Vertu
Vertu
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 | |
Type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Telecommunications |
| Founded | 1998 |
| Founder | Nokia |
| Headquarters | Church Crookham, Hampshire, England, United Kingdom |
Area served | Worldwide |
| Products | Luxury mobile phones |
Number of employees | 1000 |
| Parent | Baferton Ltd. |
| Website | Vertu.com |
Vertu was a British-based manufacturer and retailer of luxury handmade mobile phones, established by Finnish mobile-phone manufacturer Nokia in 1998. In October 2012, Nokia sold Vertu to private equity group EQT VI for an unspecified amount,[1][2] but retained a 10% share.[3] By the end of 2013, the company had around 350,000 customers, and phones were on sale in 500 retail outlets, including 70 run by the company.[4] In 2015, it was announced that EQT had sold its share of Vertu to Godin Holdings, a Hong Kong-based holding company.[5][6] In 2017, the company collapsed after plans to save it failed and went out of business in early July 2017, leaving its residual staff of 200 unpaid and unemployed.[7] After going bankrupt, Godin Holdings in 2017 sold to Baferton Ltd. a Cyprus-based Turkish company.
Contents
1 Concept
2 Collection
3 Criticism
4 See also
5 References
6 External links
Concept[edit]
According to The Economist, the concept was to market phones explicitly as fashion accessories, with the idea "if you can spend $20,000 on a watch, why not on a mobile phone?"[8] Vertu is the brainchild of the Italian Frank Nuovo, former chief designer at Nokia.[9] He proposed and presented the luxury concept to Nokia's board, who eventually accepted it in late 1998. At the time Nokia released their first luxury phone, the 8850.[10] The resulting products called "Vertu" were finally announced in Paris in 2002, and part of a separate subsidiary called Vertu owned by Nokia.[11][12]
Vertu phones, or "'mobile communications instruments"[13] were made in its factories in Church Crookham, Hampshire, England. Handsets were sold through an emphasis on craftsmanship, style and service, rather than mobile phone functions.[8] The business was based in the United Kingdom with offices in New York City, Dubai, Moscow, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Paris and Singapore. In November 2015, Massimiliano Pogliani was replaced by Billy Crotty as Vertu's CEO, who in turn was replaced by Gordon Watson three months later.[14][15]
Collection[edit]
Vertu was launched on 21 January 2002 and the first collection available later that year.[16] The flagship model "Signature" was launched in 2003. Its key pad contains nearly 5 carats of ruby bearings. Other models include Ascent (2004), Constellation Classic (2006), Constellation Ayxta (2009), among others. Ascent phones are designed to be lightweight and durable, made of aluminium or titanium with vulcanised rubber and leather. The Classics are simple and small handsets. Ayxtas are flip phones that come in numerous variants and colours. In 2006, Vertu produced and released the Aerius Bluetooth Headset designed by Jacob Jensen Design.
Vertu Aerius Bluetooth Headset, released 2006
A Vertu Signature phone in stainless steel, released 2003
A Vertu Constellation Ayxta on display, released 2009
Old Bond Street boutique, London
Shop in Ginza, Japan in 2009
The Constellation Quest is the first smartphone by Vertu, equipped with a full QWERTY keyboard made from sapphire sculpted keys. Announced in October 2010, it is similarly styled to the Nokia E72 and runs the Symbian S60 operating system. It was priced from £5,000 (stainless steel and leather) to £17,300 (yellow gold).[17] This was followed by Constellation in October 2011, the company's first touchscreen model.[18] In February 2013, the Vertu Ti was the first Vertu handset after Nokia's sale, and uses the Android mobile operating system instead of Symbian. This was followed in June 2014, by Signature Touch.[19] The Signature Touch's price ranged from $10,300/€7,900 for the base model to over $50,000/€44,000 for the Pure Jet Red Gold.[7]
Vertu also made limited edition handsets in collaboration with Ferrari,[20] and Bentley.[21]
Previously the 2017 version of the Vertu constellation was the last Vertu handset before the company collapsed in 2017.[7] Vertu has since emerged from bankruptcy and introduced the Aster P smartphone in October 2018 at an event in Beijing.[22]
Criticism[edit]
Vertu phones have been described as "tasteless trash" by Wired magazine,[23] and "technologically modest" by the Financial Times.[24] They are often described as bling.
See also[edit]
- Goldvish
- Gresso
- Bellperre International
References[edit]
^ "EQT's Current Portfolio – Vertu". Retrieved 7 October 2012..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
^ "Vertu: it makes sense for Nokia to sell us". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ "Nokia will retain 10% share in Vertu". Retrieved 15 June 2012.
^ "Vertu chooses Android over Windows for luxury handset". BBC News. 11 February 2013. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ "Controversy surrounds $61 million deal for luxury smartphone maker Vertu". digitaltrends.com. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^ "Luxury British phone maker Vertu sold to Chinese investors as CEO steps down". International Business Times. 3 November 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.,
^ abc Baraniuk, Chris (13 July 2017). "Luxury phone-maker Vertu collapses". BBC News. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
^ ab "The origins of Vertu". The Economist. 20 February 2003. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/business/18proto.html
^ https://www.itweb.co.za/content/j5alrMQlyep7pYQk
^ https://www.forbes.com/2002/01/29/0129tentech.html#71eae3613a59
^ https://www.economist.com/business/2003/02/20/the-origins-of-vertu
^ Jonathan Margolis (5 December 2008). "Bling bling! The £1m mobile, hand-crafted in solid gold and encrusted with jewels – just don't leave it on the train..." Daily Mail. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ Richard Lai. "Chinese-owned Vertu vows to keep making luxury phones in the UK". Engadget. AOL.
^ "Vertu's sudden CEO swap spells trouble after Chinese buyout". Engadget. 9 February 2016. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
^ "Vertu Launches the World's Most Exclusive Instrument for Personal Communication - Nokia". Nokia. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^ "Vertu Constellation Quest: The blingtastic £17,300 smart phone". cnet.com. 14 October 2010. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^ "Vertu Launch Party: Hollywood Stars Try Out the New Constellation". 19 October 2011. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ "Vertu's Signature Touch combines top tech with a concierge". Wired UK.
^ "Vertu, Ferrari Team Up for Titanium Phone"[permanent dead link],
^ "Want to really impress at the boat club? Get a Bentley premium smartphone made by Vertu". yahoo.com. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
^ https://www.theverge.com/circuitbreaker/2018/10/19/18000488/vertu-aster-p-baroque-gothic-smartphone-luxury-titanium-leather-price
^ Rob Beschizza (19 March 2008). "Eight Things We Pretend to Care About, But Don't". Gadget Lab. Retrieved 28 April 2013.
^ "Nokia prepares to lose its bling tone". Financial Times.
External links[edit]
- Official website
Categories:
- Companies based in Hampshire
- Electronics companies of the United Kingdom
- Mobile phone manufacturers
- Nokia mobile phones
- Hart District
- British brands
- Luxury brands
- Manufacturing companies of England
- Manufacturing companies established in 1998
- Retail companies established in 1998
- Shops in New York City
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