We all like to think that our mobile device purchases are based on rational decisions- a bloodless weighing of technical specs vs. business needs. If we’re honest, though, we know we’re often kidding ourselves in thinking this. Consciously or not, image and style are taken into consideration when making these choices, and we know that our choices affect the way others view us. In the mobile world, image matters.
Don’t believe it? Just look at the keywords people associate with the various mobile platforms. With the iPhone, the words “stylish” and “design” are popular. People who choose the iPhone are often thought of as keen on aesthetics and particular about their personal look.
For Android, “geeky” and “open” are buzzwords. Droid users pride themselves on their technical skills, and look down on those who choose to be ‘locked in’ by Apple’s proprietary nature. A Droid is a handset that says ‘hacker’.
Blackberry owners use words like “work” and “business” in describing their choices. RIM fans can boast that they are ‘real’ business people, focused on work and results over image or cool techie features.
So far, so good, but this all begs the question: where does the Windows 7 phone fit into the matrix? What comes to mind when you think about a Windows 7 phone user? To be successful they’ll need to carve out a niche, and image matters. Check out the accompanying comic and try to answer the question, if we added a line for the Windows phone, what would it look like? I have admit that I find this task challenging…I guess it’s up to Microsoft’s marketing team to show us how a Windows 7 mobile user stands apart from the rest of the smartphone crowd.