Lady Geek

I received the Nokia E61i to review with an attitude of nonchalance.  I previously considered myself as Blackberry slave and resigned myself to the fact that my children will grow up to be Blackberry orphans. I begrudgingly removed my Sim card into my new E61i in the spirit of goodwill.

My initial impression was that it was a bulkier, sturdier blackberry, and kind of geeky looking.  As one Lady Geek told me, it looked like a Casio calculator.

Within 5 mins, without reading the manual , I had figured out how to put a photo of my baby daughter as my background on the screen.  In 10 mins, I had made my first call.  Within half an hour, I had downloaded the Gmail application.  This was intuitive design.  No manuals.  Minimal frustration.  My previous reluctance had been totally overcome with a rush of love.  Admittedly,  this wasn’t love at first sight but this was love within the first half an hour. This got me thinking.

What level of gratification needs to achieved in the first 5 mins for a piece of technology to play an indispensable role in your life?  How important is it that women can make technology ‘feel their own’ within the first 5 mins of owning a new gadget?

Meeting your new phone is like going on a first date.  You have to connect in the first five minutes otherwise, its pretty much an uphill struggle.  First impressions do count.  In fact, they are crucial.  I spoke to my Lady Geeks about this and so many of them struggle with initial set ups.  They talk about “wanting technology feeling like their own.” Once they are shown how to use something or have worked out just one thing on their own, they feel comfortable.  Secure.  Protected.   Comforted.  Most importantly, they are saved from phoning the company or asking a man and feeling completely stupid.

Drescher states that there are 3 components of a successful relationship: Comfort, Safety and Sexual Tension.   The comfort and safety elements are crucial for a woman’s relationship with a phone.  Comfort of feeling relaxed with my technology.   The safety of knowing it is there when I need it and has my life in it.  

In hindsight, I never felt the same about my Blackberry.  It is an absolutely necessary part of my life.  However, I would not say I had a particularly emotional relationship with it.  Blackberry have been so clever by targeting the Enterprise market- my company does not support the E61i so I could never use it to check my work email and calendar.

Reluctantly, this morning Nokia told me they want their E61i back: I had to return the SIMM card to the Blackberry Pearl.

I miss the E61i’s qwerty keyboard even if they are quite hard to press sometimes - true love can overcome flaws like that.  I miss the intuitive nature of the device and I miss the photo off my baby on the background (I’ve not yet managed to do the same for my BB’s tiny screen).

If companies want their users to feel an emotional connection with technology, why don’t they focus on that first crucial 5 mins? Why not think about how to make a woman fall in love and not get caught up in product spec most of which most people will never use?  Why can’t every phone or piece of technology come with a small handbag size card with top ten tips to getting started?  What about a demo mode that explains the basic principles? Why can’t their be a hot-line button on your phone to a helpline?

Companies must understand that for women first impressions count and if instant gratification isn’t found in the first five minutes through the design and usability, its very difficult to engender true loyalty.  As Elbert Hubbard said (1856 - 1915)

“An ounce of loyalty is worth a pound of cleverness.”