Fujitsu's Laptop for Women: Sexist or Smart Marketing?
/A marketing team at Fujitsu thought that a laptop "aimed at female users" was a good idea, but the company isfacing ridicule. Among the "Floral Kiss" features is "a flip latch that can easily open the display-even by users with long fingernails."
In its press release, the company says that its female employees designed the laptop to include the following:
1. Elegant design down to the details
2. Custom-designed applications
3. Design collaboration model with the jewelry brand ''agete"
Applications include Scrapbook, Diary, and Horoscopes, presumably activities that interest women.
The design, too, is tailored to the gentler sex:
The top casing has been constructed with an elegant and refined gradation with gold trim, and it features a flip latch that can easily open the display-even by users with long fingernails. The power button is adorned with a pearl-like accent, and the power status LED and Caps Lock key are decorated with diamond-cut stone for a sophisticated look. An exquisite gold ring frames each key on the transparent keyboard, highlighting its elegant style. In addition, the outtake and intake vents all feature a floral motif design.
A writer for Business Insider points out the absurdity of the product:
I can't count the number of times I've been typing away on my Mac Book Pro and thought, wow, this consumer experience sure would be enhanced if my caps lock key were bedazzled and there was a built-in daily horoscope app. … This computer comes with both.
Discussion Starters:
- What's your view of the laptop focus: a silly idea, a shrewd marketing tactic, or something else?
- Critics of the product say that women don't need a special laptop, particularly one bejeweled and pink. What's your view?
