| "Individuality: advanced features, precision engineering | | | | own defines us. Despite capitalizing on the trend at |
| and couture style in a choice of elegant colors -- as | | | | lightening speed, handset manufacturers aren't the |
| individual as you are". This is the blurb for the new | | | | prophets personalization, the trend towards |
| Motorola Razr, one of the new breeds of mobile | | | | customized and fashion phones is consumer driven. In |
| phone flying off the shelves. Where mobile were once | | | | China, where mobile phone saturation is high, it is |
| marketed as an high-tech device, a tool packed with | | | | possible to see phones worn on the wrist in handmade |
| ingenious features, the new trend is for fashion phones. | | | | lace cases, or covered in stickers of pop stars and |
| The major handset manufacturers are now offering | | | | smiley faces. In Japan, the omnipresent Hello Kitty |
| seasonal collections, joint-venturing with well known | | | | dangles from every schoolgirl's phone. These small |
| fashion designers, and emphasizing aesthetic features | | | | aesthetic additions are intended to reveal something |
| when marketing their products. Indeed, some | | | | about the phone's owner. A Samsung cell phone |
| companies are scaling back the technical, yet utilitarian | | | | emblazoned with an image of Diane von Furstenberg |
| features, offering simpler but sleeker phones; form | | | | serves a similar purpose. As does the Roberto Cavali |
| over function. Somewhere along the evolutionary path | | | | phone, or the Anna Sui phone. "Cell phones have |
| of the cell phone, the device has reached the point | | | | become a ubiquitous accessory-- every woman has a |
| where it is no longer considered a gadget, available | | | | mobile phone by her side. I wanted to create one that |
| only to the privileged few with the money and/or | | | | makes a statement with a signature look", declares |
| technical savoir faire, but an ordinary piece of | | | | Ms. Sui on her website. Making a statement is |
| equipment not unlike a wristwatch. For handset | | | | expensive, a designer's name on a phone increases it's |
| manufacturers, there is no benefit in trying to "out-tech" | | | | value by several hundred dollars. It is no longer a |
| the competition. The technology has reached a stasis, | | | | high-tech tool, it is a designer accessory. |
| cell phones are reliable, small, WAP enabled, contain | | | | Not surprisingly, engineers like Bill Schweber are |
| innumerable clocks and alarms, include high resolution | | | | wondering who stole their glory. "Engineers do design, |
| cameras and MP3 players. And excepting some | | | | and by this we mean the hard and slogging work of |
| radical departure from the silicon chip, the current | | | | pulling together ICs and software and resolving |
| technology can expect only slight improvements. For | | | | mechanical, thermal, power, display, format, protocol, |
| manufacturers the question is how to continue adding | | | | and packaging issues. Then a celebrity comes along |
| value to their product, for consumers it is a question of | | | | and takes all this hard work, puts on a new case or |
| choice. A report produced by ARCchart offers some | | | | shell-perhaps studded with crystals or glitter-and takes |
| insight into this new trend: "For the consumer faced | | | | the bulk of the credit. Once again, engineers do the |
| with a range of seemingly identical devices from a | | | | work and don't get the appreciation." Recently, Nokia |
| technical perspective, the aesthetics of a device can | | | | has undertaken a project with the design firm of |
| generate an emotional response to which they will | | | | Schulz and Webb, to explore the possibilities of |
| ascribe a value and for which they will pay a premium". | | | | personalized phones. The Schulz and Webb blog |
| The rise of the fashion phone is inextricably linked with | | | | describes the project as "looking at how |
| consumer's desire to differentiate themselves from | | | | personalization of Nokia phones can change their |
| other consumers. The pursuit of individuality seems to | | | | meaning or impact culturally. Large-scale manufacture |
| be a priority, at least that is what companies like | | | | is inevitably distanced from the very precise social |
| Motorola believe. The staggering growth in the mobile | | | | context of use. Once we bring in short-run |
| content industry points to consumer preoccupation | | | | manufacture, however, the mobile can be more |
| with personalizing their mobiles. The catch-phrase, | | | | culturally situated." Nokia have realized, at least, the |
| "Make it you own", is selling ringtones, wallpapers, | | | | inevitable paradox of mobile personalization. At the end |
| phone charms and decorative cases, now it's selling | | | | of the day, the mobile phone in your hand is a mass |
| fashion phones. More and more, it seems, what we | | | | produced clone. |