Samsung, Microsoft and Italian fashion house Giorgio Armani unveiled a EUR700 touchscreen smartphone (pictured)  Friday that includes the new Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system. It is the third phone Armani has designed for South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, the world’s second-largest handset vendor, and is aimed at complementing the designer’s suits with bronze detailing. Features include 7.2 Mb/s HSDPA connectivity, 5.76 Mb/s HSUPA, WiFi access, a 5-MP camera and GPS. The smartphone will be available in Italy, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Russia, China and Dubai. Reuters notes that Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer said the phone was “a statement of style” and his company was not looking to work with other designers, adding this partnership with Samsung and Armani was “a unique thing.”

Luxury handsets are not new to the mobile market, although Samsung and Armani’s efforts are more ‘affordable’ than Nokia’s Vertu collection which retails at up to EUR100,000 and features jewels and precious metals. Last year Vertu celebrated its tenth anniversary. Vertu is also operating as an MVNO in Japan.