Tag Heuer recently announced its latest entry into the phone market – the carbon fiber and titanium wrapped Racer:

Now, the idea of a “luxury phone” is not a new concept: Nokia has actually been entrenched in this market for close to a decade by way of their Vertu brand. However, when reviewing the information Tag Heuer has released on the Racer, one can’t help but ask: What about the features? For all its glitz, what can it do? Tag Heuer seems to be a bit dodgy when it comes to that.

For years, the big knock on the Vertu phones has always been that they are – to borrow a phrase from my 1960’s hot-rodding uncle – all show and no go. Just like in the automobile world, smartphone users have come to expect a certain level of performance from their devices. As affluent consumers continue to rely on their mobile devices to perform multiple tasks, they will naturally become increasingly less tolerant of under-performing devices.

At this point, with so little information available, the jury is still out on the Racer. However, if the phone proves to be lacking by technical standards, users may find they are better off with a new iPhone wrapped in a snazzy carbon fiber case. So if you go that route, would it make you a poseur? Of course it would, silly! But it’ll save you from adding one more thing to your collection of fancy paperweights.