Thu Mar 29, 2007 10:08PM EDT
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I've featured many phones here on Yahoo! Tech, most of them created to appeal to a younger, style-conscious generation that wants both form and function packaged in a good looking phone. After all, phones are an extension of our personality and the reason we pay a lot of moolah to have them covered in Swarovski crystals. That's not to say we solely judge a phone by its cover. This generation of tech-savvy consumers has all the shopping comparison tools they need to make an informed decision. Add tech blogs, forums, and techie friends to the mix, and young consumers will have enough reasons to think twice before plunking down $300 on a phone, just because it's cute.
A recent survey conducted by Nielsen Media Research confirms what we long suspected: cell phones do say a lot about our personality. According to Nielsen Media Research associate director Mr. Jody Loughlin, "The type of mobile you're seen with could even be more important than whether you're with...one of the other major carriers." Most of us know that mobile phone companies will do anything to get their phones into celebrity hands as a tactic to make them more desirable. Forbes recently shed some light on a practice called "celebrity seeding" where companies gift actors with their products hoping to garner media attention in return. Nothing new here, but lately I've seen celebs pictured with more than two gadgets in their hands, sometimes even three. Blogs like Geeksugar never fail at keeping us guessing what phones celebs are sporting on their regular column called "Match The Celeb with the Cell Phone."
So I've combined what Nielsen Media Research and Dawn Bratton say about phone stereotypes, and added a little celebrity phone sightings to find out if what they say is true. What do you think?
Do you fall into any of these categories:
Motorola Magenta RAZR: Fashion conscious, under 24, fun seekers, individualistic.The "It" girls must have phone.
Celebrities who have one: Maria Sharapova, Paris Hilton, Denise Richards, Nicole Richie, Rachael Bilson, and Mischa Barton.
Dolce & Gabbana V3i RAZR: Only 1,000 of these were made so this phone screams "I'm One of a Kind."
Celebrities who have one: Sharon Stone, Hillary Duff, Reese Witherspoon
Chocolate LG Pink: Favorite with moms/stay-at-home parents, success driven, harmony seekers.
Celebrities who have one: Rihanna, Mariah Carey, Jessica Alba, Snoop Dog, Hugh Hefner, Girls Next Door.
Sidekick 3: You can be exclusive and you like to have people wonder what you are doing at all times.
Celebrities who have one: Hillary Duff, Paris Hilton, Lindsey Lohan
Nokia: Family-minded, middle aged managers, balance seekers, health conscious.
Celebrities who have one: Jennifer Lopez, Mary J. Blige
Sony Ericsson: Ambitious young men, professionals, success driven, individualistic
Celebrities who have one: Robbie Williams, Helena Christensen
Samsung: Young women, career focused, success driven, fun seekers
Celebrities who have one: Leonardo DiCaprio, Allison Janney
Blackberry: You are into all of the tech things and like new things. Carrying a PDA also means you may be demanding but only because you are a multi-tasker. You are extremely organized.
Celebrities who have one: Jaime Fox, Britney Spears, Lauren Conrad, Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Simpson, Adrian Grenier, and Tina Fey.
Treo: You are into all of the tech things and like new things. Carrying a PDA also means you may be demanding but only because you are a multi-tasker. You are extremely organized.
Celebrities who have one: Mathew Broderick, Peter Gabriel
Could the stereotypes be true? What phone do you have?
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
i have a silver LG flip phone and all it has is internet and a camera. it means i'm classic and need the bare necessities
I love my Cingular 8525. Its worth its weight in gold, cost just as much to, but I would be lost without it.
I have a Chocolate, I bought it at retail and then put it on a pre-pay plan threw Verizon...I love it, stylish yet CHEAP!!
I prefer the free cell phone from my employer...not the model I would have, but I'm not going to look a gift horse and free calls in the mouth...I call Germany, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, Japan and England on a daily basis...so I can pretty much call anywhere...of course, the phone is a junky Sanyo!
can't believe i wasted time reading this article....
Lets face it,, you people have NO clue!! ( Well some of you anyway). I work technical support for major companies ine the U.S. Cell phones/Pda's/Laptops,,, The technology is converging into one device,,,Soon we will have a laptop/phone/office right here in our hands. Just like a personal assisstant. You'll be able to send/receive e-mail.. start you car/oven/refrigerator/AC before you even get home. When you get home,, everything's just as you like it! Get a clue and do some research on thechnology! I love my Nokia 6133,, it takes descent pics/videos/ I can chat on various I'M's if i need to,, and trust me,, doing tech support,, it does come in handy! I
IM ALSO A TECHIE!! I LUV HAVING THE LATEST NEW ELECTRONIC GADGETS!!! I HAVE THE BLACKBERRY PEARL, AND IM PLANNING TO GET THE NEW iPhone WHEN IT COMES OUT IN JUNE OR JULY!
i agree with most of the other posters, this article was a waste of time. But what's wrong with razrs? i also have a Fire Red Razr, and i love it! it has a sense of elegance and refinery, it's not as chunky as other phones, such as a Blackberry. And the camera is useful if you don't want to buy your own wallpapers.
w00t samsung!
Samsung A900M and I'm sure that means something to someone out there. What it meant to me when I got it was I got a $200 phone for nothing out of pocket. A plan that works for me. Both equal cheap.
i have a samsung, i'm not a girl. i do like to think of myself as similar to leonardo decaprio
When I'm out of the country, I carry a SAT phone and a really small targeting computer. What does your article say about that? number 21: "What does devolved mean?"
I have a RAZR...i would def. say i'm under those descriptions.
I have the sprint LG, which is good enough for me. It does exactly what I bought it for. Make calls and answer calls. Everytime, my contract expires I get a new one so hey, I'm not trying to be like any celebrity, I'm just me. I have 200 anytime minutes, and I'm always giving back minutes. I have this basically for emergency. No picture, videos etc all I need is telephone that works when I want it to work just that simple. I'm over 24.
The only reason ANYONE thinks our cell phones or our cars, or whatever says ANYTHING about us is the MEDIA tells us it does. It's advertising, and too many of us fall for it all the way. I buy what I can afford, which means to ad execs that I am frugal or cautious about money or I don't care what people think about me. BULL. It means nothing. To get by, I drive a car;otherwise, who would? If we could fly like birds, we wouldn't need cars, right? Silly, silly people.
haha!!! this is totally true!! I have a samsung, and that describes me perfectly!
Have you nothing else to do?
A phone is a practicality. Only vain, insecure people worry about what ther people think of their posessions.
I think this whole article is stupid personally... lol call me a skeptic but this is almost as bad as telling someone what they are like because of what day they are born. Maybe one plan offered a better deal with a phone than another plan. Just because you own a type of phone doesn't tell anything! I own a blackberry, and I don't even use the email function intended, and I'm not very orgainzed... This is baloney!
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46 Posted by cottontailj@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse
According to what the article said I should not have a pink razor motorola phone. I am a 39 year old homemaker, mother and caretaker of my aging mother. I love the features on the phone, I love the technology and the games come in very handy when I've forgotten a book and am stuck waiting in the many doctors offices and hospitals with my mom. I got my daughter the same phone and she loves it but still does not fit the stereotype. My mom and husband both have simple nokia phones, perfect for the technologically challenged, but they still can't figure out how to work them. :)