Until recently, the vast majority of mobile phones had been priced between £100 and £300, with only Vertu, a division of Nokia, manufacturing uber-premium phones. With prices starting at around £4,000, Vertu phones are only for the filthy rich and the super famous. However, Vertu's monopoly of the luxury phone market is coming to an end with the launch of several new luxury mobile makers, including Gresso, Mobiado, and GoldVish. Other mobile phone manufacturers are also partnering with luxury brands to produce a range of premium mobile phones, such as LG and Prada, D&G and Motorola, and now Tag Heuer and Modelabs. Finally, there are the ridiculous, super-expensive one-offs, made purely for headline-grabbing, such as Goldvish's "Le million," worth a cool $1,000,000.
1. Goldvish "Le million"
= $1,000,000 (£540,540)
A PR stunt it may be, and they surely can't be expecting to sell any, but the Goldvish "Le million" is officially the most expensive mobile phone in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. There's even been talk of a $1.3 million phone, but this has fewer diamonds than the Goldvish so I can't see where the extra expense comes from! The "Le million" is a one-off, featuring a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit. If $1 million is out of your price range, the Geneva-based Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600 (£13,837).
2. Vertu Signature Cobra
= $310,000 (£167,567)
Vertu is now taking orders for the Signature Cobra, designed by French jeweler Boucheron, but you had better be quick as only 8 are being made! The Cobra will feature one pear-cut diamond, one round white diamond, two emerald eyes, and 439 rubies. Vertu will also be offering a "cheaper" version, ruby-free, at $115,000 (£62,162).
3. Sony Ericsson Black Diamond
= $300,000 (£162,162)
Apparently, the Black Diamond will be available in 2007, not from Sony Ericsson but by a company called VIPN. Initially, only 5 unique numbered pieces will be available for the unbelievable price of, wait for it… $300,000. With regards to the specifications, don't expect anything remarkable for your money. It will have Quad-band with Wi-Fi, an Intel 400Mhz processor running Windows Mobile 5, and a touch-sensitive 2" screen. It will also include internal memory of 128mb and will come with a 2Gb SD card for external storage, plus a respectable 4 Megapixel camera. The designer Jaren Goh has used some pretty impressive materials for the build, featuring titane with polycarbonate, mirror-finish cladding, and diamonds.
4. Vertu Diamond
= $88,000 (£47,567)
The Diamond is Vertu's premium range of high-end mobile phones. As the name suggests, the handsets in the Diamond range are diamond-encrusted handsets made from platinum. Only 200 of the handsets are being produced, the most expensive believed to be worth an estimated £50,000.
5. Motorola V220 Special Edition
= £28,000 ($51,800)
Austrian designer Peter Aloisson has taken a standard Motorola, studded it with 1,200 diamonds, and added a keyboard inlaid with 18-carat gold. The outcome is a £28,000 handset, suitable only for footballers and film stars!
6. Gold Edition Nokia 8800 Phone
= $2,700 (£1,459)
If you have $2,700 to spare, you can now buy the Nokia 8800 in 24K gold. However, be warned, if you think you'll be getting a better phone for your extra cash, you won't! The features found on the Gold Edition are the standard 8800 features, which are pretty basic. It includes a 0.5 Megapixel SVGA camera, 64 MB of internal memory, 64 voice polyphonic ringtones, FM Radio, Mp3 Player, video recording, and 180 mins talk time. However, the Gold Edition does include a special edition box and charging dock!
7. Mobiado Professional EM (wood)
= $1,900 (£1,027)
The Mobiado Professional EM is a wood-clad upgrade of their earlier Nokia-based phone that includes a 1.3-megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth, and according to Mobiado, it's the first production phone with Titanium buttons. Only 200 are being made, and each one has its limited number engraved on the back. At $1,900, however, you're still paying an awfully high premium for a fairly basic phone encased in wood!
8. Bang & Olufsen (Samsung) Serene
= $1,250 (£675)
Bang & Olufsen hooked up with Samsung to design the sleek but unconventional Serene. It's not a bad-looking phone, and it even has a built-in motor to assist you in opening and closing the phone. It's not very practical, however, requiring a special screwdriver to access the battery and the SIM card, and its circular keypad will take some getting used to. Also, for some strange reason, they have positioned the camera lens on the side of the device, which will make it difficult to align snapshots via the viewfinder on the display.
9. Lamborghini 8800 Sirocco from Nokia
= To be announced
The Lamborghini Nokia 8800 Sirocco is another special edition, like the previously launched Aston Martin branded Sirocco. It will ultimately be a standard 8800 Sirocco but with the addition of the famous Lamborghini logo engraved on the front and the back, plus ball bearings from the auto company to in the slider phone mechanism. The Lamborghini phone will be a limited edition with only 500 being made. It will also feature Lamborghini graphics as wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, and even has a short documentary video about the Lamborghini.
10. Gresso Luxury Phone
= £expensive
The Russia-based Gresso is a new entry into the luxury phone market. Their aptly named "Gresso Luxury Phone" is made of gold and African Blackwood. Apparently, they will be releasing a collection of five models called the Black Aura collection, and the designer is a "well-known" Italian designer. Currently, there are two versions of the African Blackwood phone, one with pink gold highlights named the Gresso Blackwood Gold Edition, and one made entirely of African Blackwood. In addition to the two African Blackwood phones, Gresso also makes a phone made entirely of pink gold named the Gresso Gold phone. Initially, the phones will be on sale only in Russia.
