TMCnet Feature

Nokia’s (News - Alert) luxury device brand, Vertu is heading for the chopping block. Nokia is looking to sell Vertu to help overhaul its business to complete with other smartphone makers.

Vertu (a UK company), who started in 1998 and has more than 90 retailers around the world and have made some of the most expensive mobile devices in the worldwide Some featuring sapphire crystal keys and gold accents that would put consumers back a couple of thousand dollars or more.

One feature that had people talking was the “Concierge” button. If pressed, it would call a global lifestyle assistance service providing priority books, recommendations, and other services.

Vertu was more about the bling than the technology, coming out with their first touch screen phone last month called, The Constellation.

The selling of Vertu comes as no surprise after reports of factories closing. In September, the company announced it was laying off 3,500 employees, looking to continue the layoffs until the end of the year most likely eliminating around 7,000 employees.

No buyer has been mentioned in the early stages of the sale nothing that the revenue of Vertu is unknown at this time, but is estimated at around 200-300 million Euros.

Nokia spokesman James Etheridge told AFP there is nothing more he could say about the sale. “We cannot comment on those reports,” said Etheridge. However, Nokia has appointed Goldman Sachs to supervise the sale and private business groups showing interested in purchasing Vertu.

Vertu does have one thing going for it – it’s loyal customer base. Users among the super-rich of Russia, Asia, and the Middle East have made this brand extremely popular, which may make those markets interested in the sale.

In the meantime, Nokia is busy trying to gain some ground by pushing Window-based smartphones. Nokia released the Lumia 710 and 800 back in October for as low as $373.

Neil Mawston from Strategy Analytics (News - Alert) told USA Today the price sets this phone apart from other devices. “Lumia is reasonably good… it’s not an iPhone killer or a Samsung (News - Alert) killer, but where Nokia does stand out is their price – it looks like they are going to be very competitive,” said Mawston.