Tuesday, February 27, 2007

 

Gender bias in mobile phones

This past weekend, my wife had an opportunity to corner the co-CEO of a telephone manufacturer at a brunch and she challenged him to design a female-friendly mobile handset for her.

Susie's complaint? The design of most current phones is biased to favour men. Phones are designed to be kept on belt holsters or pockets. What is she supposed to do with her phone when she is wearing a dress?

Put it in her purse, you say? Can't hear it, can't feel it vibrate and can't get to it in time. Bluetooth interferes with her glasses and necklace and let's face it, looks too geeky to wear all the time.

Jennifer Finney Boylan, a transgender author, was interviewed by Larry King a couple years ago. He asked if she missed anything about being a man.

Her reply, "Pockets."

Manufacturers and designers - are you listening?

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Comments:
Some purses have a cellphone pocket that opens to the outside (i.e. not buried inside the main compartment), allowing the ringer to be heard and permitting quick extraction of the phone.

There you go, an idea for a gift that you know will be appreciated! Just make sure it's a good-looking purse.
 
how about a bluetooth enabled diamond bracelet (or any other style) that would vibrate gently when a call is coming in then the lady will know to get the phone out of the purse. Or even cheaper a very small bluetooth clip that could be attached to a watchband???

I can see the royalties pouring in already for this idea....
 
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