14 DAY TRIAL // Vertu is trying to adapt to a market that changes every month, where customers tend to favor specs over looks and feel. The result seems to be the new Aster collection, which seems to deliver quite a punch when it comes to specs, and for a lower price than a Vertu customer would have expected.
The Aster is a smartphone powered by Android 4.4 KitKat operating system and is made of some of the most expensive materials that can be used to manufacture a mobile phone.
The base price for the Vertu Aster starts at $6,900 (€5,460 / £4,255) outright, but it can reach up to $9,100 (€7,200 / £5,610). The “cheaper” version features natural grain calf leather “sourced from the Alpine region of Europe and crafted by one of the area’s oldest tanneries.”
In addition, the sides of the smartphone are made of polished and brushed Grade 5 titanium. If you want more proof that Vertu’s manufacturing process is unique, here is what the company has to say about the Aster:
“Incomparably elegant yet beautifully understated, every Vertu Aster is the work of a single master craftsman. At our workshop in leafy Church Crookham, England, they apply their considerable skill to encase Aster’s cutting-edge technologies in hand-polished titanium and beautifully supple natural leather, with a virtually scratch-proof solid sapphire crystal screen.”
Now that we know what materials Vertu uses for the Aster, let’s see what’s inside of the luxury phone. First of all, Vertu confirmed the Aster sports a 4.7-inch capacitive touchscreen display that supports full HD (1080p) resolution and 473ppi (pixel per density). The phone’s screen is protected by sapphire crystal.
On the back, the Aster is equipped with a 13-megapxiel camera that features dual-LED flash, autofocus and full HD (1080p) video recording. There’s also a secondary 2.1-megapixel camera in the front for video calls and selfies.
With Certainty service you get 24/7 remote access technical support
Vertu Aster is armed with a powerful 2.3GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 801 processor, but there are no details on the amount of RAM. However, Vertu confirms the luxury phone comes with 64GB of storage, but no additional microSD card slot for memory expansion.
Connectivity-wise, the Aster is an all-rounder. It offers LTE support, along with Wi-Fi, microUSB with USB on-the-go, 3.5mm audio jack, Bluetooth 4.0, GPS with A-GPS and NFC (Near Field Communication).
The smartphone drains energy from a 2275 mAh battery, which is rated by Vertu for up to 15.5 hours of talk time or up to 380 hours of standby time.
Customers who purchase the Vertu Aster will also benefit from the exclusive Concierge service for free for 6 months. Certainty is another service offering Vertu clients 24/7 remote access technical support, 6-month subscription to iPass Wi-Fi, 12-month subscription to Kaspersky antivirus and anti-theft protection, as well as 12-month subscription to Silent Circle encrypted communications services.
