 |
| This one's for the ladies: Verizon & HTC |
Every couple years, we womenfolk get a pink or purple gadget made
especially for us; this time around, it’s HTC’s new Rhyme.
As announced today by HTC execs, the phone will retail for $199 with a
Verizon contract and sports a 3.7-inch screen, a 1GHz processor, and a
5-megapixel rear camera.
In other words, it would be a perfectly standard Android handset, except
for the fact that it’s purple, features a stable of feminine wallpaper
options, and comes with a light-up charm.
According to recent research, between 73 and 63 percent of Android owners are men. In one survey, males showed a preference for Android,
women in the same study showed a strong preference for the iPhone —
something that we attribute entirely to marketing.
So Verizon and HTC
apparently thought a female-targeted phone and marketing campaign would
help bring new consumers into the Android fold.
The Rhyme will not support Verizon’s 4G LTE service, but it will come in
a bundle with the aforementioned charm (also purple, it is designed to
clip to your purse and comes with an LED that flashes when you have a
notification), a speaker dock and matching purple earbuds.
While we do understand that the Android OEM community might want to tap
into the female demographic to extend their reach, we’re not sure a
purple, light-up phone with mid-range specs and girlie wallpaper is the
right way to do that.
In fact, it might take an even greater commitment:
several years of gender-neutral marketing that emphasizes features
everyone can use and enjoy rather than Verizon’s current Android
marketing, much of which positions the device at the center of a
dystopian machine shop.
The HTC Rhyme will be available for pre-order starting September 22.
