For a certain kind of person, a cellphone is more than just a phone--it's a form of self-expression. Which means a certain kind of jet-setter wants nothing to do with a cheap plastic gadget.
And a certain kind of company is happy to accommodate them, with high-end fashion handsets that feature diamonds, gold plating, antique wood and lots and lots of jewels. One more feature: Hefty price tags.
Geneva-based GoldVish holds the distinction of selling the world's priciest phone so far: a $1.3 million handset made of 18-carat white gold with some 1,800 diamonds totaling 120 carats. Last September, a Russian businessman reportedly bought the phone, nicknamed Le Million, for his wife at a luxury goods fair in Cannes, France. Want a peek? Head to Basel, Switzerland, next month for the annual Baselworld jewelry and watch show.
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Americans who don't want to actually get on a jet to buy a jet-setting phone can still have their needs sated. Vertu, a subsidiary of Nokia, the world's largest cellphone manufacturer, is the most established of the ultra-luxury handset firms. Unlike some niche manufacturers on our list that cater mostly to European and Asian markets, it's fairly easy to try out and buy Vertu phones in the U.S.
In New York and Chicago, for example, they're on display at Nokia retail stores. And they're distributed across the U.S. to high-end department stores like Barneys and watch shops like Tourneau.
Last year, Vertu teamed up with French jeweler Boucheron to make the second-most-expensive phone on our list, a limited-edition series of eight $310,000 handsets sporting red, jewel-encrusted snakes. The Signature Cobra includes two diamonds, two emerald eyes and 439 rubies snaking around an 18-carat rose gold case.
Like most of the phones on our list, Vertu's devices are fairly standard, "unlocked" handsets compatible with any wireless carrier whose networks use a calling technology called GSM--in the U.S., that's AT&T, formerly Cingular Wireless, and T-Mobile, a division of Deutsche Telekom. (Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless both use a competing technology that's not compatible.) Vertu phones also include a direct-dial button to a concierge service, which can help with travel information, restaurant tips and events.
While some manufacturers flaunt diamonds, others are showcasing phone cases made from rare, antique wood. The pitch is that the varying grain patterns make each handset truly unique. Russia's Gresso boasts that its Black Aura handsets are 200 years old--the age of the African Blackwood on each phone's case. Canada's Mobiado says it has sold through its 200-unit run of the $2,200 jet-black Professional EM, made from ebony wood and hard-anodized aluminum with titanium buttons.
Most of the phones on our list are obviously aimed at the super-rich or the ultra-vain. But established electronics companies are also betting that mainstream audiences will pay hundreds--not thousands--of dollars more than they're used to spending for new cellphones with brains, not bullion.
This January, Apple and LG Electronics both unveiled new handsets with large, brilliant touchscreens that work more like mini-computers. Apple's iPhone combines an iPod music player with an Internet-savvy smart phone, to the tune of up to $600.
Korea's LG paired up with Prada to design a similar device, which costs almost $800. Both play music and video--but so do many phones that sell for $50. Apple chief Steve Jobs expects to sell 10 million iPhones through next year. Will consumers bite?
