Until recently, it's been nearly impossible to find really attractive and colorful cases for Palm organizers that suit the needs of the average woman. They were all black or brown. It was as if the underlying message was "this is technology--it's serious. It's housing cannot be attractive." The lack of style and color in cases reminded me of the early working woman's uniform: the drab navy blue suit with the dreadful floppy bow tie. No drab colors for me. I can be an alpha Palm device user and still possess a sense of style!

Based on the numbers in the Fast Company article and what's already known about gender and technology use (namely that men are "early adopters" of technology at a far greater rate than women), it stands to reason that not only do the genders adopt technology at a different rate, but also for different reasons. In order for Palm, Inc. or any other company to dominate the handheld market, an in-depth understanding of how and why women use PDAs is in their best interest.

The survey
Well, you're not going to find that here; that's what market research and focus groups are for. This article is written on a strictly unscientific basis. I've set out to discover whether there's a difference in how and why men and women use their Palm organizers. I've gathered together a group of family members, friends, and business colleagues, as well as people who responded to my posting on the PhilaPUG Web site and conducted a brief, informal survey.

To be honest, let me state my beliefs or prejudices up front. I think for the most part that men are attracted to the "cool" factor and women to the "how can I use this tool to make my life and my family's lives easier" factor. I admit to having a foot in both camps. As an information professional, I love the cool factor. I admit to a certain disdain for those who are wedded to paper, and believe they may as well be chiseling the details of their lives onto stone tables. However, as a woman who works full time outside the home, a wife, and a mother, the "makes life easier" factor also weighs in heavily.

I asked the following questions to a group of ten Palm device users, and, surprisingly, their answers did not vary a great deal based on gender. The Palm device users ranged from my 16-year old daughter to a male age 55, with the average age being 36. The group consisted of five males and five females. The breakdown by age and sex is shown in Table A.

The Palm devices in use amongst this group included: one PalmPilot Professional, three Palm IIIs, three Palm IIIxes, two Palm Vs, and one Palm Vx

Each of the ten subjects were asked to respond to the following questions.