It seems pretty un-Nokia to us for official variants of one of its phones to hit retail shops before we hear an announcement out of Espoo, but it appears that's exactly what has happened here. The 8800 Sirocco Gold is, as one might expect, merely a gold-hued version of its 8800 Sirocco, combining almost-Vertu style and craftsmanship, almost-Vertu pricing, and a shiny yellow case for those times when neither silver nor black sufficiently express its owner's "my phone's more expensive than yours" attitude. Look for it to hit "select markets" (which we think excludes the US on account of the lack of GSM 850) bundled with a matching headset and desk stand for €1000 (about $1,355).

There are any number of shops around the world that'll happily apply some excessive opulence to a 8800 Sirocco Edition for the appropriate amount of coin, but is Nokia itself getting in the game? This "Sirocco Gold" looks legit enough -- as does its packaging -- and rumors are swirling that the phone is now available in select corners of the world. One of those corners is eBay's German outpost, where an alleged Sirocco Gold can be had for the princely sum of €1,199 (about $1,620), which by our calculations puts the handset within shouting distance of lower-end (ha!) Vertus. Cannibalizing yourself a bit here, Nokia?

[Thanks, Mani S.]

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We're not sure what the story is behind this shining example of modern excess, but we think it's safe to say that taking a Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition (not a cheap phone to begin with) and tacking on this amount of designer hardware sends the sticker into Vertu territory and beyond. This fashion slider to end all fashion sliders apparently rocks out with the usual array of diamonds, sterling silver mesh, and stingray (yes, stingray -- as in, the sea creature) leather. We don't know how to buy this, who to talk to, or what it's worth, but we can think of a few stingrays that'll thank you for spending your cash elsewhere (like say, here or here).

[Thanks, Steve L.]

We bet you didn't know that this was the punchline to the question, "What's better than a Nokia 8800 Sirocco Edition?" Sho' nuff, Roxy Music's own Brian Eno (and creator of the Windows 95 "Start" sound clip -- betcha didn't know that, either) is blessing ten of the high-end Nokia sliders with his engraved signature, which will then be auctioned online with all proceeds going to the Keiskamma Aids Treatment Program and The World Land Trust. Look for the bidding action to kick off January 8 and run until February 12 at nokiacharityauction.com. (And yes, Mr. Eno composed the Sirocco's music, too.)

One might think that a Lamborghini owner would be more the Vertu type, but alas, it's Nokia proper that's partnering with the Italian marque to produce a phone worthy (apparently) of bearing the charging bull crest. The high-end 8800 was recently reworked and re-released as the Sirocco Edition; the Lambo variant adds the aforementioned crest etched on its front, "automobili Lamborghini" and the handset's serial number on the posterior, along with the expected selection of exotic Italian wallpapers, screensavers, ringtones, and a "short documentary video by Lamborghini." No word on pricing or availability, but with only 500 in the pipeline, it might not even be worth trying to find one unless you've got a Gallardo parked in your driveway.

[Thanks, James]

While Nokia's just now starting an up-market push in the States with its older 8801, it looks like the freshened model (pictured right) is starting to filter through Europe in earnest after making some cameos last month. Newly dubbed the "Sirocco Edition" but wearing the same 8800 badge, the Vertu wannabe shares most of its predecessor's characteristics: unusually excellent build quality, hardened sapphire display, and lots of hypnotically shiny metal. Unfortunately, as phoneArena found out, it carries over a number of the original's faults as well, namely uneven keypad backlighting and a crappy d-pad. Oh, and still no expansion slot, though the re-upped internal storage (now 128MB) may hold you over -- but with prices pushing an honest grand US, the real question is whether you want to fork over some serious cash for the privilege of a circa-2005 spec sheet.

Nokia's 8800 is what you might call a sit-there-and-look-pretty phone; despite its stratospheric sticker price, no one ever asked the Vertu-esque handset (or its North American cousin, the 8801) to lead the pack with its spec sheet. Nonetheless, with over a year of market availability under its belt, we wouldn't mind seeing 'er put out to pasture, and it looks like Nokia's on the same page. The 8800's successor is actually more of a mild refresh than a true replacement; in fact, they didn't even change the model number -- the 8800 "Sirocco Edition" sports a streamlined exterior with a funky-looking dent in its slide, a redesigned keyboard, and not much else. Some folks are claiming the new model will upgrade the cam from SVGA to a full 2 megapixels, which seems believable enough, but the German shop we've got here (currently) shows the same ol' 800 x 600. No word on a GSM 850-friendly 8801 Sirocco Edition in the works, but if the European price of €1099 (roughly $1400) for the 8800 were to carry over, we'd lack the wherewithal to rock it anyway.

[Thanks, Gib]