Yes please. I'll take the red one.
Apr 5, 2006, 5:53 pm
#31
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Originally Posted by Diabo
The B&O analogy fails. A B&O has cutting edge technology inside. It outperforms Sony and Philips on more than looks alone.
A lot of effort has been made to make specific components of the Vertu line of much higher standards than a normal phone. The audio and keypad components are much better than a normal phone for example. Does this make it worth $6000? Not really, but that is the price they ask, and the price many people are willing to pay.
Apr 5, 2006, 8:18 pm
#32
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Originally Posted by Diabo
Six days is reasonable, but no more than that. And definitely not 'extremely long' as someone posted before.
But the battery life to weight ratio of the Vertu is not good at all. My 3-year old cheapo phone weighs half of a Vertu and keeps running for 8 days. Longer if I'm abroad and don't use it that much.
Which is the reason I didn't bother to replace it with a newer model; to get the same battery life as my old phone I'd have to settle for a bigger, heavier phone or downgrade to a b/w display. Nokia et al. simply ignore the market for tri- and quadband lightweight compact phones that you can take on a trip without taking the battery charger with you. A bad phone with a bad camera sells better than a good phone without a camera.
The B&O analogy fails. A B&O has cutting edge technology inside. It outperforms Sony and Philips on more than looks alone.
With the current specs, a Vertu is like a flight on a Concorde at the speed of a 767. The looks, leather seats, lobster, and champagne are nice, but if it doesn't go faster than 900 km/h it won't make up for the substandard seat pitch.
At 6000 pounds and up, the Vertu is aimed at those who want it all. That takes state of the art technology and the best battery available in addition to the shiny metal cover.
But the battery life to weight ratio of the Vertu is not good at all. My 3-year old cheapo phone weighs half of a Vertu and keeps running for 8 days. Longer if I'm abroad and don't use it that much.
Which is the reason I didn't bother to replace it with a newer model; to get the same battery life as my old phone I'd have to settle for a bigger, heavier phone or downgrade to a b/w display. Nokia et al. simply ignore the market for tri- and quadband lightweight compact phones that you can take on a trip without taking the battery charger with you. A bad phone with a bad camera sells better than a good phone without a camera.
The B&O analogy fails. A B&O has cutting edge technology inside. It outperforms Sony and Philips on more than looks alone.
With the current specs, a Vertu is like a flight on a Concorde at the speed of a 767. The looks, leather seats, lobster, and champagne are nice, but if it doesn't go faster than 900 km/h it won't make up for the substandard seat pitch.
At 6000 pounds and up, the Vertu is aimed at those who want it all. That takes state of the art technology and the best battery available in addition to the shiny metal cover.
B&O is an upscale Bose in a designer wrapper. Their top end speakers are quite good but MUCH better can be had for the $15,000 (one example of which I have, namely the B&W 801D). Their TVs were rebadged Loewe units, their plasmas rebadged Panasonic panels. For this pleasure, you pay 3x the price. Their audio equipment is beautifully designed and intuitive to operate, but it's NOTHING about high technology. B&O's last major innovation was HX Pro for cassettes, which Dolby licensed. Since then, it's all been pretty, and pretty mediocre sounding.
As for the battery life, six days with heavy usage (120 minutes per day or more) is extremely long to me. My current phone, a Samsung T809, makes it through two if I'm lucky. My Nokia 6230 only made it four. NONE of them had the audio quality of the Vertu. As for the B&W display, Vertu upgraded that within my first 6 months of ownership to a full color display. You see, the nice thing about that phone is that it's UPGRADEABLE and they'll take care of it for you. You needn't buy a new one. Bluetooth? No problem, send it in and pay for the upgrade (the color screen was free, I believe Bluetooth is $500 for the Signature, new ones come with it.).
The Vertu is for people who like the image and for those that appreciate quality. NO other phone is made as well and feels as good when you use it. It's like a fine watch, there's a tactile pleasure in using it. It's akin to choosing between a Ford Mondeo and a BMW 318. Both are about equally rapid, both are about the same size, yet the BMW feels infinitely better in both build quality and drive.
Apr 6, 2006, 3:36 pm
#34
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Originally Posted by kanebear
I'm willing to bet you don't own any B&O componentry either. I did until I realized how much better real equipment performs. B&O isn't priced like Sony and Philips so that's not a fair comparison. Were Sony making an ES line that was high quality still, that'd be a valid comparison. Philips makes nothing of the sort.
B&O is an upscale Bose in a designer wrapper. Their top end speakers are quite good but MUCH better can be had for the $15,000 (one example of which I have, namely the B&W 801D). Their TVs were rebadged Loewe units, their plasmas rebadged Panasonic panels. For this pleasure, you pay 3x the price. Their audio equipment is beautifully designed and intuitive to operate, but it's NOTHING about high technology. B&O's last major innovation was HX Pro for cassettes, which Dolby licensed. Since then, it's all been pretty, and pretty mediocre sounding.
As for the battery life, six days with heavy usage (120 minutes per day or more) is extremely long to me. My current phone, a Samsung T809, makes it through two if I'm lucky. My Nokia 6230 only made it four. NONE of them had the audio quality of the Vertu. As for the B&W display, Vertu upgraded that within my first 6 months of ownership to a full color display. You see, the nice thing about that phone is that it's UPGRADEABLE and they'll take care of it for you. You needn't buy a new one. Bluetooth? No problem, send it in and pay for the upgrade (the color screen was free, I believe Bluetooth is $500 for the Signature, new ones come with it.).
