Vertu, a maker of luxurious cell phones that used to be a wholly-owned subsidiary of Nokia Corp. and now is a private company, this week introduced its first smartphones based on Google Android operating system. The new Vertu Ti handsets will utilize dual-core system-on-chips, will feature all the advanced features that Vertu has to offer (e.g. Concierge service) and will be the most expensive Android-based phones available today.

“Vertu Ti is the most rounded product that we have ever designed. The new Android platform and elegant physical presence combined with Vertu's renowned curated benefits and services deliver a unique and exceptional proposition,” said Massimiliano Pogliani, global chief marketing and communications officer at Vertu.

Vertu Ti smartphone is based on Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 1.70GHz processor as well as Google Android 4.0 operating system with unique Vertu-designed interface. The handset is equipped with 3.7” display with 480*800 resolution, 8MP main camera with twin-LED flash, 1.3MP front-facing camera, gyroscope, accelerometer as well as Bang & Olufsen speakers. The cell phone comes with 1GB of LPDDR2 memory as well as 64GB of NAND flash storage. Depending on the model the Vertu Ti will weigh from 180 to 200 grams.

The new smartphone is compatible with quad band GSM 850/900/1800/1900 MHz, WCDMA bands I, II, IV, V, VIII DC-HSPA+, Cat24, 42Mb/s Downlink, Cat6 5.76Mb/s Uplink, Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth v4 and NFC.

While the inside Vertu Ti is a mainstream smartphone with rather decent hardware, the outside is handmade of advanced materials, including titanium, sapphire glass, leather, gold, ceramic and so on. The sapphire crystal renders the screen virtually scratch proof and it is tested to be four times stronger than other smart phones in terms of impact resistance, whereas titanium case is around five times stronger than other smart phones, deforming less than 1mm when a 500NM force is applied. As usually, there will be a number of different models made of various materials that will address different segments of the luxury smartphones market.

The all-new Vertu Ti is the first Android-based smartphone from the company. It is remarkable how Vertu managed to develop a top-notch Google Android-powered handset for demanding customers willing to pay thousands of dollars for premium experience. Vertu’s previous-generation smartphone – Vertu Quest – was powered by Nokia Symbian operating system and it was expected that going forward the luxury handset maker will rely on Microsoft Corp’s Windows Phone OS. By contrast, Vertu decided to stick to Android with custom user interface.

Vertu Ti will cost starting from €7900, or $10600. The more precious materials are used to craft the phone, the more expensive the final handset is.

“Vertu Ti is our most significant product for a decade. Android 4.0 delivers a proven and intuitive environment for users while the design and craftsmanship of the handset remains uniquely Vertu. Vertu has pioneered and led the luxury mobile phone sector since we began in the late 90s and the great depth of our knowledge and experience can be seen in Vertu Ti. There is nothing else like it,” said Perry Oosting, the president and chief exec of Vertu.

Tags: Vertu, Android, Google, Qualcomm, Snapdragon, 28nm, Nokia