1. HTC One Gold Edition
Apple’s gold-coloured iPhone 5s might have sparked a gold rush in the smartphone industry. Both Samsung and HTC announced gold-coloured variants of flagships Galaxy S5 and One (M8) this year. But HTC was first to take the newfound gold obsession quite literally, making the “most expensive HTC phone ever created” – HTC One (M7) Gold Edition. We’re not surprised to know that only five of these made-in-gold phones were created – each valued at £2,750 each.
2. Stuart Hughes iPhone 5 Black Diamond
If there ever was a star-studded product, it probably would be the Stuart Hughes iPhone 5 Black Diamond. Thanks to real diamonds and ample Photoshopping, the phone looks like a school student’s astronomy project. Priced at £10,000,000, we’re not quite sure if anyone who plans to use the phone would buy it. Constantly looking at the phone will prove to be a tough task, thanks to several shiny diamonds.
3. Tonino Lamborghini Antares
Italian car maker Lamborghini’s owners also dabble in luxury goods, such as the phone in the image above. Priced at £2,500 each, this phone is probably the best looking among the ones listed thus far. That is if you ignore the gold variant, whose looks can be described as the opposite of beautiful. Assuming you ever buy this phone, Lamborghini also sells a range of not-so-beautiful leather cases to compensate for the phone’s good looks.
4. Tag Heuer Link
When it was launched in 2011, Tag Heuer Link was actually a pretty good Android smartphone. Its sealed body is water-tight and shock-resistant. If you like rugged smartphones, you might even have considered shelling out $6,700 to buy one. However, luxury smartphones age like their cheaper counterparts. The phone runs Android 2.2 Froyo, and looks more like a PDA (remember those) than a smartphone.
5. Dior Reverie
So why does Dior’s Reverie phone cost £78,000? Apparently because each unit is hand-assembled in France, “intricately embellished in 18-carat white gold, 1,539 diamonds and 46 pieces of iridescent mother-of-pearl”. Seriously, if you really had that much money, wouldn’t you be better served by buying all that jewellery minus the phone? This phone comes with a full touch screen and a five megapixel camera. You could buy that separately if you had the money.
6. BlackBerry Porsche Design P9981
If this phone is anything to go by, we’re happy that Porsche doesn’t make phones. The iconic luxury car maker’s touch hasn’t added to this phone’s looks at all. In fact, the P9981 looks like a phone that got the worst of both worlds – the bulk (and price) of a car and software from a bygone era. To top it all, BlackBerry’s product listing refers to the BB7 OS on this phone as the “next-generation BlackBerry OS”. We’re still wondering if anyone really believes that to be true. The price? £1, 408.
7. Vertu Constellation
Luxury handset maker Vertu’s Constellation smartphone costs €4,900. features a 4.3-inch HD display with 342ppi pixel density which is protected by a 5.1-inch piece of sapphire crystal which the company claims can only be scratched by a diamond. Luxury components aside, the phone also has a case made of calf leather, which is available in five colours and is far from good-looking.
8. Ulysse Nardin Chairman
Phones with the old numeric keypad went out of fashion a long time ago. Yet Ulysse Nardin has managed to make a good-looking retro phone with one. The Chairman is not unique for its keypad, but for its passive recharging system. The phone has a kinetic rotor system that can recharge the phone’s battery (similar to the technology used in some watches). For that cool technology and lots of diamonds of course, you might have to shell out anywhere between $12,800 and $49,500.
9. Savelli Jardin-Secret White Ice
Savelli’s Jardin-Secret series consists of 11 luxury phones, all of which have been hand-crafted and run Android. With each of these phones, Savelli says users get an exclusive UI design and sounds created by professional photographers and DJs. White Ice is a variant targeted at women, and comes with 18-carat rose gold and white alligator skin. While animal lovers may frown at this phone, those who want to buy phones from this series will have to shell out $10,000 to $12,000.
10. Mobiado Grand 350 Pioneer
As far as luxury phones go, Mobiado Pioneer probably has the coolest reason for its astronomical cost (€8,600). The company says the phone is a tribute to the Pioneer 10 satellite probe – the first man-made object to go past the asteroid belt beyond the planet Mars. In a fitting tribute, this phone has a back cover that’s made of an actual meteorite. Our palms are itching for first impressions.
Source: NDTV
