Versace Joins Luxury Phone Brigade

Here we go again – another high-end branded mobile phone. Upscale brands are flooding the wireless market, with the likes of Lamborghini, Porsche, Prada, and Puma getting in on the action. The latest luxury entry: the "Versace Unique," which you can check out in all its jewel-toned glory here.

Versace breathlessly proclaims that the Unique (we'd love to hear the pitch for that name) is "the first luxury touchscreen and full-featured multimedia creation that will be sold through the most important exclusive watch and fine jewelry networks and Versace flagship boutiques worldwide."

Naturally, it's "crafted from the finest materials, assembled in France and built to the uncompromising standards of all the Versace products." Accept no substitutes!

Indeed, the phone represents nothing if not luxurious excess, with its face made of "pure high-tech ceramic or handmade lacquers delicately framed with an 18K yellow gold finish or 316L grade stainless steel inlay. The back is wrapped in the finest handcrafted leather, embossed with the Medusa head. The Versace Unique sapphire crystal screen is the largest single piece of this high-tech material ever produced for consumers."

Okay, we get it. This is a one-of-a-kind mobile phone. It's meticulously crafted. It's highly designed. It will be pricey, although pricing has yet to be announced (one guesstimate puts it in the $1,000-plus range). Just like all the other "unique" luxury phones out there.

Nobody will buy it for the tech features—3G, email, Dolby Mobile surround sound, media player, and 5MP camera with flash—which aren't exactly game-changers. Instead, the Versace Unique is not for gadget geeks, but it's undoubtedly a great status symbol for anyone with money to burn.