Phone as fashion statement?

Actually, "fashion statement" is too shallow – tech choices are becoming more like identity statements. The New York Times article today on 3G phones (that connect to the Web and play music and video) starts out by saying "gadget freak" Greg Harper is less than impressed with 3G phones and suggesting that Sprint, Verizon, and Cingular should probably be worried. The thing is, Greg looks a lot older than a teenager, and I have a feeling teenagers will be quite a bit less judgmental about the phones' functionality, and the phone companies know it. Just look at Helio, a South Korean phone company, now in L.A. too, has struck a deal with News Corp. to bring MySpace-enabled, multimedia phones to US teens and young adults, Information Week reports. They will be able to use their MySpace screennames to IM each other, and there will be a "presence" feature that, as in instant-messaging, tells you when a "buddy" is online. Whether or not it takes off (before teens have moved to a new "favorite" social-networking site or type of Web service), I think Helio understands what young phone users want better than Greg Harper does. Helio said in its press release that this is not a phone, but "a badge of personality," a "mobile lifestyle."