Girls and Gadgets Don’t Mix

My partner asked me the other day if I would like a new watch for Christmas. Actually I would really like a new watch for Christmas and I’m touched that he had thought of such a gift. He asked that I choose, so that he could be sure of getting something that I liked.

As a first step, we grabbed the Argos catalogue and he started to browse. I brought some drinks in and asked how he was getting on. “I’m looking for a ladies watch that actually does something”, he replied. But we didn’t find one.

Why is it that men need dates, alarms, lights and interesting energy solutions on their watches (not to mention ones that are manufactured from interesting stuff, like titanium), when women just need the time (often with no second hand and no accurate markings) and plenty of bling? I don’t get it. I want one with a backlight so I can see the time at night, and an alarm to set in case I fall asleep on the train.

With women being target market for phones, music players, and even games consoles these days, it seems very odd that such a fundamental market hasn’t caught up. I’m not a gadget freak really (not much anyway) and I don’t need something which remote controls my talking entertainment centre and is waterproof to 100m or anything. My current watch was an emergency buy from Next when the last one died and its pretty good – it has minute markings and a second hand – and a diving bezel thing that I use when I’m cooking to remind me when something will be ready.

I suppose the answer is to buy a man’s watch. I’m a big girl after all (at almost six feet tall) and I do have big hands. The trouble is that I have tiny wrists, ladies watches are too big even after I’ve had links taken out – an average man’s watch is big enough for both my wrists at one time, which isn’t practical!

Short of starting my own gadget accessories range, I’m not sure how I’m going to solve this!

6 thoughts on “Girls and Gadgets Don’t Mix

  1. If only if were that easy. I can do most of the schematic design myself as well – I knew there was a reason I studied Electronics at University :)

    The feature list goes:
    Feminine Design
    Accurate Time Keeping
    Robust (its a functional object, not a decorative one)
    Alarm/Timers, including discreet pill reminder which buzzes your skin at the right time every day

    I’m sure there are other accessories that could be better adapted for women as well – just making things in pink is a bit pathetic! Earphones instantly spring to mind, I struggle to find any that are of a reasonable quality in sound terms which will fit little ears. Does anyone else any ideas?

  2. I have tiny wrists, so the vast majority of my 50+ watches (what? It’s not like I’m addicted or anything!) don’t actually fit me, but I’ve never found that much of a problem. I’ve also never made a distinction between “men’s” and “women’s” watches – if I like it, I buy it.

    If you want an interesting watch, I am currently geeking over the following:

    a TV watch – I know I never watch TV, but it is a COOL WATCH that I do not have! Think how cool and geekery I’d look! (sorry, can’t find a link for this one right now);

    and this binary watch!

    Don’t know if that helps your quest for a new watch or not, but hope you find the right one soon. :)

  3. Hello fairyJo, thanks for your suggestions. I don’t think I can wear a binary watch – I can actually tell the time in binary and I don’t want everyone to know!

    I don’t mind what gender the watches are intended for and would happily wear a mans one, but it has to be approximately on the right scale for me to wear all the time – to work, in the kitchen, asleep, and everything – and I haven’t seen anything suitable yet. I’ll let you know what I find though! If you come across any other ideas, let me know.

Leave a Reply

Please use [code] and [/code] around any source code you wish to share.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.