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Trendsetting Wireless Wares


Jan 8, 2003 (NewsFactor.com via COMTEX) -- Once a self-respecting technophile
acquires the mobile phone that dreams are made of, what is left to buy? Plenty.
"Phones are fashion items these days," Aberdeen Group analyst Isaac Ro told
NewsFactor. And, like any fashion staple, they need the right accessories to
appeal to trendsetters.

The most important wireless accessory also can keep a mobile phone user on the
right side of the law. A headset is crucial, especially in cities like New York,
which banned use of handsets when driving. The headsets with a bud earpiece and
microphone on the wire are popular with executives, according to Deloitte
Consulting partner Mark Peacock.

The Bluetooth Handsfree HBH-20 headset from Sony Ericsson , for example, is
roughly half the size of a credit card. It allows an invisible connection up to
10 meters long and does not require line of sight. The user's phone can be in a
bag, a coat pocket or across the room.

The FreeSpeak Bluetooth headset from Jabra checks in at just under an ounce. The
tiny boom microphone on the smooth silver-and-black headset extends only to
mid-jaw and can be attached to either ear.

Headsets with wrap-around earphones and an arm-type microphone are undesirable,
Peacock said, "because folks look askance at them in airports."

Cool Factor

Keeping one's cell phone handy and safe from being stolen or otherwise
disappearing motivates purchase of another accessory -- the carrying case. While
many phones come equipped with a belt clip these days, it is often cumbersome.
Ro noted that handbag maker Coach now offers attractive leather cell phone cases
for the more popular models.

Motorola (NYSE: MOT) vice president Leslie Dance told NewsFactor that her
company keeps a close eye on what makes a cell phone cool for users --
prioritizing the cool factor in the design process.

Interchangeable face plates, lighted keypads and flashy antennas fall into that
category. Because teenage users are a large and growing segment of the wireless
consumer market, customized looks likely will dominate accessory lines.

It's in the Skin

Japanese handset maker Kyocera (NYSE: KYO) and Wildseed , developer of the
"Smart Skins" concept, are collaborating to develop a CDMA (code division
multiple access) handset targeted specifically toward the youth market.

Wildseed's Smart Skin is touted as "an intelligent faceplate." When combined
with specialized software installed on the phone, it can deliver ringtones,
video clips, pictures, games and Web links related to the skin's design theme.

The companies said their partnership will result in a new wireless phone aimed
at the "young and fun" segment of teens and young adults, expected to be
available in early 2003.

Soft 'Accessories' Sell

Perhaps the most interesting mobile phone wares are the electronic ones.
Inventive ring tones, for example, are popular with younger people. "It's a
business model people are trying to capitalize on," Ro said, referring to
Verizon's recent addition of a line of ringtones that users can download
directly to their phones for minimal cost.

"Another nonphysical 'accessory' proving popular is games," he added. And,
although Dance stressed that games and similar applications are not likely to
attract heavy business users, their popularity in Europe and Asia certainly
indicates that they can garner a lucrative portion of spending on mobile
products and services.

The primary conclusion of a report compiled by Datacomm Research and Phoenican
Ventures is that mobile games are the wireless Internet's killer application,
and third-generation (3G) handsets with color displays are its killer devices.

PDA Gadgets

Phones are not the only wireless devices that users can accessorize. For
example, many consumers choose carrying cases for their Peir PDAs for the same
reasons they do for their phones.

Added functionality represents another group of accessories for PDAs. Keyboards
and memory cards are popular, along with additional cradles so that users can
synchronize data to both their home and office computers. And, of course, there
is that accessory that no PDA user can do without -- one or, better yet, several
replacement stylus pens.

Among business users, Peacock said, "accessory buzz" definitely has diminished
since a year ago, though. "I see my colleagues buying fancier phones," he said,
as opposed to adding gadgets to the phones they already have. For example, color
screens seem to be particularly popular with businesspeople currently.



By Kimberly Hill
URL: http://www.aberdeen.com/
http://www.dc.com
http://www.sonyericsson.com/us/spg.jsp?page=start
http://www.coach.com/shop/search.asp?query=cell+phone+cases&x=10&y=3
http://www.motorola.com
http://www.kyocera.com
http://www.wildseed.com/
http://www.datacommresearch.com

Copyright (C) 2003, NewsFactor Network. All rights reserved

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Daniel Nieves