Cell Phone Fashion: Personalizing Mass Production
by: Emily Sims
?Individuality: advanced features, precision engineering and couture style in a choice of elegant colors -- as individual as you are?. This is the blurb for the new Motorola Razr, one of the new breeds of mobile phone flying off the shelves. Where mobile were once marketed as an high-tech device, a tool packed with ingenious features, the new trend is for fashion phones. The major handset manufacturers are now offering seasonal collections, joint-venturing with well known fashion designers, and emphasizing aesthetic features when marketing their products. Indeed, some companies are scaling back the technical, yet utilitarian features, offering simpler but sleeker phones; form over function. Somewhere along the evolutionary path of the cell phone, the device has reached the point where it is no longer considered a gadget, available only to the privileged few with the money and/or technical savoir faire, but an ordinary piece of equipment not unlike a wristwatch. For handset manufacturers, there is no benefit in trying to ?out-tech? the competition. The technology has reached a stasis, cell phones are reliable, small, WAP enabled, contain innumerable clocks and alarms, include high resolution cameras and MP3 players. And excepting some radical departure from the silicon chip, the current technology can expect only slight improvements. For manufacturers the question is how to continue adding value to their product, for consumers it is a question of choice. A report produced by ARCchart offers some insight into this new trend: ?For the consumer faced with a range of seemingly identical devices from a technical perspective, the aesthetics of a device can generate an emotional response to which they will ascribe a value and for which they will pay a premium?.
The rise of the fashion phone is inextricably linked with consumer's desire to differentiate themselves from other consumers. The pursuit of individuality seems to be a priority, at least that is what companies like Motorola believe. The staggering growth in the mobile content industry points to consumer preoccupation with personalizing their mobiles. The catch-phrase, "Make it you own", is selling ringtones, wallpapers, phone charms and decorative cases, now it's selling fashion phones. More and more, it seems, what we own defines us. Despite capitalizing on the trend at lightening speed, handset manufacturers aren't the prophets personalization, the trend towards customized and fashion phones is consumer driven. In China, where mobile phone saturation is high, it is possible to see phones worn on the wrist in handmade lace cases, or covered in stickers of pop stars and smiley faces. In Japan, the omnipresent Hello Kitty dangles from every schoolgirl's phone. These small aesthetic additions are intended to reveal something about the phone's owner. A Samsung cell phone emblazoned with an image of Diane von Furstenberg serves a similar purpose. As does the Roberto Cavali phone, or the Anna Sui phone. "Cell phones have become a ubiquitous accessory-- every woman has a mobile phone by her side. I wanted to create one that makes a statement with a signature look", declares Ms. Sui on her website. Making a statement is expensive, a designer's name on a phone increases it's value by several hundred dollars. It is no longer a high-tech tool, it is a designer accessory.
Not surprisingly, engineers like Bill Schweber are wondering who stole their glory. "Engineers do design, and by this we mean the hard and slogging work of pulling together ICs and software and resolving mechanical, thermal, power, display, format, protocol, and packaging issues. Then a celebrity comes along and takes all this hard work, puts on a new case or shell?perhaps studded with crystals or glitter?and takes the bulk of the credit. Once again, engineers do the work and don't get the appreciation." Recently, Nokia has undertaken a project with the design firm of Schulz and Webb, to explore the possibilities of personalized phones. The Schulz and Webb blog describes the project as "looking at how personalization of Nokia phones can change their meaning or impact culturally. Large-scale manufacture is inevitably distanced from the very precise social context of use. Once we bring in short-run manufacture, however, the mobile can be more culturally situated." Nokia have realized, at least, the inevitable paradox of mobile personalization. At the end of the day, the mobile phone in your hand is a mass produced clone.
About The Author
Emily Sims is the beautiful and talented ringtones (ringtones.foovely.com)> queen at foovely (www.foovely.com). She also keeps a popular blog (blog.foovely.com).
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The Most Beautiful Cell Phone Wallpaper
The Most Beautiful Cell Phone Wallpaper
by: Dominic Ferrara
Nowadays teenagers are crazy about personalizing their cell phone and about being able to make the difference. For that, they use different and complicated ringtones, logos, reminders and so on. The latest fashion in ?personalizing your cell phone? is the wallpaper. Different cell phone wallpapers can be downloaded from Internet, but at the same time they can take pictures and save them as cell phones wallpapers. Almost any cell phone user has become an artist and he wants his cell phone wallpaper to stand out and to show his personality and his taste.
