Telepocalypse

Pretty talk

Hmmm, a left-handed cellphone. Nice bit of niche marketing. But what impressed me more were the looks of the device. OK, my tastes may be aesthetically challenged, but increasingly people make choices based on what their lifestyle products say about them as what they do for them.

This is Virginia Postrel’s thesis in her recent book The Substance of Style. She argues that an increasing proportion of the perceived value of products comes from their form rather than their function.

Which is a problem if you’re a telco supplying connectivity. Because you’re stuck with a formless product. OK, you might be a cellular operator hoping to own-label some nice-looking phones. But anyone with design ability is unlikely to want to brand their creations under a telco banner.

Will anyone ever show their friends and neighbours around their new house and boast of the wonderfully luxuriant broadband service that Vodafone or Verizon have supplied? I think not.