14 DAY TRIAL // The iPhone and LG's Prada phone do have a lot of things in common, yet sometimes great minds think alike and there's always the possibility that the similarities between the two phones are just coincidental.
The people from LG don't really agree with this and are now officially stating their point of view according to which Apple 'borrowed' their Prada phone's design.
Of course these comments are expected to trigger heated debates in the industry. At the moment Apple's iPhone was unveiled in January, many people stopped to take into account the many similarities between the two phones but LG didn't make any statement regarding this.
At the 3GSM World Congress in Barcelona, the handset maker finally announced its official position on the iPhone at a press conference with the presence of Scott and, CEO of LG's mobile phone business division.
Mr. Woo-Young Kwak, head of LG Mobile Handset R&D Center said to the press, "We consider that Apple copycat Prada phone after the design was unveiled when it was presented in the iF Design Award and won the prize in September 2006."
Mr. Kang-Heui Cha, Senior Manager of MC Design Research Lab said, "LG Prada phone put focus on interfaces and Apple emphasized music phone concept. In the process of adding substances to the conceptual ideas, the two handset makers might end up with similar designs."
With both of the phones developed at around the same time, and the ongoing touch-screen phone trend that many mobile phone manufacturers are adopting lately, no one can really tell which of the two companies is right.
And trying not to take any sides, the touch-screen is the next big thing in the mobile phone industry and we should expect to see more of these iPhones and Prada phones released in the future. While the two companies are busy figuring out who's copying who, at least consumers now have two nice mobile phones to choose from, that are somewhat similar but different enough so that each can appeal to a number of users.