Pretty in Pink: Laptop Bags Add Feminine Touch
April Lockhart used to have trouble finding her laptop at business meetings. She and a group of co-workers would walk into a conference room, leave their laptop bags in a corner and begin their discussion. But afterward, it took quite a while to sort through the cases to find each person's laptop: The bags looked identical -- and uniformly masculine -- in black nylon with a long shoulder strap. "If it had been a pile of women's handbags," Ms. Lockhart says, "that never would have happened."
In a bid to add feminine zest to the meat-and-potatoes laptop bag, Ms. Lockhart teamed up with a friend, Debra Wong, and launched Case Closed Bags Inc., a company that makes standout cases with stylish patterns, colors and materials. Rather than featuring long, black shoulder straps, many bags have tote-like handles. And the trend toward sleeker, more fashionable gadget bags is widening: Handbag makers Coach and Kate Spade and designers Christian Dior and Gucci make iPod cases.
Black Leather Ladies Brief by Mobile Edge Inc. Price: $180-$300
The numbers suggest there's a ready, enthusiastic audience for these functional fashion statements: Women account for 52% of consumer-electronics purchases, once widely assumed to be the domain of men. In fact, of the estimated $120 billion annual market in consumer electronics, women easily represent $60 billion of sales, according to the Consumer Electronics Association.
But consumers are likely to find there's a price to be paid for fashion. Almost all of the different laptop and gadget bags catering to women's craving for style sacrifice some degree of functionality. They also cost more, compared with a price of $30 to $60 for a good-quality black nylon bag.
For example, at Case Closed Bags, the best-selling laptop carrier comes in 10 different patterns and materials, but it has less give -- and therefore can accommodate fewer items -- than a typical nylon laptop bag. The carrier, called "Steve," costs between $150 and $200, is shaped like a large tote and fits laptops with screens measuring up to 15 inches. That means the cases could hold an average laptop, including IBM's ThinkPads and most Hewlett-Packard and Dell notebooks, but wouldn't work for larger laptops such as Apple Computer's 17-inch PowerBook.
Some consumers also complain the Steve model is too thin to hold the laptop's power brick. To address this, Case Closed Bags now offers the "Big Steve" model. It's double the width of the original Steve, and allows room for power peripherals and documents along with the laptop. Both Steve bags include an outer cellphone pocket with a Velcro closure.
Universal Laptop PJs be Levenger Price: $119
Other companies are jumping into the market. Closely held Mobile Edge Inc. prides itself on creating computer cases that reflect personal style, yet until recently its products were either gender-neutral or aimed at men. Now the company has launched a new line of laptop cases designed by and for women, a "greatly overlooked market," the company says.
"We were astounded when we first looked at the sales data a year ago and the current market offerings," says vice president of marketing for Mobile Edge, Geb Masterson. "You would be hard-pressed to find dedicated technology accessories for the female consumer at any of the major consumer-electronics retailers."
The new Mobile Edge cases, costing from $60 to $170, come in seven different colors and materials, including chocolate suede, faux crocodile and full-grain leather. Mobile Edge refers to them as "totes" instead of laptop cases but they still come with the company's patented SafetyCell laptop protection compartment. This sleeve can slip in or out of the bag after detaching from hidden Velcro strips.
At the same time, the Mobile Edge bags, which fit 15-inch laptops, feature pockets for CDs, disks, cellphones, pens and other items. To keep the bags padded without adding too much bulk or weight, Mobile Edge used neoprene -- a thin, rubbery material found in wet suits. A few extras, such as detachable cosmetics pouches and special pockets for cellphones, enhance the bags' appeal to women.
The Steve Bag in bamboo blossom fabric by Case Closed Bags Inc. Price: $150-$200
This month, Mobile Edge will roll out a high-end line of laptop briefs that also fit laptops with screens up to 15 inches and range in price from about $180 to $300, depending on the material. These versions will ditch the tote-like handles altogether, and instead will have hand-sized cut-out handles at the top of the carriers, along with a detachable strap.
Mobile Edge's Mr. Masterson says sales to women have jumped since the company launched its new product line April 1. Today, easily half of the company's sales are to women buying the more fashionable cases, while women were only about 15% of its total customer base before.
Levenger, a high-end luxury-goods retailer that makes leather goods, among other things, recently revved up its female appeal, as well. In February, the closely held company updated one of its top-selling computer-accessory lines -- the $119 Universal Laptop PJs -- in five new fashionable colors: bluebell, lavender, dandelion, pink and orchid. The Laptop PJs, which fit most 15-inch monitors, are an alternative to laptop bags; they cover your laptop in a fitted leather casing that zips open and closed like a suitcase, so you never have to remove your computer. But when it comes to flexibility and versatility, the PJs are limited, with only a pocket on the outside and no other compartments to carry items.
"We definitely wanted to attract more women, and to mix fashion and function," says Tracy Lamb, director of marketing for Levenger. Ms. Lamb says the company is running out of these new colors faster than the old primary colors.
