Bonkers phone brand returns with $41k blockchain handset • The Register

Vertu, the flashy luxury phone brand that began as a brainchild of Nokia, has launched METAVERTU, “the world’s first Web3 phone.”

The device, which supposedly integrates smart terminals, cryptomining nodes, separate OSes for NFTs and blockchain, advanced services and every other buzzword you can think of in one phone, comes with prices ranging from a basic version of $3,300 to a Himalayan Alligator Leather version covered with 18k gold and diamonds at $41,500.

Metavertu Himalaya Alligator Leather 18K gold and diamonds

For the record, an iPhone 14 Pro and a Galaxy S22+ both cost around $1,000 each.

“We define METAVERTU as a phone, a power bank, a 10T hard drive, a dual system machine, a lightweight node, an NFT passport holder, a privacy guard.” the company said.

The Vertu brand began as a thought exercise about what if a phone was a luxury status symbol in the same way as a bag, sunglasses or a car. It only took the brand as far as it bounced around from parent company to parent company, eventually going into voluntary liquidation under the guidance of Cyprus-based Turkish company Baferton Ltd. The company now appears to be revived under Chengdu VERTU Business Management Co. . Ltd.

The new METAVERTU brand takes the nature of the original Vertu product and takes it one step further – to simulate an environment where the wearer feels familiar with an unrecognizable, yet high fashion world just around the corner.

As stated in the company’s press release:

Reg can only assume they are referring to Apple’s iPhone and this video:

Youtube video

The phone’s appeal, beyond eye-popping opulence, may be for those looking to trade and mine crypto, particularly Ethereum, while turning snapshots of potted plants or party selfies into NFT “art.”

With one click, you can switch between Web2.0 and Web3.0 functions, Vertu said.

The company issued guidance on how to go about both create crypto wallets and turn images into NFTsbut be warned, the marketing budget seemed to have been used up by the “tickling video.”

As for the stuff inside, it runs on a Qualcomm Snapdragon 8Gen1 4nm 5G chip, and an A5 “privacy chip.”

It’s a version with 18GB RAM + 1TB ROM + 10T IPFS storage, so no one has to delete the videos they took on the weekend private jet trip to the Maldives too early.

The phone has a 64 MP sensor with optical image stabilization, a secondary ultra-wide camera operating at 50 MP, and a third 8 MP periscope. Of course there is a selfie camera too, 16MP.

The 6.67-inch AMOLED waterfall 72.5° curved screen has a 2400 x 1080 resolution and refreshes at 144Hz. The whole thing is 161.9 x 73.2 x 9.85mm. For comparison, the iPhone 14 is 146.7 x 71.5 x 7.8 mm.

The 4600mAh battery takes just 20 minutes to charge up to 90 percent over 55W wired charging, and there’s 15W wireless charging for topping up.

As for infosec, the company promises point-to-point encrypted communication using VTalk so one can “leave your secrets here.”

Users also get VPASS, a service for crypto-related alerts, or as Vertu puts it, a “multi-chain real-time data analysis and automated execution tool service for web3 users, which allows them to identify new opportunities in the market, take action, make informed trading decisions and achieve freedom one step ahead.”

There is also “comprehensive asset protection” for crypto wallets, but exactly how this works remains a mystery. We have asked the company for details about the security and an overview of the business. ®