The Vertu is for people who like the image and for those that appreciate quality. NO other phone is made as well and feels as good when you use it. It's like a fine watch, there's a tactile pleasure in using it. It's akin to choosing between a Ford Mondeo and a BMW 318. Both are about equally rapid, both are about the same size, yet the BMW feels infinitely better in both build quality and drive.
B&O is an upscale Bose in a designer wrapper. Their top end speakers are quite good but MUCH better can be had for the $15,000 (one example of which I have, namely the B&W 801D). Their TVs were rebadged Loewe units, their plasmas rebadged Panasonic panels. For this pleasure, you pay 3x the price. Their audio equipment is beautifully designed and intuitive to operate, but it's NOTHING about high technology. B&O's last major innovation was HX Pro for cassettes, which Dolby licensed. Since then, it's all been pretty, and pretty mediocre sounding.
As for the battery life, six days with heavy usage (120 minutes per day or more) is extremely long to me. My current phone, a Samsung T809, makes it through two if I'm lucky. My Nokia 6230 only made it four. NONE of them had the audio quality of the Vertu. As for the B&W display, Vertu upgraded that within my first 6 months of ownership to a full color display. You see, the nice thing about that phone is that it's UPGRADEABLE and they'll take care of it for you. You needn't buy a new one. Bluetooth? No problem, send it in and pay for the upgrade (the color screen was free, I believe Bluetooth is $500 for the Signature, new ones come with it.).
The Vertu is for people who like the image and for those that appreciate quality. NO other phone is made as well and feels as good when you use it. It's like a fine watch, there's a tactile pleasure in using it. It's akin to choosing between a Ford Mondeo and a BMW 318. Both are about equally rapid, both are about the same size, yet the BMW feels infinitely better in both build quality and drive.
Apr 6, 2006, 4:01 pm
#35
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Originally Posted by Diabo
A B&O has cutting edge technology inside. It outperforms Sony and Philips on more than looks alone.
OK, it outperforms Sony and Phillips. That's like saying my new $40K car outperforms Camry's and Accord's. Much like these phones, it's about flash, bling, image, and exclusivity.
A friend has a B&O setup - wave your hand in front and the glass doors open. Cool. Lots of glass and chrome. Cool. CD's play vertically against the wall. Cool. Sound? Junk. My Krell/Martin Logan setup sound twice as good at half the price - and it's 8 years old.
I guess I'm not the target demographic. There are plenty of Ferrarri-driving, fashionistas at the F1 races I attend - I'm betting they all have a Monza version in their hands next time.
Apr 6, 2006, 4:05 pm
#36
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Originally Posted by CPRich
Surely you jest.
OK, it outperforms Sony and Phillips. That's like saying my new $40K car outperforms Camry's and Accord's. Much like these phones, it's about flash, bling, image, and exclusivity.
A friend has a B&O setup - wave your hand in front and the glass doors open. Cool. Lots of glass and chrome. Cool. CD's play vertically against the wall. Cool. Sound? Junk. My Krell/Martin Logan setup sound twice as good at half the price - and it's 8 years old.
I guess I'm not the target demographic. There are plenty of Ferrarri-driving, fashionistas at the F1 races I attend - I'm betting they all have a Monza version in their hands next time.
OK, it outperforms Sony and Phillips. That's like saying my new $40K car outperforms Camry's and Accord's. Much like these phones, it's about flash, bling, image, and exclusivity.
A friend has a B&O setup - wave your hand in front and the glass doors open. Cool. Lots of glass and chrome. Cool. CD's play vertically against the wall. Cool. Sound? Junk. My Krell/Martin Logan setup sound twice as good at half the price - and it's 8 years old.
I guess I'm not the target demographic. There are plenty of Ferrarri-driving, fashionistas at the F1 races I attend - I'm betting they all have a Monza version in their hands next time.
Apr 8, 2006, 8:59 am
#37
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Originally Posted by Diabo
270 hours of advertized standby is not good at all. Since you seem to have used the phone, why don't you tell us the standby time and talktime in real-world conditions?
Apr 8, 2006, 9:04 am
#38
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Originally Posted by Diabo
With the current specs, a Vertu is like a flight on a Concorde at the speed of a 767. The looks, leather seats, lobster, and champagne are nice, but if it doesn't go faster than 900 km/h it won't make up for the substandard seat pitch.
At 6000 pounds and up, the Vertu is aimed at those who want it all. That takes state of the art technology and the best battery available in addition to the shiny metal cover.
At 6000 pounds and up, the Vertu is aimed at those who want it all. That takes state of the art technology and the best battery available in addition to the shiny metal cover.
Second, as ScottC said, Vertus don't have many features. But they are very well made. Not at all like a Toyota Camry repackaged as Lexus ES. Excellent sound quality, excellent build. The only problem I see on them is the inconsistent leather stitch on the Ascent.
If you are looking for a phone with endless features, definitely vertu.com is a wrong place to look at.
Apr 8, 2006, 9:59 am
#40
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Originally Posted by Jimmie76
I always thought the build quality of B&O stuff was very good, as they test their equipment almost to destruction, in the most extreme conditions to check that it still works during and after. If you want to watch TV in a freezer then buy a B&O, I've seen a video of somone doing just that, and the temperature was well below freezing. I think that's available on the net somewhere. Unsure if all the components are theirs or buy ins.
As with anything else, it's all about your end goals and what you want to achieve. Lots of people couldn't give a toss what something sounds like. They want it to make background noise and look pretty. They want it for the wow factor. Others couldn't care less about looks, they want the sound (I'm in that camp much to my wife's dismay). B&O is squarely in the former camp. I'm all for aesthetics, but never at the expense of performance.