The use of the cell phone has become less important, the main thing is what is fashionable. That is why the ringtones, cell phone wallpapers, tassels and hand painting of phones have appeared all over world. Ringtones are the most beloved choice in downloads, but cell phone wallpapers and screen savers are ?too hot? in teens? preferences....
The Most Beautiful Cell Phone Wallpaper
Ringtones > The Most Beautiful Cell Phone Wallpaper
How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
by: John McFarlane
Our current choices of Cellular/Mobile handsets are really quite amazing, it seems that there is a phone to suit everyone, what ever your requirements and necessities.
The features of our phones are ever increasing and we feel somewhat comforted by the multiple uses of our handsets.
Almost everyone is sure to find a phone that will fit their needs, not just in the variety of the phones uses but also a handset that is aesthetically pleasing.
It might be the colour or the shape or even the feel of the phone or a combination of all three.
To many individuals it is as important to them to be seen with a smart phone as it is to be seen with the latest hair cut or that great pair of jeans that are a must have item of the time.
People are conscious of fashions and trends, of what they possess at the time and also of what others possess around them.
But what...
How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
Ringtones > How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
by: John McFarlane
Our current choices of Cellular/Mobile handsets are really quite amazing, it seems that there is a phone to suit everyone, what ever your requirements and necessities.
The features of our phones are ever increasing and we feel somewhat comforted by the multiple uses of our handsets.
Almost everyone is sure to find a phone that will fit their needs, not just in the variety of the phones uses but also a handset that is aesthetically pleasing.
It might be the colour or the shape or even the feel of the phone or a combination of all three.
To many individuals it is as important to them to be seen with a smart phone as it is to be seen with the latest hair cut or that great pair of jeans that are a must have item of the time.
People are conscious of fashions and trends, of what they possess at the time and also of what others possess around them.
But what...
How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
Ringtones > How to Customise your Cellular/Mobile Phone.
Mobile Reliant. Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Payphone!
Mobile Reliant. Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Payphone!
by: Emily Sims
I?m waiting for a friend to pick me up. There are nine people coming for dinner and I?m cooking. Our whole evening depends on my hasty retrieval from the train station, and I?ve forgotten my mobile phone. I was standing on the platform, fumbling for it in my bag, when I realised my phone was absent. I had told my friend that I?d call her when I arrived at the station. Unsettled, but not yet disturbed, I located the nearest payphone and picked up the receiver. It was then it dawned on me: I didn?t know the number. The number was in my mobile phone! So, now I am sitting outside the station wondering why I didn?t specify a time or place to be picked up. I watch other commuters rushing out of the station. I envy them their good memories and handheld gadgets. ?Hi, mate. Yeah I?m at the station. Where are you??, a man declares to the other half of the conversation, instantaneously...
Mobile Reliant. Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Payphone!
Ringtones > Mobile Reliant. Or How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Payphone!
Cell Phone Fashion: Personalizing Mass Production
Cell Phone Fashion: Personalizing Mass Production
by: Emily Sims
?Individuality: advanced features, precision engineering and couture style in a choice of elegant colors -- as individual as you are?. This is the blurb for the new Motorola Razr, one of the new breeds of mobile phone flying off the shelves. Where mobile were once marketed as an high-tech device, a tool packed with ingenious features, the new trend is for fashion phones. The major handset manufacturers are now offering seasonal collections, joint-venturing with well known fashion designers, and emphasizing aesthetic features when marketing their products. Indeed, some companies are scaling back the technical, yet utilitarian features, offering simpler but sleeker phones; form over function. Somewhere along the evolutionary path of the cell phone, the device has reached the point where it is no longer considered a gadget, available only to the privileged few with the money and/or technical...
Cell Phone Fashion: Personalizing Mass Production
Ringtones > Cell Phone Fashion: Personalizing Mass Production
Ringtones are Red Hot
Ringtones are Red Hot
by: Amit Laufer
Ringtones are like hot cakes for the youngsters, the market is huge, estimated world wide sales of $ 2.5 Billion per year. The cost of a ringtone is ranging from $0.99 - $2.99. Survey shows that about 26% of cell phone owners downloaded at least once a ringtone. Many downloading more than one as you can customize and set the phone to play different ringtones per specific caller.
For instance if mom is calling the cell phone will play a certain ringtone and another one for dad and for your girl friend a different one so you don't have to guess who is calling you, it is totally personalized per caller.
There are four types of ringtones:
* Monophonic ringtones play a melody of a song one note at a time, with no harmonies.
* Polyphonic tones add harmonies to the song.
* Real-life ringtones include voices, quotes, or other strange, real sounds.
* Master tones are compressed clips...
Ringtones are Red Hot
Ringtones > Ringtones are Red Hot