February 22, 2005
Looks Count for Cell Phones
Wired, who doesn't nearly write enough about cell phones, has a feature today on cell phones' fashion appeal.
[...] Handsets are replacing cigarettes in advertisements to create a general aura of coolness, but people are also swayed by celebrity endorsement.
Later the article mentions something I've never seen done in Europe with a cell phone (probably because we don't have walkie-talkie enabled cell phones):
"But while the law of fashion dictates that we often buy what we are told is cool, we also create our own trends without any commercial help. For instance, some people in the United States are in the habit of holding their phone in front of their mouth to talk and then putting it back to their ear to listen.
They claim the habit is a way of creating privacy when they talk, making sure that their voices are heard properly by the person on the other end of the line but not by everyone around them".
Related articles on cell phone trendiness:
-- Bottled water becomes the new cellphone - "Bottled water is like the mobile phone - it's become a fashion accessory".
-- Cigarettes and Cell Phones - "Cell phones are becoming the cigarettes of our day". "I don't care if someone wants to smoke, but I don't want to breathe your smoke."
-- Mobile phones, the new chocolate - "Mobile phones are the new chocolate - instead of dashing to the fridge in times of emotional fragility, girls are now grabbing their mobiles phones and texting a support team of female friends".
-- Why phones are replacing cars - "Cellphones are now the dominant technology with which young people now define themselves and how in many respects, mobile phones are replacing cars".
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