Verizon May Counter iPhone With LG Prada

Bear Stearns analysts Andy Neff, Bill Hand and Ted Chung sent a note to clients today on Verizon Wireless' plans to counter the iPhone launch at AT&T. Key excerpts:

VZ plans to counter AAPL iPhone with LG Prada. According to web reports, VZ is expected introduce its own touch-based phone (LG Prada) shortly in response to the pending launch of AAPL iPhone in late June. Similar to iPhone, LG Prada features a touch screen user interface with multimedia support, although it does not have a QWERTY keyboard. LG Prada phone is priced at around $600 (unsubsidized), which is similar to iPhone at $500/$600, although final subsidized price of LG Prada could be substantially lower – i.e., LG Prada phone is offered for free by select carriers in Europe with a 1.5 year contract. Stock impact: neutral for AAPL (another competitor but iPhone has additional features, i.e., integration with iTunes and email); positive for SYNA (major rollout of mobile phone with SYNA technology).

Apple iPhone (left), LG Prada (right):

Credit: Wayne Smallman

Comments

[Tommo_UK]

Lol.. they might as well try attacking tanks with swords for all the good it will do. The Prada phone is rubbish. Everyone here in the UK thinks its just overpriced garbage.

[John Lazerow]

It's the software - It's the software - IT'S THE SOFTWARE! Why can't people get that. Steve Jobs said it AGAIN today at the All Things Digital conference when asked why the Japanese MP3 makers aren't competing even though the hardware designs they come up with are very attractive. Steve's answer: SOFTWARE. That's Apple's competitive advantage, their moat. As long as they write the best software, they'll continue to kick everyone's ass in music, consumer electronics, and increasingly in computers.

[Jon T]

The LG Prada against the iPhone?

That has to be the funniest joke of all time.

Just goes to show the phone companies really don't have any idea about quite what to do.

[Tom B]

CEO Strigl should simply resign "to spend more time with his family", before the Board fires him. Idiot!

[cr4zys4m]

The funny thing is you guys are idiots... No LG. LG made and released the LG Prada KE850 before the iPhone was even announced. So before you start bashing LG or crying about how close it looks to the iPhone. You should do some research and actually learn things before babbling about crap you guys don't know about. If anyone you should bash the crappy company Apple for copying LGs idea and making a crappy phone. And I'm not saying the iPhone is TOTAL crap. But in my opinion it is. I'm anti-apple, but that's just me. Some of you might just blast in your pants when you just see the Logo... But either way the iPhone is good for people that don't need 3G or that like <b>HORRIBLE</... service from AT&amp;T, then the iPhone is just for you....

[Billy Staples]

try iphonestinks.com we are not alone