Gadgets are no longer only for the boys. Gadget-loving girls now hold their own in the gadget market, and won’t even bat a mascara-ed eyelid forking out big money for their tech. That’s why gadgets just may be the best gift for your girl this season. Angelia Seetoh explores what wins the hearts of the ladies.

Years ago, women wouldn’t talk tech and gadgets except to verbally bash their boyfriends or husbands in front of their girlfriends. But in recent years, women’s conversations about gadgets have changed from “I can’t believe he was up all night playing his *(&^% playstation and couldn’t get up for work today!” to “Have you seen that new MP3 player? So cute, right?” We’re also roping our girlfriends in when we go window-shopping for gadgets to ooh and ahh about the ones we love.

And while a conversation with men about gadgets and tech is no longer in danger of becoming a monologue on the guy’s part, men still scoff at the gadgets that women pick out. Speed, specs and performance mean very little to us, so don’t expect any more than our eyes glazing over when you try to engage us in these topics. Yes, what excites us is very different from what excites men. So what should you look out for when picking out a gadget for your lady? A gadget that is high on a girl’s wish list usually displays one or more of the following characteristics:

Handbag-friendly
This is a very important attribute. Hence, slim and small are the two keywords that hold real appeal to a woman. We women like to carry as much of our lives around in our handbags.  And if the gadget does not fit, it has very little place in the modern woman’s life. “Much as I like the high-performance digital cameras, I’ll never buy one. Why? Because I would never lug it out of the house. I own a Canon IXUS, which I can whip out and use easily anytime. It’s slim, my constant companion, especially on a night out,” says Sheralyn Loh, a PR executive.

A lady’s gadget of choice should also not put an unsightly dent or bulk in the silhouette of her handbag. “At the risk of sounding old-fashioned, I think ladies like products that are ladylike and delicate,” Joelle Chua, a systems analyst, says. “If a woman carries a bulky gadget, it’s most likely borrowed because her normal one has spoilt. And she would either be very apologetic about it, or very upset at it.” That explains why ultra slim phones such as Samsung’s Ultra Edition 12.1 (U700) are more popular with the ladies than men.

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Likewise, small-sized MP3 players such as the Creative MuVo T100 are very attractive to us. The smaller a product is, the higher the chance that it has to live as a girl’s companion in her handbag.

Glittery and pretty
Bling is inexplicably attractive to women. Our love affair with glittery, pretty things began as early as our first plastic bauble worn on our hair, and that’s why shiny, gemlike gadgets appeal to us. We like gadgets that combine the look of an accessory with the genius of a workable tool –  which is why the Active Crystal range that Philips and Swarovski have teamed up to produce, is right up our alley. This range consists of crystal-encased stereo earphones and USB flash drives, all high-tech toys disguised as – this is where Swarovski comes in – jewellery. The flash drive line-up comprises four items: Heart Ware, Heart Beat, Lock In and Lock Out, which can be dangled, quite convincingly, as regular pendants.

But for those who think Swarovski crystals are a poor cousin of the real deal – diamonds, that is – there is hope yet. The handbag-shaped and very ostentatious Otazu Ego laptop whose case comes encrusted with 470 real diamonds, is the perfect gift if you’ve got US$350,000 to spare. With this one, your lady will either be very impressed, or very mad at you.

Fashionable and/or cute
Without a doubt, when it comes to anything we buy, we want it to be an item that we can show off to our girlfriends. In three words, we want them fashionable, girly or cute. Especially with gadgets, we want one that is tailored for us, instead of a generic one that looks like we’re carrying around our brother’s stuff.

Designer labels never hurt, which is why the LG Prada phone ranks highly on women’s gadget wish list. Jennifer Loo, a self-confessed Prada fanatic says the phone completes her package. “When it came out, I knew I had to have it, no questions about it,” she says. “I’m sure if a Gucci phone came out, Gucci fans would also snap it up. A designer-label phone’s just the most perfect, unexpected accessory.”

We also like gadgets that people talk about, and it also helps if they are cute. That’s why we’re such suckers for flash drives such as Mimobots (pictured at the top of the page), little art toy USB flash drives that come as monsters, skeletons and even Star Wars characters. And the iPod family: Women just love iPods. They’re cute, they’re always in the news – they were trendy from the beginning. The new iPod touch, for example, is so appealing to us because it embodies sexiness, fashion and ease of use – which brings us to my next point.

Easy to Use
Women don’t have the inclination or the time to spend more than five minutes reading an instructional booklet. In fact, many women I know haven’t read a single instruction booklet in their lives. That’s why we like our gadgets straightforward and easy to use. “Ease of use is a major deciding factor of which gadget I buy because I don’t want to be fumbling with extra buttons or functions,” says civil servant Lily Chua.

“The best gadget would be one that switches on, works well, and if there are other functions, they would be easy to call up, and easy to operate. The worst kind are the ones where you have to press several buttons or adjust some component knobs – I just don’t have the patience to learn all that,” she says. Many ladies echo this view. “The gadget I buy shouldn’t require some engineering degree to operate,” teacher Michelle Chua says. “It should just work well, and easily,” Her camera is a Casio Exilim, which she says is totally idiot-proof. “There’s a “best shot” function for all kinds of lighting and situations you may find yourself in, and it helps you achieve the best possible shot in that setting.”

Support a cause
Women are not all frivolous when it comes to buying – other aspects, beyond aesthetics, of a product also matter to us. For example, we boycott certain brands because we have heard how they use animal testing, or we pay extra dollars to buy a product because it’s “greener”. Supporting a cause appeals to women’s nurturing, caring, socially-aware side. We believe in speaking up for what we believe in, or simply carrying around a symbol that non-verbally associates us with our cause. One of the biggest concerns of women is breast cancer research, because breast cancer is one of the biggest killers of women today. The colour of solidarity for this cause is pink. Many gadget companies have given their products pink makeovers and pledged a percentage of these sales to fund breast cancer research.

One of these products is the 30GB limited edition Warriors in Pink Zune that Microsoft and Ford have partnered for. Sold through Ford's online store for US$249, full proceeds will go to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation. It helps too that the Zune comes complete with a feminine design on the back and a Warriors in Pink logo. Belkin, a manufacturer of iPod accessories, have also put out a new range of “Hope” iPod cases that come in pink.

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