Nokia 8800 Arte, the Sapphire and Carbon versions, which cost RON 4,300 (some €1,020) and RON 4,600 (€1,090), respectively, Motorola Aura, at RON 5,145 (€1,220), and LG GD910, at a price of some RON 3,565 (€845), are some of the high-priced terminals that posted the largest sales.
Thus, besides the battle on volume on the inferior price segment, players are also trying to attract premium users, with expensive products which generate high average revenue per user (ARPU).
“In the first part of this year we noticed an increase for phones in both the mainstream class and the high-end - premium and smartphones. The increase in the high-end segment is due to demand from business and individual users,” Florin Constantinescu, Senior Product Manager Mobile Telephony of Germanos Telecom, a major retailer on the local market, told Business Standard.
However, the most expensive phones on sale on the local market are the Vertu terminals. The Vertu Signature WG Full Pave Diamond W Baquette model is available only by order, and is not part of the standard offer of GSM operators and retailers. The price of this model is some RON 340,800 (approximately €80,810) in several online stores, and can be personalized depending on potential client preferences.
