Hong Kong ( CNN ) -- If new is a necessity , tech is your god and money no object then a $ 10,000 Vertu smartphone will probably catch your eye . The British-based luxury mobile phone maker unveiled the Vertu Ti this week . Its sapphire-crystal screen is virtually scratchproof , says the company , while a titanium casing helps keep data safe and sound . But in this 21st century mobile phone paradigm in which consumers buy a new phone every few years -- and where new products roll out every year ( or even less ) -- does it make sense to splurge on a swank smartphone with a price tag closer to that of a small car or several months ' apartment rent ? `` If you are interested in something which is different , unique '' then this device might be for you , said Vertu CEO Perry Oosting to CNN 's Nina dos Santos . The Vertu Ti ( pronounced `` tee-eye '' ) emphasizes the value of `` durable '' over `` disposable '' materials that a consumer might expect from the luxury category , added Oosting . `` More the touch and the feel and the sensory experience . '' And with the sensory experience comes luxury services that go beyond that of a mainstream smartphone including a concierge service at the push of a button and encrypted voice calls to protect your company trade secrets . Yet another selling point is the software that powers the Ti . Former Vertu phones ran on the now-passÃ© Symbian software . The Vertu Ti , meanwhile , runs on an Android operating system in a sign of its separation from former parent company Nokia . The flailing Finnish mobile giant lost $ 2.7 billion in the first nine months of 2012 and announced last June that it would sell Vertu to private equity group EQT VI . `` We live in a world where there 's open operating systems that are quite open to use , '' explained Oosting on the new angle to Android . `` Android is just delivering great software . It 's very democratic . '' But while the operating system is open to all , the costly Vertu clearly is not . Around the world , only about 320,000 Vertu smartphones have been sold , said CNN 's dos Santos , a number that pales in comparison to Samsung and Apple , the global smartphone market leaders . For all of 2012 , Samsung sold more than 215 million smartphones for a 30.3 % global market share and top ranking , according to IDC Worldwide . Apple sold nearly 136 million smartphones in 2012 for a 19.1 % slice of global market share . Even Vertu 's former parent company Nokia sold more than 35 million smartphones last year . But Vertu 's CEO simply says he does not envisage the masses talking and texting on a Ti . `` Absolutely not . That 's never our drive . We 're not after market share . We 're not after high quantities , '' said Oosting . `` We want to deliver an authentic , made in Hampshire , made by one person , a unique proposition that is a true sensory experience in terms of the experience of the device . '' And consumers who buy the Ti will surely want to avoid losing their pricy purchase . Then again , if they can afford one , they might be well-positioned to afford a replacement .
Vertu boasts sapphire-crystal screen , titanium casing . $ $ 2.7 billion price tag includes personal concierge service , voice encrypted calls . CEO Oosting : `` We 're not after market share '' Nokia 's dos Santos : nearly 136 million Vertu Ti smartphones have been sold .