Any time we look at a phone and think, "whooo, that's expensive", we have to stop and remind ourselves that there are phones makers like Vertu that charge thousands of dollars for generally comparable (and often lesser) products. And that's where we find ourselves today with the newly-announced Vertu Signature Touch. But unlike Vertu smartphones of the past, this one isn't depressingly behind-the-times when it comes to what's inside, though it is still obscenely expensive at £6,750.
That's basically the cost of a dozen Samsung Galaxy S5 smartphones, yes, but in this case you're getting a smartphone that oozes luxury. The Vertu Signature Touch has "acoustics tuned in partnership with Bang & Olufsen and a Hasselblad-certified camera." The screen is covered with a layer of super-tough sapphire crystal (the same stuff they put on real watches) and the casing is made out of titanium with "hand-finished calf leather".
And being a Vertu it also comes with a suite of services, including some pretty comprehensive insurance and real life concierge (eat your heart out, Google Now)
But what you're really interested in, though, is what's inside that metallic case. What tech does $10,300 get you? Well, for one, a 4.7-inch 1080p display. That Hasselblad-certified camera clocks in at 13 megapixels, and there's a 2.1 megapixel sensor around front. The phone includes 64GB of storage, which is good since there's no MicroSD expansion. CPU wise there's a quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 running at 2.3Ghz, though we have no indication of how much RAM is inside. You also get stereo speakers with that B&O tuning, Qi-charging for the 2275mAh battery, LTE Cat4, W-Fi 802.11ac, and NFC. Oh, and it runs Android 4.4 KitKat and measures in at 10.65mm thick — reasonable considering that it's wrapped in leather.
Is this phone worth the stratospheric price tag? Most people that buy a Vertu don't buy it for the specs. They buy it for the exclusivity, for the cachet, for the fact that they can own a phone carved out of freakin' titanium and wrapped in the skin of a baby cow. Vertu is about the specs, but it's nice to seem the finally bringing specs to the party.
The Vertu Signature Touch will be available this month, though you'll clearly have to pay for the privilege. It's silly to ask "who's going to get one?", but we can ask — what do you think?
Source: Vertu (opens in new tab)
