The luxury smartphone maker Vertu has snubbed Windows 8 and launched its first Android-operated handset. The Vertu Ti costs 7,900 euros and has a titanium frame and sapphire screen. For that you will not even get a 4G-enabled phone. 

Until last year the company was owned by former rubber boot maker Nokia and specialised in highly priced handsets designed for the Symbian. It seems that Vertu has not followed Nokia to Windows, although it has abandoned Symbian. Chief executive Perry Oosting told the BBC that the company did not think that Windows was established enough as his phones had to be part of an ecosystem integrate with other devices.

Oosting said that Windows phone will have success but it is still a relatively small market share. At the moment it doesn't have the global reach of Android - which is about 60 per cent of the market. Vertu does not see itself as being on the bleeding edge. It is all about relevant technology and craftsmanship because its phones cannot be disposable products. Well not with that price tag.

The company has 326,000 Vertu smartphone owners worldwide after 10 years in the industry. China is its biggest market. Each device is assembled by hand. The name and signature of the person who assembled the phone is laser inscribed onto the inside lid of the SIM card holder. The new model is pretty weighty too. The Vertu Ti is 180g while the Samsung Galaxy S3 weighs 118g and the iPhone 5 is 112g.

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