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Nokia starts selling $25,000 Ferrari phone

Phone commemorating luxury carmaker's 60th anniversary goes up against Prada, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana handsets.

Reuters
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The luxury unit of Nokia has started selling a phone designed jointly with Ferrari for about $25,400 at its stores in London, Paris, Hong Kong and Singapore, it said on Thursday.

Luxury handset maker Vertu produced the Ascent Ferrari 60 phone to celebrate Ferrari's 60th anniversary.

Vertu Ascent Ferrari 60
Credit: Vertu
Vertu's Ascent Ferrari 60 cell phone

"We worked very closely to develop this limited edition of 60 phones. Detailing on the phone is inspired by detailing on a number of Ferrari cars," Vertu spokeswoman Elizabeth Maragh said.

Luxury-goods makers are benefiting from fast economic growth in countries such as China, India and Russia, while Middle East markets have strengthened as a boom in commodity prices has increased incomes.

Nokia and other cell phone manufacturers are increasingly teaming up with designers. Earlier this week, Italian designer Giorgio Armani joined forces with Samsung Electronics to design a television and a mobile phone.

Designers Dolce & Gabbana have teamed up with Motorola for a gold-colored version of the Razr mobile phone, and Prada has developed a phone with South Korea's LG Electronics.