesture), a dock with favorite apps as one Mac, pitching in or out for text or picture as you do on the Mac trackpad to pinch as well. The iPhone was basically a tiny Mac computer but instead of a trackpad you use the fingers.

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                                    • Indexarb
                                    • XpU
                                    • 11 Jan 2021

                                    I bought one in korea while working there. It came with a prada watch.

                                      Anonymous, 11 Jan 2021Iron Man is fiction...What's that got to do with the news tho? Iron man is already dead btw...

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                                        • AnonD-940827
                                        • 8pQ
                                        • 11 Jan 2021

                                        Anonymous, 11 Jan 2021Iron Man is fiction...But the phone was real. Must be hard to be younger than Nokia 3310.