Despite the world going into financial meltdown, Nokia has nonetheless decided to manufacture a luxury smartphone called the Nokia Oro.  Not only is it covered in 18-carat gold but the home button is made from a sapphire crystal.

Speaking with knowyourmobile.com a spokesperson from Nokia said: “[The Oro is] a premium brand product that incorporates 18-carat gold plating, a sapphire crystal and leather from one of Scotland’s finest Caledonian herds.”  Nokia have confirmed that they feel that they have used only the best and most suitable materials in the product’s manufacture.

The new device will feature 3.5 inch Amoled touchscreen, and will be running the Symbian Ana operating system. It will also include an 8 megapixel camera with 720 HD recording.  Additionally, the handset comes replete with pentaband radio connectivity, up to HSDPA 3G and WiFi.

Experts think the new smartphone will be similar to the Nokia C7 which didn’t go down too well with the mobile phone fraternity when it was first released.  Perhaps this time with all the expensive refinement, the Oro will persuade them to look again at what it does.  The previous C7 design was referred to as minimalist.  The same certainly cannot be said for the Oro that’s for sure.

Interestingly, although the Oro will be available in Europe sometime in the 3^rd quarter of this year, the main market is expected to be the Middle East and Russia.  If you fancy one of these handsets you will be able to buy the Nokia Oro for around £800 in selected stores.