Vertu's Constellation Pure series is like every other Constellation: drab and overpriced
Seriously Vertu -- we have zero qualms with you charging €6,800 ($8,574) for a handset, but could you at least work in a little innovation next time? At first glance, the new Constellation Pure lineup looks like every other Constellation ever produced by the luxury phone maker, and it's not until you read that they're built from steel, leather and ceramics that you realize something's different. The set is expected to hit the market soon in white, black and silver, each of which will be limited to 2,500 units. We hear these things aren't half bad at making calls, either, but you know it's that iconic "V" logo you're really dropping the Euros for.
[Via Sybarites]
[Via Sybarites]



















Well if they are still making phones that means people are still buying it.
they could atleast make it waterproof so that while im sippin blue label on the weekends in my penthouse suite and drop it in my indoor hotub it doesnt break*
* i have none of the above but like to pretend i do
What ? i could buy a car for about the same price .....
Yes, but I bet that it's not built from steel, leather and ceramics!
And it probably doesn't make calls in "style".
Your SHITE honda might not be made from Steel, Leather and ceramics but most high end cars are....
Hey but you can still take your friends to see Fast and Furious 4 this summer in your souped up go carts accessorized from wal-mart
AHAHAHAH!!! GOOOOAL!
Actually my "SHITE" Honda is made out of Aluminum and other exotic alloys & composites as well as having leather wrapped bucket seats. How bout your ride enohPi???, cant really see it in the rear view mirror.
You are missing the point.
The type of person that would buy this wouldn't buy a car anywhere near as low as this price range.
The DMV in CA calls it a "review" mirror...
"The type of person that would buy this wouldn't buy a car anywhere near as low as this price range."
Well, they could buy a Segway and still have $3000 in pocket money.
We make large phones for those who feel small.
...or $49.95 with 99 year contract.
People who buys phones like these are probably too stupid to use any advanced functions anyway.
this piece of garbage looks about as cool and advanced as the first phone I got for free when I signed up for Cingular.... TEN YEARS AGO.
Now...what is 'luxurious' about these?? Do they make you feel comfortable with their plush (ceramics or whatever) interior or their steel feel makes them any useful?
I saw one of the kinds at the flagship Nokia store in Chicago and the only thing the sales guy was talking about was how sturdy they are built with scratchless (and unbreakable) screens and how the phone would withstand high temperature, pressure and underwater.
Seriously...who buys these?
ridiculous people, people that take their Hummer to Louis Vuitton to have the seats done by them, carry champagne in a mini fridge and still go to Burger King because they loves those good old american burgers.
Rich people that actually got rich working won't be carrying such a lameass phone. This is for criminals, singers and football players.
Ceramic keyboard? A dream come true for manic textmessagers. However many messages you send, no wear or tear on the keyboard surface.:)
I think qwerty buttons would be a lot more useful than ceramic buttons.
Is there any specific reason why anyone, even someone with bucketloads of money, would purchase one of these? Good grief, you could purchase 40 regular iphones or blackberries or nokia n series phones or whatever for that price, and simply throw one away every time it got a scratch or got dropped in the pool.
For some people it is important to *look* rich I guess. Materialism at its finest.
Apple has to sell like 500000 iPhones to make as much profit as Vertu (Nokia) makes from selling 5000 of these.
Can you imagine firing one of these up, only to be greeted with that 20 year-old interface (like on the RAZR's and such....)
Of course, if your stupid enough to spend this kind of money on a POS phone, then you probably don't know the difference anyway.
I bet all of you have Macs or iPhones when you could have bought something cheaper.
And people thought the Motorola Aura was expensive, you could buy 4 of those and have money left over.
Some of the comments crack me up though, do people forget about the high end car, clothes, and housing markets? Do you think a Bentley really gives you that much more value?
And why would the people that buy this have an iPhone? You know what is even easier to use than an iPhone or an N95? An assistant to do the searching and work for you.
There is a reason why we pay a premium for luxury goods such as shoes, handbags and exotic cars - the build quality is very high and they actually do turn heads and are much saught after. They basically exceed in their class compared to much cheaper lesser branded goods of the same kind.
When Vertu charge so much for these phones - what is it we are paying for? They look extremely dated. Given that large touch screens are all the rage I cannot see what the premium is in these phones. Yeah sure they are made of high quality materials - but the design and features will not turn heads or provide any addition advantage - something that luxury goods need to do. Limited edition really means nothing at that price.
It seems that when it comes to technology - a designer brand will do nothing - you have to be cutting edge and innovative. The most saught after phones, are the actual "designer" ones in the real world.
It seems Vertu and Nokia for that matter, have lost the plot.
Say they've lost the plot when Vertu fails to make money and is closed down, not until then.
If you think the expensive handbags and other luxury goods are genuinely as much higher in quality as the price suggests, you might have some plot-searching to do yourself. If a bargain-basement handbag is badly machine-sewed by Chinese slave labour, costs $10 to make (inc shipping etc), and sells for $20, you can bet that a 'luxury' handbag hand-sewed by Chinese slave labour from high-quality materials still only costs $30 to make, and sells for $1000...
Same deal as this phone. You'd have to be a complete arsehole to buy one, because the sole purpose is showing your money off, but they only need to find 7,500 rich arseholes to buy this model and you can bet the profit margin is something ridiculous. Maybe with the economic conditions the supply of rich arseholes is becoming limited, but I wouldn't bet on it.
You are paying extra to carry "an exclusive item" not actual quality level. They explain that only 100 shoe pairs were done, and 10 pairs were already given to Prince Charles.
Gladly, that same chinese factory that made it will release 300,000 more of the same product at actual factory cost using the same leather and 1,000,000 using inexpensive plastic.
@Sam
Just because its still running doesn't mean it's running at profit. You think some divisions don't run at a loss and the parent company has to pump in millions to keep it going? Nokia aren't going to look good if they admit their luxury division is failing would they? If they are keeping Vertu afloat - they wouldn't be the first parent company helping out a subsidiary - economics 101.
Even in China, factories have some sort of standard. I highly doubt the factory making Versace handbags is also making Wal-Mart T-shirts. The handbag you buy at $20 is made from some plastic crap. The handbag you buy at $1000 is at least leather - and a decent cut of skin. Yes they are much cheaper to manufacture, but it is not as simple as saying such a cliche of everything comes out the same factory.
aren't these just nokia innards, in fancy dress?
You'd have to be seriously 'tarded to drop £5K on that POS.
Not so. You just have to be rich enough not to care.
Lastgen nokias overpriced :D And people buy them :D
Vertu = Very Expensive Rudimentary Talking Utensil
does anyone actually buy these things?