LG to Add Keyboard to Prada Phone

LG Electronics will later this year launch an updated version of its Prada phone with a Qwerty keyboard that slides out to the left-hand side of the handset.

The phone is otherwise largely similar to the original Prada handset that was launched around this time last year and recently passed the million-unit sales mark, according to LG. In adding the keyboard, LG is pushing the phone to compete better against a number of new smartphones that have hit the market recently or are about to go on sale.

Other features include 7.2M bps (bits per second) HSDPA (high-speed downlink packet access) data networking, a full Internet browser and 5-megapixel camera.

LG plans to begin selling the phone in Italy, the U.K., France, Germany, Spain and the Netherlands before the end of this year. It will cost €600 (US$798).