AURA in stock at Motorola store, still fiercely expensive
By Sean Cooper 
posted Dec 12th 2008 12:34PM
posted Dec 12th 2008 12:34PM
So the moment you and your second mortgage have been dreaming about is here -- though sadly, the price cut you might have wished for is not. For all those clamoring for the $2,000 AURA, Moto's store has it listed as in-stock and we've a sneaking suspicion that unlike the BlackBerry Storm, these aren't going to sell through in hours. So take your time, ponder just how many Xbox 360s, PS3s, or robots you could get instead, then, like we know you will, buy it and start showing it off.
[Via phoneArena]
[Via phoneArena]
if only the lies were true, I could buy 20 iPhones at walmart in place of the Aura...
and get 20 contracts? In real though you could get ~2 iPhone 3G's (unlocked, sans contract).
ugly
GOOD JOB. Your analysis is clear and concise. It couldn't be any better than this
Wow, Moto really is running out of ideas, and have to bring back the design from like........10 years ago??? I wanted one so bad when it was V70, but it's so outdated now. Hire some new designers Moto!
Yeah, why why why would you buy this thing with the kind of choice we have in the market today. Honestly, while the display is beautiful, that thing does not look like a $2,000 phone.
All I'm going to say, if you go to the read link, that screen is absolutely gorgeous.
And this phone was designed and priced to be a luxury item. To accomplish that end, the AURA is supposed to be rare and interesting--no one said anything about being practical or having superior functionality.
I'm not sure if anyone can understand what I'm saying (namely because I'm too lazy to articulate it well) but this phone may not strike me as gorgeous like the XPeria did the first time I saw it, but the phone certainly is stunning.
Please, get lost.
This is just a piece of ridicolously expensive crap.
It's not even nice looking , is just plain bad taste (specially in this economic situation).
The only target for this product is moneyed morons: normal morons will still be buyng their iPhones.
OooOooh the main bearing is "Swiss Made". everything else is made in a sweatshop in china.
Throw in some Swarovski crystals and put an apple logo on it and i'll buy 4!! ...ugh...
Maybe it's jsut me, but I don't see the point of such items! It's ugly looking, not at all advanced in technology or any other area. I pity anyone who actually gets this. It's just insane when you can get a much cheaper phone with much more capability (Bold, iPhone, HTC touch diamond or Pro) and they look better.
It's for the privilege of saying, "I just spent too much money for something that's likely to be outdated by the end of the week."
Sean Cooper: Points for fierce-usage.
Extra points for using its adverbial form.
And motorola said it should NOT be done!
http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-MOTOROLA-AURA-CRYSTAL-LENS-GSM-UNLOCKED_W0QQitemZ130275128320QQcmdZViewItemQQptZCell_Phones?hash=item130275128320&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72:1234|66:2|65:12|39:1|240:1307|301:1|293:1|294:50
hilarity ensues.
For $2,000, I know what one of the phone's functions better be!
Thank God it ships for free, we bargain shoppers are always looking for ways to save a couple bucks.
I just pooped a little when I saw the price.
I threw up when i saw that you pooped.
aw shit!
I was sick a little in my mouth then, thanks for the warning!
I agree that the price for what you get is ridiculous...and more importantly, this seems like an odd move for a company is such a poor position.
However, to the people who say things like "WHO WOULD PAY THAT MUCH FOR A CELL PHONE?!?!", etc., etc. . . . many people would be willing to spend that much on a cellphone, even one with less features. I read an article the other day about the decline in luxery watch sales over the past decade (E.G. Rolex, Tag, etc.), which was attributed to the gradual replacement of the watch with the cellphone as the primary personal timepiece. People spend over $5-10K on a solid gold rolex, or a finely-made stainless-watch with no more features than a $10 Timex you can pick up at the corner store. My point is, with a newer generation (and a changing older generation) more and more people will be looking to a luxurious cellphone not only as their main, flashy timepiece and cellphone in one package, but also a status symbol (like a Rolex is to many people).
Many people discount the market for such devices, but truth-be-told, if the majority of you were million/billionaires, and exorbitantly-priced luxury phones like this didn't exist, you'd likely be thinking "Hey Guber, where's my over-priced, well-made, superfluous, under-featured cellphone to distinguish me from the rest of these ants?"
A solid gold men's Rolex starts at about $18K...
@skeepax
Not for long... Not in this economy anyways.
Can't afford a Vertu eh?
That is the most hideous phone I have ever seen. The person who designed it needs to be shot in the face repeatedly.
I have a feeling that these phones will be in stock for a long, long time.
its not for everyone, you need to have that AURA of "i can afford this phone" to pull-off one of them in public
will my $4.99 a month insurance that I pay cover this phone?
I would buy it if they had it on sprint.. best looking phone since the startac that I currently use
I guess is for those people that bought the "I Am Rich" app for their iPhone and the ones that bought a Hummer to run their rug rat to soccer practice.
People with more money than brains are all around, and not just in the "rich" crowd. That is part of the problem in the US right now. People wanting the house that was really out of their price range, or getting the second or third mortgage so they could outfit their livingroom with the latest and greatest home theatre system rather than paying their bills and putting some money in their savings account.
If I was dirt poor and needed a phone and this phone was one of those offered as a free phone, I would choose it last.
So in theory this is a rebranded V70 with a 2k price tag? lol
http://www.gsmarena.com/motorola_v70-333.php
NS, looks like the same damn design, I ebay'd one of those like 6 years ago for 50.00.
FUGLY.
motorola has a point in brining an expensive luxury high-end phone. Its price should not be compared with other phones, it should be like wearing a luxury watch or driving a luxury car.
screen is amazing and very artistic in my opinion.
I also think that this feature is following luxury watches "cratch-resistant, 62-carat, Grade 1 sapphire crystal lens"
to sum up: I will not buy it, but I can think of some people who will. And I think there's a chance that it will promote the sales of cheaper moto phones as well
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Moto should make this cheaper, aka make the screen less gorgeous (if needed), make it less solidly, use less precious materials, etc, and sell it for 150 dollars or something like that.
If I have that much money I will buy ten iPhone. Do you want one?
DARN doesn't THAT look familiar...
oPhone: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WazA77xcf0A
there's something terribly ironic about the guy actually considering buying this phone being a sprint subscriber.
you guys are forgetting the sapphire crystals the same stuff they use the the webcam on the asus vx3 lambo which is $3200