Rumor has that the LG Prada, also known as the KE850, is the smartphone that will lead Verizon's bid not to hemorrhage customers to AT&T (Cingular) when the iPhone ships next month.

Already available in England, the Prada sports an advanced touch-screen interface, called ClearPad, that's similar to the MultiTouch technology Apple is integrating into the iPhone.

While the iPhone will sell for $500 (4GB model) and $600 (8GB model) with a two-year agreement, the Prada will go for around $600 without a contract. That means Verizon, if it chooses, could subsidize the Prada to lower the cost to buy one significantly for its customers, making it even more competitive with the iPhone.

A Verizon representative told The Street the Prada is only one of a number of "music devices" it plans to add to its arsenal to counter the iPhone.

Here's what we know about the Prada so far:

Prada is the first phone to use technology from Synaptics called ClearPad technology, which is an optically clear display solution for creating a fully adaptive user interface. As with Apple and the iPhone's MultiTouch technology, the ClearPad input system is supposed to eliminate the need for traditional mechanical keys, as it adapts to present the right information and controls a user needs at any given moment.

ClearPad accurately recognizes not only points and taps, but also shapes, complex gestures, and proximity to the user's finger or cheek. Synaptics says this creates new input possibilities, such as assigning functions to two-finger taps, closing tasks by swiping an "X" over them, sending messages by swiping them off the screen, or answering a phone by holding it up to your cheek.

We had a chance to check out the LG Prada at the CTIA Wireless show a few months ago.

It is a Windows Mobile 6 Professional (Pocket PC Phone) smartphone that is fairly small and definitely sleek and shiny. The device measures only 3.9 x 2.1 x 0.5 inches (98.8 x 54 x 12 millimeters) and weighs a mere 2.3 ounces (85 grams_.

Its 240 x 400-pixel resolution touch screen measures 3 inches and supports 256K colors.

A thumb stick just underneath the screen replaces the standard array of buttons one might usually find.

The GSM edition edition supports 3.5G HSPDA cellular-wireless networking. Verizon's version will have to be adapted to its CDMA network and will likely support the carrier's high-speed EV-DO data network.

There's also a FM radio, TV out, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, a microSD slot and a 2 megapixel camera for picture and video.

Prada's Li-Ion battery is supposed to last 300 hours in standby and up to 3 hours of talk time on a single charge.