New LG Phone Wears Prada

History is littered with examples of pioneers being overshadowed by people who have better PR. Case in point: Some are referring to LG's LG-KE850 as an iPhone knockoff. (Okay folks, reality check here. The iPhone was announced just over a week ago. Do you really think LG was able to pull together a phone and have it ready for launch and manufacturing in so little time? Life's not that good.)

The truth is, the buzz on the LG-KE850 -- a collaboration between the Korean electronics manufacturer and Italian fashion house Prada -- started over a month ago. Like the iPhone, the LG-KE850 sports a full-face touch screen, and is a GSM/EDGE phone. (The iPhone is quad-band, the LG-KE850 tri-band.) Unlike the iPhone, the LG phone will begin to appear in Europe in February, then in Asia in March, with no word on a North American release. So there won't be much chance yet for hilarious phone mix-ups.