Reuters is reporting that Nokia is exploring selling the Vertu phone line to holding company Permira for $264.26 million, freeing itself from the difficult process of selling phones no one wants to people who should know better. Nokia called Vertu a “non-core asset.”
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As Nokia struggles to establish itself as a worthy competitor to Apple and the Android bulldozer in the smartphone segment, the company is looking to sell off its wholly-owned luxury phone brand Vertu, reports the Financial Times.
Vertu, which sells some of the world’s most expensive ugly phones, was originally started by Nokia back in 1998. → Read More
That was a long sayonara: in November 2008, Nokia decided to pull the plug on their Japan operations, at the same time announcing they will re-enter the market with their luxury sub-brand Vertu. They started offering those phones (and the services that come with them) in September 2009, but now decided to give up on this business in Japan, too. → Read More
Got $310,000 to spend on a phone like the Vertu Signature Cobra? No? Hm. How about $83,000, for the Vertu Signature Diamond. Still no? Well, crap. Oh! Okay, here: how about somewhere between $4,000 and $7,000 for the new Vertu Constellation Quest? That’s totally reasonable, right? Not feelin’ it? Check out the video after the jump. In just two minutes, Vertu will fully convince you as to why you should drop the cash for their $6,000 phone over say, any thing reasonable and not-totally-ridiculous. Or maybe not. → Read More
Nokia pulled out of Japan, one of the world’s biggest mobile markets, as early as November 2008. But because this country is quite wealthy, the Finnish company decided to conquer Japan with their luxury brand Vertu [JP], starting operations in September 2009. Initially the plan was to market handsets priced between $16,000 and $50,000.
But today Vertu Japan announced a “golden” handset with a price tag of 20 million yen (it’s made-in-Japan gold lacquerwork, to be more exact). That’s $215,000, with the price including free domestic calls. Buyers will be able to choose between four equally priced models: Kinko (pictured above), Kikusui, Nanten and Daigo (pictured below). The different designs stand for the different seasons of the year. → Read More
Vertu, French for “virtue,” has a pink phone just in time for Valentine’s Day. It’s the Constellation Ayxt only it’s pink. Fascinating. → Read More
You know the Vertu phones, right? The over-priced Nokias sold in watch stores and casinos? Well, soon there will be over-priced accessories sold along side them in a pen, Bluetooth headset, and microSD card reader. How fun. Your next date will be so impressed. → Read More
Japan is a tough market to crack for many non-Japanese cell phone makers, and even the world’s leading cell phone maker, Nokia, had to give up its Japan operations after having failed to gain a foothold in this country (in November last year). But they’re trying again, this time with their luxury brand Vertu. → Read More
Apparently this phone is getting ready for a big Muay Thai match. It’s a Vertu—“vertu” is “virture” in French!—designed by one Norihiko Inoue. No, you cannot buy it, I just thought it looked neat. → Read More
In November 2008, Nokia gave up Japan (where its market share hovered around a mere one percent for years) but now comes back with Vertu Japan [JP], its luxury brand. Vertu today opened a flagship store in Ginza, Tokyo’s upmarket area. → Read More
Ah, Russia. Home to a well-olied kleptocracy, Andrei Arshavin and, apparently, incredibly wealthy people who don’t know what to do with their money. (See: Roman Abramovich et al.) As such, we really shouldn’t be too surprised to see this new Vertu cellphone on a Russian luxury blog. As you can see, it, the Vertu Boucheron 150, looks just like that other Vertu luxury phone, but this one supposedly has 3G connectivity. (Our cup runneth over!) It’s also rumored to cost something like $30,000, which is not even a week’s wages for certain footballers. I don’t know, I’d complain about the unnecessary luxury of this, but the fact is there are people who buy things like this all the time, so good for Vertu for finding its niche. Meanwhile, I’m still buzzing along with a 2006 model piece of junk phone, so there’s that. via Unwired View → Read More
I’ve never been more in agreement with Wired than I am at this very moment. "Everything here is a crap gadget with diamonds glued on it," says Rob Beschizza in his post called The Worst Diamond-Encrusted Gadgets Of All Time. I’d go a step further and make the claim that diamonds don’t belong anywhere near gadgets. Let the gadget itself do the talking. If it’s cool, all the diamonds in the world won’t give it an ounce of extra oomph. There are some real gems here, pardon the pun. The Vertu cell phone, a ridiculous looking Game Boy, an MP3 player for dogs (?), a couple of stupid-looking iPod Shuffles, and more. Great read. Click below for the full article. The Worst Diamond-Encrusted Gadgets Of All Time [Wired] → Read More
This is a bit off-topic, but it has quite a bit to do with electronics and boutique home audio so let’s begin. Luxury items have always been status symbols and, increasingly, commodity products. This nasty mix creates a drive to sell more product at luxury prices, which is good for the companies but not so good for the consumer. Dana Thomas’ book, Deluxe claws at — but can probably never rip off — the facade of luxury houses. While many of us desire Coach bags and, dare I say it, fancy watches, these items more often than not are avatars of shoddy workmanship and the product of market forces that pull on Wal-mart rather than the House of Chanel. → Read More
I’m glad Nokia made the Vertu line. They deserve to have a little fun. But a $7,000 cellphone is just about the upper limit of what I can accept in the luxury market. Dear Oil-rich Sultans and Oligarchs: send me your old Nokia and I’ll dip it in golden paint and send it back to you for $3,500. You’ll get the same effect while spending half of what you’d normally spend on a similar Vertu and you’ll have some cash left over to rent midgets or whatever it is you people do with your wealth. It’s either that or we eat you, rich people, decide. Vertu Ascent Ti hitting stores next month [LuxuryLaunches] → Read More
Hey! Need a new phone? Don’t want the iPhone but still wanna flaunt your money? Check out the Vertu Constellation, now in a beautiful rose gold color. It’s available in black leather only, because it’s more special than the regular gold-version. Scratch-resistant and chock full o’ laser-engraved keys, this phone will set you back at least $8000, possibly more since it’s a limited-edition coloring. Vertu Constellation Released In Rose Gold [Sybarites] → Read More
Rollin’ in mah Bentley Cruisin down the street Got bling on my wrists, ankles neck and teeth Got a call on my cellie Yo let me show you it This Vertu Ascent T has gotta be the shit It’s not out yet Still with tha FCC But I got a unit Cause I got 10,000 Gs → Read More
Some gadgets are good-looking — chances are the look of your cell phone was a major concern when you went shopping. Then again, some gadgets are ugly. Very, very ugly. We’ve found the ugliest gadgets ever made, so you don’t have to. Some you’ve likely seen before, others you thankfully haven’t. Just believe us: You’ll never take your iPod for granted again. → Read More
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