The Most Expensive Phones of 2006

by Anton Friant (RSS feed)
Dec 11th 2006 at 8:09AM

The list of the five most expensive phones of 2006! Erm, that is, the phones we've written about. So get out those check cards and make someone really happy this holiday season!

5. The world's first luxury phone company launched in 2002, the London-based subsidiary of Nokia called Vertu, and we loved what they've been doing. Not only do its phones boast superior electronics, but the shells aren't too shabby either. They say the reception is "as clear as a Mozart symphony," and they phones' near-indestructibility comes from metals like titanium and aluminum and precious stones like sapphire and ruby. These celeb-magnets run from about $10-$20K.

4. Perhaps the most futuristic design this year came from Jaren Goh called the Black Diamond. Originally designed for Sony Erickson, only five of these will be made by the Swiss company VIPN and feature a diamond pressed into the back of the handset. It runs on Windows Mobile 5.0, boasts a 400Mhz Intel Xscale CPU, 4-MP digital camera, touch screen, SIP technology for VOIP, 2.0″ 256K TFT screen and IEEE 802.11g WiFi support. Price: $300,000 (but you can grab its "White Pearl" counterpart for $1500).

3. OK, so we're gonna revisit those sweet, sweet Vertu phones again (we sort of think they're cool). This time they've added a small bit of gaudiness to the otherwise dripping-with-condensed-class phones; diamond and precious-stone snakes adorn the case of the handset and every line -- down to the letters in the keypad -- is diamond cut. The designs are said to be inspired by the 19th century Parisian jeweler Frederic Boucheron, in cobra (left) and python (right), and go for $350,000.

2. On to the million-dollar babies! This first six figure-er comes from the Swiss company GoldVish and designer Emmanuel Gueit. Its price tag comes courtesy of 120 carats worth of VVS-1 grade diamonds and all the new fangled tech junk you can think of – except, it seems, WiFi. Apparently a million bucks doesn't buy what it used to. Visit the company's site here to see the rest of its beauties.

1. And the winner is ... (crowd cheering goes here, or, erm, you sort of coarsely breathing into your hands) ... The Great Peter Aloisson! We've loved his crazy blingification skills for a while now, and his $1.3 million Diamond Crypto Smartphone tops our list of 2006's most expensive phones. The case is entirely made of solid platinum (except the logo and the navigation key, which are 18 carat rose gold). The wood you see on the side there is Madagascar Ebony and each of the 25 carats worth of blue and white diamonds' quality is "G – vvs1" or better. Pretty sweet there Peter. The tech notes' highlights include Windows CE running on a 266 MHz Motorola processor, MS Office, MP3 player and quad-band, all behind a 2.2" TFT touchscreen, Pretty sweet there crazy Russian company.

Tags: 2006, aloisson, diamond, goldvish, jaren goh, phone, vertu

Filed under: Gadgets

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Reader Comments (Page 4 of 4)

coley Dec 14th 2006 4:42PM

Lets go back to the 30's and the depression people (no I am not a historian). The economy was down and not many people were employed. ( A.K.A. huge unemployment rate.) They would have advertisements like buy this car give someone 3 months of work. How bout this Buy this phone and let me never work again!!! yipeee!!! so for the of you buying the phone these workers really appreciate you tripleing their life savings. : )

Mrs.Conwell of the Conwell Empire Dec 14th 2006 4:39PM

Paris Hilton wouldn't,probably couldn't buy the 1.3Mil phone. These are for Oprah, Gates, Cosby or some oil tycoon in the Middle East! These aren't for the spoiled rich kids in Bev Hills!! You people aren't thinking, speaking of IQ's!!! If you'd use some logic, the people buying these phones have sooo much money, I'm sure they are doing all the things YOU want them to do. Such as- paid off their HOMES,paid for college educations,their children and ,surely,set up scholarships. Heck, they propably donate YOUR yearly salary on a monthly basis to AFRICA and other less fortunate people of the world. These people probably contribute more to the world than you can even understand. So, get a life and donate your loose change to someone before you bacome a hypocrite!!!

Mrs.Conwell of the Conwell Empire Dec 14th 2006 4:56PM

elena Dec 14th 2006 5:13PM

Yes, I have it and love it! Do you see The Red Square screen? It was smart advertisement! My friend in Moscow also got it as a gift for Christmas! Wonderful gift idea!
From Russia with Love

Ariel Dec 15th 2006 2:04AM

Who the intercourse would need or want a blinged-out cell phone? They aren't even fitted with James Bond-like laser guns to vanquish potential phone thieves.

