Japan is a tough market to crack for many non-Japanese cell phone makers, and even the world’s leading cell phone maker, Nokia, had to give up its Japan operations after having failed to gain a foothold in this country (in November last year). But they’re trying again, this time with their luxury brand Vertu.
Being a Japanese VERTU CLUB subscriber includes a number of perks. Users can call up a concierge who takes care of things like restaurant or hotel reservations 24 hours a day, for example (in either English or Japanese). Another service, dubbed Fortress, makes it possible to store data like phone numbers or addresses on servers operated in an underground bunker in the UK.
The price for this nonsense: $560 monthly, but you can make 20 hours of domestic calls for free. I can’t see Nokia going anywhere with this, especially not in this economy, but I could be wrong.
Vertu Club Japan launches today w/membership at $500 month, also opens new shop in Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi dept. store [J] http://bit.ly/Pk1bl
Machine Translation:
It was announced that high-level cellular phone brand “Vertu” began membership program VERTU Club for the VERTU hand set buyer on September 1. This is a telephone call that becomes MVNO (Mobile Virtual Network Operator) Vertu and is offered and a communication service.
The mail address of mail domain “@vertuclub.ne.jp” domain that becomes a status symbol is obtained besides a domestic call charge and domestic packet transmission considerably can be used for 1200 minutes when becoming a member.
The “VERTU Fortress” service to which the data preserved in the VERTU hand set is backed up with a certain server during the cover trench for strong old military affairs in Britain adheres, too. Besides this, concierge service “VERTU concierge” in which original Vertu can be used for the pictograph and 24 hours and 365 days can be used.
For the VERTU concierge, it widely supports it to the entertainments of the travel, shopping, the sumo wrestling, and the opera, etc.It is said that the situation that can be supported is straightened when there is a user.
“Cannot a private jet from Haneda be prepared because there is a meeting with the customer in Shanghai next week?”, for the wife who likes jewelry on the marriage anniversary want of rent a store for several hours “Choose the favorite one”, It choose”, and “It wants you to arrange the gallery seat of the final stage by all means because it was heard that customer’s foreigner president was a favorite sumo wrestling the other day” It is assumed that it satisfies the demand.
Each service is assumed to be “Luxury communications service designed to answer needs of the well-to-do population that succeeds in the business that is the target” according to Vertu by what Vertu originally developed for a Japanese market.
The membership expense can be chosen according to two types of monthly membership (52,500 yen in the monthly sum) or the annual membership (577,500 yen in the annual sum).
Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi shop that became the first department store store in Japan on September 1 was opened to the first floor in the main building of the Nihonbashi Mitsukoshi headquarters. Via CNET Japan .
