Luxury Android Phone Maker: Win Phone 8 is 'Too Complex'

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Vertu says Windows Phone 8 was too difficult to work with.

Luxury Android phone maker Vertu, which recently announced a $9,600 to $19,900 smartphone, has said that Microsoft's Windows Phone 8 platform is too complex.

Android handset Vertu Ti was intended to have a Windows Phone 8 counterpart, but plans to make such a device were abandoned due to "the complexity of building for Windows Phone," according to the head of concept and design, Hutch Hutchinson.

Vertu will be using Android "for the foreseeable future," Hutchinson said. Vertu's former parent company was Nokia, which uses Windows Phone for its mobile platform.

Despite its high price tag, the Vertu Ti runs on Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich instead of 4.1 Jelly Bean. Other specifications include a 1.7 GHz dual-core processor, an 8-megapixel camera and NFC.

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48 Comments Comment from the forums
  • dvo
    so they can charge $20k for an average phone because it sparkles a bit, but they cant be bothered to make a WP8 version because its 'too hard'? lol...
    Reply
  • I guess they're just as lazy and spoiled as the people they cater to... #WP8Domination2014
    Reply
  • mrmez
    Not surprising, really.

    The last stats I could find show "Windows phone" with ~2.5% market share, vs. nearly 70% for Android.

    Obvious business decision is obvious.
    Reply
  • Yup, Vertu doesn't have much faith in WP8 platform, so they just say "we are too stupid to make one and would rather earn stupid amounts of money with Android than to risk with WP8"
    Reply
  • esrever
    they can't even learn the latest android...
    Reply
  • sixdegree
    They can just buy the cheapest lumia, make the casing from solid gold, and sold them for $20k.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    A Win 8 phone is like an Android that hasn't been potty trained. When you try using it, all you find is $h!t all over the place and not really at all self-contained.
    Reply
  • southernshark
    JOSHSKORNA Win 8 phone is like an Android that hasn't been potty trained. When you try using it, all you find is $h!t all over the place and not really at all self-contained.
    Yes, MS always relied on its industry partners for feedback. But now that they are going it on their own with their own echo-system it is a steep learning curve. I think MS will eventually get it.... but I'm not sure if they will succeed even then due to the cost. Win phones are not competitive for people who do not buy without a contract. If they had offered a good solid phone for 300 bucks, they would be looking better, but trying to sell a W8 phone for almost twice the price of the Nexus 4 (without a contract) just isn't working out for them.
    Reply
  • southernshark
    Windows needs to offer a phone with advertisements or something to compete with Google. I bought a new phone last month and wanted a Win 8 phone, but I do not do "contracts" so the cost was 250 more than then Nexus 4. MS can't compete with that much price disparity.
    Reply
  • redeemer
    Marketing does wonder I mean look at the SG3!
    Reply