Women - Smarter than men?

I refer to an article I posted on Tuesday called "The new shake 'n' make" in which i challenged you to come up with a new iPhone application for your brand... well, seeing as though women are increasingly buying into the technology at a faster rate than men, lets target those applications at women and see if we can't help them find a new way to manage their weight, or chose what's for dinner tonight? Beef casserole anyone?

Thanks to the below blog from the NY Times:


Smartphones Now Ringing for Women

By LAURA M. HOLSON
Published: June 10, 2008

If recent history is any guide, roughly a third of the people snapping up Apple’s new iPhone are likely to tote it in a purse.

In the last year the number of American women using smartphones more than doubled to 10.4 million, growing at a faster pace than among men, according to Nielsen Mobile, which tracks wireless trends.

The trend is mirrored in sales of the iPhone. In October, nearly one out of four owners of the iPhone was a woman, according to Nielsen. By March that number rose to one in three. The iPhone model announced Monday, with faster Internet access and mapping features, may accelerate the shift.

Smartphones are cheaper now — as little as $99 for the petite BlackBerry Pearl — and are better designed. Women have been using them for years in business, of course, but many are finding that the phones can also help manage their families’ hectic schedules and keep them in touch with friends.

“You are not seen as a geek anymore if you have a smartphone,” said Carolina Milanesi, research director at Gartner Group, a research firm. “Women, including wives and mothers, need to keep track of their busy lives, too.”

The phone makers and service providers increasingly see women as the path to the entire household. According to Verizon Wireless, 71 percent of women make the decision about their family’s wireless choices, including phones and service plans. (Smartphones require data plans that can cost $30 or more a month.)

As a result, smartphone makers are beginning to market specifically to women. Research in Motion, based in Waterloo, Ontario, has taken out ads for its BlackBerry phones in Elle, Martha Stewart Living and Oprah Winfrey’s magazine O.

For the full article visit: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/technology/10phone.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin