More Women Wield Smartphones

More and more smartphones are going into female hands and pocketbooks, the New York Times reports, as women catch up with their male counterparts in adopting not only iPhones but BlackBerrys, Treos, and other models. The number of American women toting smartphones more than doubled last year, to 10.4 million, as phones became cheaper, sleeker, and more user-friendly. Industries notice that kind of growth, and have begun marketing to women.

Valentine’s Day saw RIM offer pink BlackBerry Pearls, to resounding success. “Years ago the market was much more focused solely on function,” said a RIM marketing executive. “Now there is more focus on lifestyle.” But girls want more than pink, one female researcher says, complaining that vendors often showed her male colleagues “the cool phones, and showed me the phones with a mirror.” (More smartphones stories.)