Will the iPhone wear Prada?

While the hype around Apple's recent announcement of its iPhone has reached peaks of hysteria reserved normally for moon landings and presidential sex scandals, one event that seemed to pass everyone by almost unnoticed was the teaming of consumer electronics maker LG with the venerable Italian fashion house Prada. Red Herring picked up the launch, which you can read about here. Like the iPhone, the LG Prada is also a touchscreen multimedia device. They also look remarkably similar.

No doubt the marketing bods at LG are kicking themselves that they couldn't have picked a quieter time to release what might otherwise have been a reasonable headline-grabber,

Perhaps a second reason why the LG Prada failed to grab attention is that it is actually following a trend that is now starting to mature - that of consumer electronics makers partnering up with fashion brands. The Motorola partnership with Dolce & Gabana is now at least 12 months old, and we've also seen notebook maker Acer team up with Ferrari. There are a good number of examples out there, and it is possible that the consumer market has wised up to the fact that in many cases once the labels and pretty trimmings are taken away, these devices are no different to the standard devices they are based on. After the initial hype, there isn't much left.

I've not actually picked one up, but the LG Prada does look to be a novel and leading-edge device. Whether it catches on in the market will depend greatly on whether the association with Prada overcomes the US$770 price tag. Perhaps LG might have been better going with a brand with broader appeal. After all, as it's been learning, almost everyone loves chocolate ...

Comments

[Simon Sharwood]

This made me wonder if perhaps LG folk wandered into the factories where iPhone was being made ...