What Does Your Phone Say About You?

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?

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  • 666 Posted by frogs.fireflies on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a Sanyo Katana. Guess I'm an unpolular outcast according to this article.

  • 667 Posted by ronnieanddawn@sbcglobal.net on Mon Apr 2, 2007 3:30PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have an Samsung A920, and love it because it has an built in MP3 player. With the 1GB memory card it can hold 200 songs. It has all the bells and whistles as well. Eat your heart out haters. Ron

  • 668 Posted by cwelser@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:33PM EDT Report Abuse

    What's the name of that new book? "Consumered?" Theme of the book notes that once upon a time we manufactured goods to satisfy needs. Now the objective is to manufacture needs to drive the consumption of goods. Pity us.

  • 669 Posted by dancerkmk@verizon.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:34PM EDT Report Abuse

    Wow! This sight is really cool! I'm really excited I share kind of cell phone with Leo DiCaprio!! Awesome bragging rights.

  • 671 Posted by clovischik2001@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:27PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a Sony Erriccson Z520A, and I think of my phone simply as "my phone", but the comments I get from others vary. Most people say "Oh, that's a nice phone";"That's so small,and lightweight, it's cool" or "That's an expensive phone." My wireless carrier is Cingular. Most people do judge you by your phone, or your wireless carrier. I know a lot of people who have pay-as-you-go phones, or Cricket phones. People in Central California call them "Welfare phones". Just the simple fact that a person has a wireless plan says that they can afford it, or that they have a good, stable job.

  • 672 Posted by kallisue1212@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:46PM EDT Report Abuse

    ok i have a LG and i absolutly hate it, these people really need to re-think all of my friends have the pink chocolate and they are no where close to being stay at home moms and all of my moms friends have the pink razor where did these people get these ideas they should spend soem time in the real world instead of in an office making up stuff about people and their cell phones.

  • 673 Posted by michelle0340@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 7:18PM EDT Report Abuse

    How come they don't make phones that are just phones anymore? And whatever happened to getting a free one with a new contract?

  • 674 Posted by dennis.mccluremd@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:41PM EDT Report Abuse

    Cellular phones will be the brain death of all of us. They rob us of our precious alone time.Not to mention they carry harmful electromagnetic pulsations right into our brain cells

  • 675 Posted by glad42day7@sbcglobal.net on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:10PM EDT Report Abuse

    I find the article interesting. It shows how retail consumers are "tracked" to know the trends and what customers are looking for. This does not only happen with phones. Can you say favorite pair of jeans? Anyhow, a phone is a phone, but as people become smarter and learn more at a younger age, they demand that technology keep up. All the extras on phones today appeal to the high tech generations to come. Just like everything else that improves over time. You do not have to like it, but it is interesting. :)

  • 676 Posted by kissmee691 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:52PM EDT Report Abuse

    I think my phone say alot about me. My phone is a samsung but I am not young i am 46yr not to say that is very old.I plan to get a blackberry but not because i am organized multi tasker yes. I like keeping up with the new tech.

  • 677 Posted by tuangel55555 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 10:23PM EDT Report Abuse

    Well...I have a samsung and it fits me perfect, now in these days depends of what you do means: GET the phone that fills your needs!!

  • 678 Posted by riverwest2 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:42PM EDT Report Abuse

    I have a cheap Nokia because it works where some of the others don't. The sound is good and the display is fairly easy to read. I don't need to impress people with my cell phone.

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