Another gadget that promises to change your life? We've heard that before. Except in the case of the Vertu's new Constellation handset it's closer to the truth than you might imagine.
Yes, on the face of it, it's still a phone in the conventional sense. Although as you'd expect from luxury handset makers Vertu, it's still a long way from conventional.
There's the 3.5inch HD screen (in sapphire crystal no less); the choice of red gold or alligator finish; the ceramic pillow (otherwise known as an earpiece) shaped for easy listening; the blemish free leather on the battery case; the 8-megapixel camera with dual LED flash; a range of ringtones composed exclusively for Vertu and performed by The London Symphony Orchestra. You get the idea. In the mobile phone style stakes, it's going to be a hard one to rival.
But the Nokia-owned brand's first foray into the world of touch-screen, has another draw that puts it into a category all on its own and helps explain that pricetag. Each handset is itself a passport to a 24 hour global concierge service.
What this means in practice is, well, whatever you want it to mean. On one level, owners can use the Vertu team to access impossible to get tickets or resataurant tables, use the personal sommelier service to access the expertise of wine merchant Berry Bros & Rudd, or gain access to private members' clubs in cities all over the world. Regular services like City Brief and Vertu Select also provide a digest of personalised information and insider recommendations.
What else you use it for is limited only by your imagination. From sourcing Arabian horses for a late-notice endurance race, to stocking a lake with extra fish so his party would be certain of a good catch (yes, it happened), the Constellation is the only lifestyle fixer you'll ever need. It's a phone, yes, but not as we know it.
From £3,830, vertu.com
The Vertu Constellation launch party is on Thursday 24th November from 7.30pm at the Farlow Building, St Johns Street, London EC1. We have two pairs of tickets for the event to give away. For your chance to be there email events@esquire.co.uk by Monday 14 November 2011, putting 'Vertu' in the subject head.
