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The cellphone is set to reclaim its title as a status symbol when Nokia Corp. launches a platinum handset with a screen made of sapphire and 24-hour concierge service — all for $34,000.

Costing twice as much as a family car, the Vertu mobile phone will go on sale in the middle of this year, available by personal appointment to well-heeled consumers in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Other cellphone companies have created expensive custom phones for select clients, but Nokia is the first to try to launch a line of luxury handsets.

The Finnish company touts the superior display and sound of the phones — also available in 18-karat gold casings — but analysts said there's little reason to believe that the reception on a Vertu phone will be measurably better than that of a proletarian model.

What the phone will deliver, however, is snob appeal, said Chris Potter, research associate at Convergence Consulting Group Ltd. in Toronto. "It's the same reason you buy a Rolex instead of a Timex."

Cellphones were a status symbol in their infancy in the 1980s. But with wireless penetration topping 80 per cent in some countries, the devices have long since lost their elite allure.

The phone, being marketed by a new subsidiary called Vertu Ltd., will be built using standard Nokia technology, but London-based Vertu will add custom features, such as higher-quality antennae, more sophisticated microphones and, of course, casings made of precious metals or stainless steel. The company said it will commission original compositions for its ring tones.

A Vertu phone also will be equipped with a button that will link a caller to a 24-hour concierge service, where operators will be able to supply information on travel and entertainment, as well as give assistance in major cities in the United States, Europe and Asia.

With files from Reuters

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