From India
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141. Goldvish "Le million"
= $1,000,000 (£540,540)
A PR stunt it may be, and they surely can't be expecting to sell any, but the Goldvish "Le million" is officially the most expensive mobile phone in the world, according to the Guinness Book of Records. There's even been talk of a $1.3 million phone, but this has fewer diamonds than the Goldvish so I can't see where the extra expense comes from! The "Le million" is a one-off, featuring a blinding 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds, according to designer Emmanuel Gueit. If $1 million is out of your price range, the Geneva-based Goldvish also offers several other diamond-encrusted 18k gold models in your choice of rose, yellow, or white, starting at a much more reasonable $25,600 (£13,837).
2. Vertu Signature Cobra
= $310,000 (£167,567)
Vertu is now taking orders for the Signature Cobra, designed by French jeweler Boucheron, but you had better be quick as only 8 are being made! The Cobra will feature one pear-cut diamond, one round white diamond, two emerald eyes, and 439 rubies. Vertu will also be offering a "cheaper" version, ruby-free, at $115,000 (£62,162).
3. Sony Ericsson Black Diamond
= $300,000 (£162,162)
Apparently, the Black Diamond will be available in 2007, not from Sony Ericsson but by a company called VIPN. Initially, only 5 unique numbered pieces will be available for the unbelievable price of, wait for it… $300,000. With regards to the specifications, don't expect anything remarkable for your money. It will have Quad-band with Wi-Fi, an Intel 400Mhz processor running Windows Mobile 5, and a touch-sensitive 2" screen. It will also include internal memory of 128mb and will come with a 2Gb SD card for external storage, plus a respectable 4 Megapixel camera. The designer Jaren Goh has used some pretty impressive materials for the build, featuring titane with polycarbonate, mirror-finish cladding, and diamonds.
4. Vertu Diamond
= $88,000 (£47,567)
The Diamond is Vertu's premium range of high-end mobile phones. As the name suggests, the handsets in the Diamond range are diamond-encrusted handsets made from platinum. Only 200 of the handsets are being produced, the most expensive believed to be worth an estimated £50,000.
5. Motorola V220 Special Edition
= £28,000 ($51,800)
Austrian designer Peter Aloisson has taken a standard Motorola, studded it with 1,200 diamonds, and added a keyboard inlaid with 18-carat gold. The outcome is a £28,000 handset, suitable only for footballers and film stars!
6. Gold Edition Nokia 8800 Phone
= $2,700 (£1,459)
If you have $2,700 to spare, you can now buy the Nokia 8800 in 24K gold. However, be warned, if you think you'll be getting a better phone for your extra cash, you won't! The features found on the Gold Edition are the standard 8800 features, which are pretty basic. It includes a 0.5 Megapixel SVGA camera, 64 MB of internal memory, 64 voice polyphonic ringtones, FM Radio, Mp3 Player, video recording, and 180 mins talk time. However, the Gold Edition does include a special edition box and charging dock!
7. Mobiado Professional EM (wood)
= $1,900 (£1,027)
The Mobiado Professional EM is a wood-clad upgrade of their earlier Nokia-based phone that includes a 1.3-megapixel camera, music player, FM radio, Bluetooth, and according to Mobiado, it's the first production phone with Titanium buttons. Only 200 are being made, and each one has its limited number engraved on the back. At $1,900, however, you're still paying an awfully high premium for a fairly basic phone encased in wood!
8. Bang & Olufsen (Samsung) Serene
= $1,250 (£675)
Bang & Olufsen hooked up with Samsung to design the sleek but unconventional Serene. It's not a bad-looking phone, and it even has a built-in motor to assist you in opening and closing the phone. It's not very practical, however, requiring a special screwdriver to access the battery and the SIM card, and its circular keypad will take some getting used to. Also, for some strange reason, they have positioned the camera lens on the side of the device, which will make it difficult to align snapshots via the viewfinder on the display.
9. Lamborghini 8800 Sirocco from Nokia
= To be announced
The Lamborghini Nokia 8800 Sirocco is another special edition, like the previously launched Aston Martin branded Sirocco. It will ultimately be a standard 8800 Sirocco but with the addition of the famous Lamborghini logo engraved on the front and the back, plus ball bearings from the auto company to in the slider phone mechanism. The Lamborghini phone will be a limited edition with only 500 being made. It will also feature Lamborghini graphics as wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, and even has a short documentary video about the Lamborghini.
10. Gresso Luxury Phone
= £expensive
The Russia-based Gresso is a new entry into the luxury phone market. Their aptly named "Gresso Luxury Phone" is made of gold and African Blackwood. Apparently, they will be releasing a collection of five models called the Black Aura collection, and the designer is a "well-known" Italian designer. Currently, there are two versions of the African Blackwood phone, one with pink gold highlights named the Gresso Blackwood Gold Edition, and one made entirely of African Blackwood. In addition to the two African Blackwood phones, Gresso also makes a phone made entirely of pink gold named the Gresso Gold phone. Initially, the phones will be on sale only in Russia.
From India
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