back to article Nokia caters for kings with golden smartphone

Nokia has announced a gold-clad smartphone for spritely spenders, where image is everything and thirst is nothing. The Nokia Oro - essentially the Nokia C7 with a gangster twist - is a phone you'd expect to find in every pimp's pocket. While Nokia has previously offered gold models of mobile phones, namely the Nokia 6700, the …

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  1. Tom7

    One unanswered question...

    What's it weigh?

    1. frank ly
      Happy

      Weigh?

      It doesn't really matter. You put the bluetooth earpiece in, then your PA carries the phone and operates it for you.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    I saw a Gold N8

    as a prize offered by Nokia for the launch of the Loop app. Rather nice it was too. One off so worth a bit more than this one I'd wager.

  3. jsphsmith1985
    WTF?

    What a waste

    If Nokia really wanted to help the world why not create a $10 mobile for the developing world then do what the OLPC fondation did and tell consumers if you donate £100.00 to us we will give you a phone and donate 10 more to people in those countries?

    I'm all for spending YOUR money on things YOU want, I don't want to teach the world to sing or anything; but surely a gold phone is just a little distasteful in the current climate? or is that the poitn? "I'm too rich to care" that sort of thing?

    In any case as a long time Nokia user (2720 flip phone, my life rules) I think they should work on a legacy that doesn't focus on hopeless consumerism and get back to what they do best, insane battery life and Snake!

    1. BristolBachelor Gold badge
      Stop

      Half-baked

      Yeah, what a good idea. Give the developing world mobiles. Never mind that they may not have sufficient food to eat, clean water, or electricity to charge a mobile. It doesn't matter if there is no network, or any networks are too expensive because there are few users, and lots of people have very little disposable income.

      Oh apart from all that, I can (and have) already bought an LG mobile for £3 brand-new, unlocked and complete with charger.

      If you want, I can buy a job-lot and sell them to you for $10 each; you can do what you want with them!

      1. foo_bar_baz
        Thumb Down

        @BristolBachelor

        Pull up your pants, your paternalistic attitudes are showing. Who are you to decide what they spend their money on in the poorer countries, don't you think they are able to prioritize their spending?

        Mobile phones are extremely popular in developing countries, and assist in not just personal communication but in development itself via mobile banking, information services etc.

        http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6339671.stm

        http://www.conversationsforabetterworld.com/2010/05/the-importance-of-the-mobile-phone-to-developing-countries/

        http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/23/mobile-phones-key-to-deve_n_190809.html

        http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35539966/ns/technology_and_science-wireless/t/cell-phone-use-surging-developing-countries/

        etc.

        This should also give you some perspective when you doom Nokia saying Apple has them beat. How many trendy iPhones are you going to see among the world's poorer people?

    2. karl 15
      Happy

      They Do

      They do, and i have two :)

      Nokia 1800, got it for £10 unlocked (over 3 weeks now and still on first charge)

      and a Vodaphone nokia 340 for £7 locked

      both payg lol

    3. Havin_it
      Megaphone

      "Current climate" - BZZZZT

      Cheers, just got House my Bullshit Bingo card :P

      What does that even mean? There weren't enough shit-poor people around before the rest of us got an infinitesimal bit closer to their level, for this to have been distasteful then?

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Kings don't need titles. They just ARE

    This isn't for a king. Real kings have made it and don't need to show it.

    These are for Del-Boys.

  5. BristolBachelor Gold badge

    Done before

    I remember that Nokia gave customised (painted blue with royal crest in gold) communicators to a king and queen in the past. I think it was the 9110, and I think they may have been Danish, but I can't remember exactly; it was a while ago!

  6. Ian Ferguson

    Scratch-tastic

    Considering how soft gold is, it seems a pretty sub-par material to coat a mobile phone with. Why not titanium or carbon fibre?

    (I'm probably missing the bling factor)

    Also interesting that the cost of a gold-plated Nokia is about the same as a bog-standard new iPhone...

  7. Charles Calthrop

    why

    what is the intended lifespan of this phone? I mean, it might be worth a lot but the rate functionality is evolving, it'll be obsolete in six months. I can just see you trying to brag about this down the corgi and swan and going "look it's made of gold" and getting really annyoed when some pleb goes "yeah, but has it got facebook integration" (or whatever) Surely to spend an obscene amount on a phone you want it to be ostentatious and cutting edge but it just wont be cutting edge soon and then you'll end up hating yourself for how empty you feel when you think about how your phone has betrayed you.

    I suppose the rich won't care about that, they'll just get a new one

  8. NVG76
    FAIL

    jsphsmith1985

    Great Idea.

    and who will supply the poor people with voice and data services???

    Electricity to charge the battery.

  9. David Gosnell

    "joins the likes of Vertu"

    Vertu is part of Nokia, albeit an increasingly autonomous division thereof.

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Were I a king...

    ... or bloody rich like a king or something, I wouldn't simply take a phone and have it all pimped up with bling. I'd ask what I'd *really* want and have it built-up from scratch like that. Some things you just can't trust even the old nokia with; like listening to their users.

    Lucky me, I've listed all the ills and failings I could find in my e52 --and yes, it's a long list-- and thought up a stack of things more I'd like to see a smartphone do. Unlucky me, I'm neither king nor rich like one, so that phone'll never get to exist. Oh well.

    For the rest of you, there's apple. It's neither perfect nor anything but a walled garden, but at least you'll be frolicking and will learn to religiously love his jobsness' way. That's good for something, innit?

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