I get it. Phones are as much a status symbol as what car you drive, purse you carry, or clothes you wear. Maybe even moreso.
Samer Chidiac once said that “Technology makes people equal, it gives them a fair advantage.” But, looking at Vertu’s new line of ‘luxury smartphones’ I can’t help but beg to differ.
I actually came across the phones on complete accident–I only
clicked on the link because the title and snippet talked about a smartphone with a leather case for ‘mid-tier’ price. It reminded me of the Motorola G, which comes with interchangeable backs and I thought, sure. Leather cases are cool and we occasionally write about mid-tier and even some top-tier phones, even if they are a little pricey.
What I don’t write about are phones that cost as much as my car. Which, as it turns out, these phones do.
Vertu’s Aster line is being marketed at ‘mid-range’ but after looking at the prices I couldn’t help but laugh. Someone obviously doesn’t have a good idea of ‘mid-range’ because these devices start at $6,900. That’s the mid-range. High range phones cost upwards of $10,000 — almost as much as my car, and if you drive a used car like I do, then it’s probably about the same or maybe even slightly more than your car.
Of course, with this phone, you don’t just get a phone. You get a concierge service, lifestyle manager (whatever that is), access to private members clubs, VIP packages… the works. It’s almost like getting a glimpse of how rich people live, and I can’t decide if it’s ridiculous or not. Mostly ridiculous. Completely ridiculous. Unless they give me one, and then it’s definitely not.
Regardless, this is me NOT writing about a non-mid-tier super-expensive phone that costs as much as my car. Probably more than my car, actually. No, definitely more than my car.
But, while I’m definitely not drooling over this gorgeous orange leather phone, feel free to take a few minutes and pretend that you’re super rich while you browse through Vertu’s line of phones. They have about six different phone lines, services, cases, and who knows what else. Certainly makes the iPhone look cheap, doesn’t it?]]>
