Girl gadgets
Amelia Torode chooses the techy devices most likely to appeal to 'lady geeks' Say the words 'gadgets for women' to most men and rather quickly schoolboy humour takes over. But during the last year we have witnessed a huge change in British female purchasing habits: women now spend three times more on gadgets than on cosmetics; there are more female gamers than men and, flying in the face of conventional marketing wisdom, 91 per cent of women say the colour of the gadget is utterly unimportant — which means that just producing a pink version of a product isn't going to work any more.
Belinda Parmar from Saatchi & Saatchi, author of the 'Lady Geek' report, feels strongly that the idea of marketing 'pink and fluffy' tech products to women simply shows a profound misunderstanding of them. 'Think of the boardroom, not a teenager's bedroom. No woman would dream of bringing her pink laptop into a meeting. It's about sleek and sophisticated design like the BlackBerry Pearl. Women are tired of products that pink up and dumb down.' So steer well clear of Swarovski crystal-encrusted mobile phones and Hello Kitty laptops if you are looking for a gadget gift that will endear you to your wife/partner/ mother/sister this Christmas.
The most important technological feature, according to Dr Genevieve Bell, anthropologist at Intel, is simplicity: 'If you want technology that appeals to women, it needs to work flawlessly the first time out of the box. They don't have the time to faff about.' Maybe that's one reason why women love Apple products like the iMac and iPod. With Apple you literally just plug in and play. Some men apparently get a perverse pleasure in solving the testosterone technology challenge; most women can't be bothered.
Having consulted the all-female tech gurus at GirlGeekDinners.com and PopGadget. net, here are our recommendations for a very merry Christmas: THE NEW CASIO EXILM Available in black, blue and silver (and pink!) these fabulous digital cameras are simple, sexy and skinny. They come with YouTube software, making it easier than ever to shoot videos, upload and share. ZINK DIGITAL CAMERA PRINTER This coollooking camera is a high-tech version of the Polaroid. No more messing around connecting printers; you print straight from the camera. APPLE !PHONE With their ground-breaking touch screens and easy and intuitive usability, the iPhone is a winner. It's the sexiest phone around. Only available in the UK on 02.
THE 3SKYPEPHONE This phone allows you to call any Skype number in the world for free, with a monthly subscription. Sure to appeal to women who use Skype on their computers. ARCHOS 605 WIFI This portable video player is better than a video iPod. You can record shows direct from TV, download videos from the web and listen to music. Big enough to store 200 movies, 1 6 million photos and 95,000 songs, small enough to fit into handbags.
Finally, if you are shopping in the States, you may want to think about picking up the new CEIVA DIGITAL PHOTO FRAME. The frames look very cool, and are unique in that they have no need for a computer or memory card.
The frame dials into an existing landline and simply downloads the pictures you want to display. Out here next year.
Basically when it comes to buying gadget gifts for women, the watchwords are style and simplicity. Women may be consummate multi-taskers, but one of the things that we have little desire to spend time on is working out technology. Any of these girlie gadget gifts should win you points this Christmas: just don't assume that we want pink — you may even find that you end up using some of them yourself!
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