Most reports have positioned LG's Prada as a direct contender to Apple's iPhone, set for release in June. Indeed, the Prada and the iPhone, if not twins, are at least cousins. The Prada has a sleek black case and sports a 3-inch display with a 200 x 400 resolution; the iPhone display is slightly larger, at 3.5 inches with a 320 x 480 resolution.

There's more, of course. Both phones rely on a touch screen for their input. Both play music and movies. Both have on-board cameras. And both offer EDGE, a form of mobile Internet access that's faster than dial-up but not as fast as mobile broadband (such as EVDO and HSDPA).

Moreover, both will empty your pockets. Initially sold only in Europe and Asia, the Prada phone will cost around $800, depending on the exchange rate, and target fashionistas who shop at Louis Vuitton, not Wal-Mart. The iPhone will cost $499 or $599, depending on the size of its hard drive (4 GB or 8 GB, respectively). That's costly enough to deter the timid, but not too costly to tamp down the spirits of Mac fans.

Cellular Schisms

But that's where the likeness ends. The Prada's interface is built on Adobe's Flash technology. The iPhone offers a pared-down but powerful version of Mac OS X. The Prada offers Bluetooth, but not Wi-Fi. The iPhone offers Wi-Fi and a well-received, well-reviewed way to display Web sites at full size, as opposed to parsing them to fit on the tiny screens of other smartphones.

The Prada phone offers an expansion slot, which the iPhone lacks. But the iPhone's touch screen is graced with a light sensor that adjusts its brightness automatically, and a proximity sensor that turns it off when you hold the device to your face.

But what's important, in addition to how these phones compare, is what they might mean in a wireless world in which Average Joes are as active as knowledge workers and roaming business users. "I think there's a recognition among all of the major hardware and handset manufacturers that consumers are suffering from gadget fatigue," said Carmi Levy, senior research analyst at the Info-Tech Research Group.

"Not only do they have to carry many devices every day, but they have to buy them and support them," he explained. "They have to charge them. And they have to keep them cared for and fed." The bottom line? Smartphone makers that used to cater to the hardcore needs of I.T. departments and the roving sales force are creating more accessible models for mainstream use. (continued...)

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