Sasha Dec 14th 2006 6:52PM

Ok, I'm looking for a new diamond covered razr to take on my vacaction for a month to Malibu. My husband says the most money I can spend on a cell~phone is $2,000,000,000 million. All I'm saying is that I would never spend that much money on one of the phones that made the list! wallabee lover!

alex-miles Dec 14th 2006 7:36PM

are you serious? i thought my phone was expensive. wow you'd think that they would be more cool looking. ill stick to my 800 dollar sidekick

Mrs.Conwell of the Conwell Empire Dec 14th 2006 7:56PM

# 65- KAren Gilbert- you should learn to spell COLLEGE correctly. Collage is when you put a bunch of pix on a board-i.e.- a picture collage, your children, if their IQ is higher than yours, should attend college. Again, it is certain that most of you are economically clueless!! The people who buy these phones are probably contributing to your child's Christmas because you are on welfare! Get a life, J-O-B and COLLEGE education!!!!!

Tammie Dec 14th 2006 8:14PM

I agree totally with the comment about using that kind of money for much bigger and better things: cancer research, AIDS research, charitable organizations, and so on. This is a ridiculous amount of money to pay for ANY phone. My phone was free, it works for what I need it to work for, and it's A LOT nicer looking phone than any of these!

Nick Dec 14th 2006 9:36PM

Hahah,I'd buy it If I had the money.Face it,almost everyone who commented would.
"There are people in this world that are starving to death as we speak. 1 million dollars could buy a lot of food and save alot of lives!"
Yeah,so could any amount of money.How much do you donate to those starving children? If you dont,you shouldnt expect them to either.
You only live once,so why not enjoy it?

PJ Hyde Dec 14th 2006 9:49PM

alrighty then!!!!! IF I had 1.3 MILLION Freakin dollars, would I NEED a cell phone????? I doubt it! and I certainly wouldn't buy one that cost me that kind of money. But hey it's STILL a Free Country, at least for tonight :)

Lisa Everling Dec 14th 2006 10:07PM

Anyone who would pay that kind of money for a cell phone is just plain stupid! Where are people's priorities?

r.jacobs Dec 14th 2006 10:46PM

whip dee do for any of these phones...none of them are worth a damn if you can't get a signal from rinky dink provider verizon...nuff said

nathan Dec 14th 2006 10:54PM

REDICULOUSE!!!! for 1.3 million dolars i could have a recording studio in my back yard. and for that kind of money it beter be doing somthing good if not ill stick with the motorola q

Brandon Dec 15th 2006 12:00AM

OK. I completely agree with everything everyone has said about the sheer ridiculousness of spending any more than a couple hundred dollars on a phone. If someone told me they spent 1.3 million on a cell phone, I'd probably punch them in the face and take it to the nearest pawn shop. By the way, we must be in the presence of greatness or at least stupidity because paulydog apparently has nothing better to spend $1500 or $300,000 on. I don't give a crap how good the reception is, there is a lot better things I can think of to spend that kind of money on.

Dmitry Paradis Dec 15th 2006 5:27PM

I posted earlier (No.2), and now I see how this topic has taken off. I think people are missing the point. Feed the hungry, donate to AIDS - well how cliché. It is not your money, and you shouldn't advise others on how it would be better spent.
My critique was that the phone is very inferior in terms of value for such a tag. The form is outdated, far from elegant, no sign of haut-de-gamme craftsmanship. Peter Aloisson has never impressed me with his feats, and this one is no different.
I can, however, vie for the Signature Duo (#5 on list) and there is nothing stupid about spending the money on it if you can. Stylish, weightpresent, feels great in the hand, scratchproof sapphire crystal, ruby-bearing keys, minimalist menus, manufactured to strictest tolerances. It's the Breguet of cell phones, and those who appreciate the value of it should not be villified.

elizabeth Dec 15th 2006 8:27PM

okay i think that theese phones are flawless but i would never ever buy a phone for more than 5 hundred dollars no no no i would hate to get a 350,000 dollar phone lost or stolen i could never buy a phone forthat much howeverr if i was a trillionaire i would most deffently buy the fourth phone its flawlesssssss

Stephen Mar 13th 2007 7:55AM

A diamond encrusted cell phone.. .yeah baby

Samy Jan 24th 2007 7:16PM

If you felt lkke u need the "bling" then go out and but your self a car or two. You can easily spend that money on a viper or two, but a phone??? stupid

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