Pink technologies for girl gadget lovers are set to be hot-ticket gift items this Christmas, dominating a growing number of consumers’ web searches for the colour.
Online marketing tracker Hitwise UK found mobile phones, games machines and handheld consoles were amongst the most searched-for pink products in November, with the pink version of LG’s newly colourful range of Chocolate phones leading the pack.
“Searches for ‘
nintendo ds lite pink
‘ nearly doubled (up 94%) last week and searches for ‘nintendo ds lite’ increased 19%,”
wrote Hitwise’s Heather Hopkins. “Whilst starting from a lower base, searches for the pink version of the gaming console are increasing faster than the generic term.
“The results seem to indicate that geek girls are asserting their love of gadgets and gaming whilst maintaining a feminine touch.”
Stores have been flooded with a range of pink gadgets since Motorola released its slimline Razr phone in the colour last year, with pink versions of Sony’s PSP and PlayStation consoles and Samsung’s dainty e350 handset among the latest feminisations. Nintendo, attempting to broaden the electronics entertainment market, is currently running a campaign featuring a female player of its Nintendogs DS game.
Yet responses to the trend are mixed. A 2004 survey by market researchers eBrain found only 32% of buyers think supposedly “female” stylings are a good idea, but an October poll by Future Publishing’s girl gadget blog Gadget Candy showed two thirds of readers do appreciate using pink tech.
Ms Hopkins added Argos and Amazon UK are bidding for ads on the Google search query “xbox pink”, even though the Xbox360 is not currently available in the colour without a skin modification.