The same cleaning rituals that obsess some car owners are now being adopted by the gadget lover. Our public transport network is filled with grown men using small felt cloths to rub fingerprints off their Sony PSPs or lint off their LG Shine.
Despite our protests at iPods that scratch too easily and laptops that end up looking like post-operation swabs, we secretly love to wrestle dust out of their nooks and crannies, polishing them back into a glossy shine -- there's a strange sense of satisfaction to the task.
In fact, many gadgets now come with a branded cleaning-cloth, a shammy leather for the technology lover. In maintaining the object we grow closer to it, taking on a responsibility for its appearance as an extension of ourselves. In the same way we iron a shirt, or comb our hair, we clean our iPods -- lest we be judged for the fingerprints they carry.
But where does this desire for shiny things come from, and why is the consumer electronics industry so keen to exploit it?
Some academics explain our attraction to gloss as an innate human desire to touch things that reflect light. Birds, cats and fish are all attracted to bright surfaces that glisten. In 2003, a psychological study into the effects of reflective surface finishes on human children concluded that, "infants and toddlers have been observed to mouth and to lick the horizontal metal mirrors of toys on their hands and knees", apparently taking the reflection as a visual cue for the presence of water.
So, are gadget-makers taking advantage of a primitive human habit of attributing value to water, and therefore attributing value to surfaces that appear like water?
If you're reluctant to accept the water theory, there's also our adult fascination with gems and diamonds to consider -- largely fostered by decades of marketing campaigns associating jewels with social status. Many consumers feel a psychological need to publicly display their wealth and power. These conspicuous status symbols could take the form of a diamond, a shiny red Corvette or the new iPhone.
The laptop industry has taken particular advantage of our 'magpie instinct' to flock towards the glossiest computer in the store. A few years ago, glossy laptop screens were the exception -- it was considered undesirable to have the room you were sitting in reflected back on to the document you're working on. Now you're hard-pressed to find a laptop without a glossy screen.
Consumers have a tendency to mindlessly migrate towards the glossiest thing in the store and buy it on impulse, a habit that the industry is catching on to quickly. If you can accept the hypothesis that as animals we just can't resist the shiniest objects, then prepare to defend yourself against the onslaught. Wearing sunglasses in the Apple Store would be a start.
Specifications for the LG Shine phone >>>>>>>
Europe UK : LG Electronics has named February 7th 2007 as the UK launch date for its stunning new handset, LG Shine (Shine). The UK launch is the first stage in Shine's global programme, with the handset being available in all major global markets by Q2 2007.
LG has already sold more than 180,000 Shine handsets in Korea since its launch in November, with more than 3,500 units a day still being sold. As the second handset in the Black Label Series of premium mobile phones Shine has already created a massive amount of interest globally with its wide 2.2 inch ‘magic mirror’ screen, multi functional scroll key and brushed full metal body.
“With Shine, LG has yet again pushed the boundaries of mobile phone design,” believes Mr. Jae Bae, Executive Vice President of LG Electronics Mobile Communications Company’s Overseas Sales & Marketing Division. “Inside its sleek, full metal body, LG’s cutting edge design technology delivers a high specification of features coupled with impressive battery life. With superb music, photography and video capabilities, we’re expecting Shine to be even more successful than Chocolate, which continues to sell exceptionally well worldwide, 12 months on since its launch.
Full technical details for the UK version of Shine will be announced at the launch event on February 7th.
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