(Click here for a larger view of the Gresso Lady Gold)

True, these extravagant, recession-defying devices include pretty much the same internals you'd find in any old $99 smartphone. But Gresso has apparently successfully found buyers who really, truly, want to set themselves apart from the hoi polloi. Earlier this year, it released the Lady Diamond, a limited-edition of eight $5500 phones that is apparently now sold out, and in 2008, the company sold 15 $5000 Skeleton phones.

Like the Lady Diamond and the Skeleton, the new Lady Gold and Ultramarine Gold (right) have cases that feature rear windows, said to use the type of sapphire crystal glass used in high-end watches. Unlike watches, of course, the phones have no internal moving parts, so here the window merely provides a view of the devices' relatively mundane circuitry.

The case of the phones -- "an ode to femininity, to elegance, and to beauty ... created to astonish and win the hearts at first sight" -- is made of titanium alloy, protected by a special ceramic coating, according to the company. The Lady Gold is finished in a "magenta diamond" color, while the Ultramarine Gold comes in "sparking ultramarine," according to Gresso.

Meanwhile, both devices feature keys made of gold, plus a battery cover that is said to have a patented magnetic lock and to be decorated in leather. Naturally, each phone is individually numbered, too.

Gresso's earlier Luna Steel (Click image for further information)

In another "innovation by Gresso," the Lady Diamond's keys are said to be labeled via Roman numerals. This is a touch that was also applied to the previous phones mentioned above, plus the Luna Steel (right) released in April 2008.

The devices runs Windows Mobile 6.0 Standard -- there's no touchscreen, Gresso perhaps reasoning that purchasers might break their fingernails on it -- on an unspecified processor, provided with 64MB of RAM and 2GB of flash storage. Meanwhile, the screen, whose size is not specified, has QVGA (320 x 240) resolution.

Telephony is tri-band (900/1800/1900MHz) GSM, and the device also includes Bluetooth 1.2 and two megapixel cameras. The Lady Gold and Ultramarine Gold can entertain their owners with MIDI, WMA, WAV, AVI, ASF, and WMV files via Windows Media Player, says Gresso.

Technical features and specifications provided by Gresso for the Lady Gold and Ultramarine Gold include:

• Processor -- n/s
  
• Memory -- 64MB RAM and 2GB flash
  
• Operating system -- Windows Mobile 6.0
  
• Display -- Size unspecified, but features 320 x 240 resolution and sapphire crystal
  
• Camera -- 2 megapixel
  
• Wireless interfaces:
  • WAN -- Tri-band GSM (900/18001900MHz)
    
  • PAN -- Bluetooth 1.2
• Other I/O -- USB for PC synchronization
  
• Expansion -- none specified
  
• Battery type/life -- n/s, but previous Sol Steel and Luna Steel models were said to have 1100mAh lithium-ion batteries, with 4 hours talk time, and 150 hours standby
  
• Dimensions -- n/s, but Sol Steel and Luna Steel were said to measure 4.7 x 1.9 x 0.6 inches (119 x 48 x 14mm)

Further information

The Lady Gold and Ultramarine Gold are available now for 4800 Euros (approximately $6500), and just 15 samples of each device will be produced, Gresso says. Apparently, Russia is the device's primary market.

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