Vertu Phones

Vertu doesn't churn out phones, but when it does, they do look very fine.

Dressed in the finest hide black leather and aluminium, phones don't come more attractive than this. They don't come much heavier either, weighing in at a pocket drooping 140g. It's about as heavy as carrying a small hammer in your pocket. We don't mind chunky, and the Vertu's design does have some panache. There's the laser etched ceramic touch keys that shout luxury and then there's the black and white screen. Classy. Not so goof for pictures, but, oh wait, there isn't a camera. Flip to the back to find a quarter turn dial to unlock the battery and slip in your SIM. Now call us anti-fashion, but this took 2 years to design and we have to use a screwdriver to get to our SIM card? Peculiar.

Beneath the Constellation's high end exterior, this is an entry level Nokia phone. Imagine Jade Jagger with Jade Goody's personality. What this blower does offer that your average blower may not is...hold your breath...flight details. Oh yes instant access to up to date flight times and delays. Handy if you happen to be heading to a forlorn terminal in West London. Not so handy if, like us, you fly as often as a flamingo.

The usual suspects are here though- Quad band coverage, Edge support and Bluetooth. Standard. Talk time is fairly decent, fully juiced we're sure you'd manage a day on the stock market.

If you're looking for a phone that screams I'm rich and like style over substance, punt for this, if you're looking for a feature packed dog and bone you'd be better off with a Nokia 8800 Arte. Sleek design and packed with features.

Vertu is a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury mobile phones. The company is an independently run, wholly-owned subsidiary of the Finnish mobile phone manufacturer Nokia.

The concept of the company is to make mobile phones in the same vein as luxury watch manufacturers like Rolex, IWC and Patek Philippe. The most expensive model it has ever made is the Signature Cobra, at US$310,000 (~€217,000); the most expensive regular model is the Signature Diamond at US$88,000 (~€62,000).

The mobiles themselves are made from very expensive materials such as gold, sapphire (for the mobile screen), rubies (for the bearings) and fine leather. Plus, each mobile is hand-made in its factories in Church Crookham, United Kingdom

The company is headquartered in the United Kingdom with offices in Paris, New York, Beverly Hills, Singapore, Frankfurt and Hong Kong. Vertu's CEO is Alberto Torres, and the Principal Designer is Frank Nuovo. The company now has over 400 employees.

To keep the value of the brand, Vertu mobiles are only available in its own branded stores, leading department stores such as Harrods and Selfridges in London, and authorised retailers. Vertu’s flagship store opened in 2002 in Paris and then soon after in Singapore. There are now over 320 retail outlets.

One of the services when one acquires a Vertu mobile, is a year free concierge service called "Vertu Concierge". It is accessed through a special button, the "Concierge key" at the side of every phone. The service comprises a team of assistants to help the owner around the clock.