Apple Computer's iPod Mini portable music player, which Apple says has especially appealed to women because of its fashionable design, has spurred a flurry of new feminine accessories, too. In October, Kate Spade will release iPod Mini cases featuring a snap closure and cut-out openings for the screen and iPod wheel. The cases, which include a small strap, will come in pink and gold, in embossed faux metallic snake for $75; other versions of the case sell for $55.
Women who prefer the original, larger iPods can also choose designer cases, such as Gucci's $195 case and a Christian Dior version that costs $300. These cases also feature handy cut-outs for the screen and wheel. In October, Coach will release an original iPod case of its own in limited-edition python skin for $118.
Case Closed Bags, the two-woman company from New York, also has started dabbling in the iPod-case business. The company will release its first iPod Mini cases in July. These will come in jelly and fabric materials for about $25, and can be worn around the neck with charm necklaces that cost an additional $10.
Ms. Lockhart sees great potential for all kinds of women's technology cases, including cellphone holders that match the Case Closed laptop bags. "How many times do you see cellphone cases for women?" she asks. "Women love to have that complete package."
电脑包也时尚！
爱普尔?洛克哈特(April Lockhart)以前总是很难在商务会议后找到自己的笔记本电脑包。她和一些同事进入会议室，将他们背的电脑包堆放在一角然后开始开会。但会议结束后麻烦就来了，大家得花好大功夫才能找到自己的包，因为电脑包都十分相似：男式的、黑色尼龙材质，还有常常的肩带。“如果角落里放的一些女式包”，洛克哈特说，“根本就不会有这些麻烦”。
于是，爱普尔和她的朋友成立了一家生产标准规格电脑包的公司Case Closed Bags Inc.，她们要给电脑包赋予一些女性的色彩，使其在样式、色彩和质地上都更加时尚。她们制作的电脑包不再用长长的的黑色肩带，很多是采用手提式样。这股时尚趋势还不仅仅局限于电脑包：手提包生产商Coach、Kate Spade以及设计商克里斯汀?迪奥(Christian Dior)和古驰(Gucci)现在开始制造用来装iPod的小包。
下面的数据表明功能性的时尚用品已经有了一个正热切盼望这些产品出现的客户群体：在消费电子品的购买群体中，女性占了52%，而在此之前这类产品往往被人们多为男性购买。事实上，消费电子产品协会(Consumer Electronics Association)的数据显示，在大约1,200亿美元的消费电子品市场中，女性的购买额有600亿美元。
但消费者也会发现，追求时尚是要付出代价的。几乎所有为满足女性时尚需要所设计生产的电脑包或其他电子产品包都会在功能上有所牺牲。它们的价格也会偏高，而一个质量不错的黑尼龙包大约30-60美元就足够了。
比如，Case Closed Bags卖得最好的电脑包有10种款式和材质，但它们弹性就比普通的黑尼龙电脑包小，这样装的东西就少。这种卖得最好的包叫“Steve”，价格大约是150-200美元。它的形状像个大手提包，但内部可以放屏幕不超过15寸的笔记本电脑。也就是说，一般的笔记本电脑这个包都能放下，比如国际商业机器公司(IBM)的ThinkPad以及大多数惠普(Hewlett-Packard)和戴尔(Dell)的笔记本；但再大的笔记本电脑就装不下了，比如苹果电脑(Apple Computer)生产的17寸的PowerBook。
有些消费者还抱怨Steve包的空间太窄，以致于难以放下笔记本的电源。为解决这个问题，Case Closed Bags现在推出一种名为“Big Steve”的新款包，其可撑开的厚度是Steve包的两倍，这样不仅仅可以放下笔记本电池，还能容纳其他一些文件。这两种包的外面都有放手机的小袋，并用尼龙搭扣封口。
其他公司也赶忙进入这个市场。私人持股公司Mobile Edge Inc.一直以生产个性电脑包而自豪，但不久以前该公司生产的电脑包都还是男女均适用或专门供男性使用的。如今，这家公司启动了一条新的电脑包生产线，专门生产为女性设计的电脑包。这家公司说，“这个市场被严重忽视了”。
“当我们第一次看到去年的销售数据和市场现有的供应量时，我们惊呆了。”Mobile Edge负责营销的副总裁盖博?马斯特森(Geb Masterson)说，“不管在哪一家大的消费电子品零售店，你都很难找到专门为女性准备的电子产品的装饰用品。”
Mobile Edge新推出的电脑包售价大约为60-170美元，有7种不同的颜色、材质。Mobile Edge将这些包称为“手提袋”，而不是电脑包。但它具有该公司享有专利的SafetyCell笔记本电脑保护间隔设计。
除此之外，能装下带有15寸显示屏笔记本的Mobile Edge电脑包里，还有放CD、软盘、手机、笔等其他东西的地方。为了使包体柔软但又不能沉重，Mobile Edge还专门使用了一种特殊的橡胶做填充物。另外，包内装化妆盒和手机等的专用小袋都是可摘除的，这就更增强了这款包的吸引力。
Mobile Edge本月还将推出一系列高端笔记本电脑包，空间还是装不超过15寸的笔记本电脑，售价根据材质的不同大约为180至300美元之间。
马斯特森说，自从公司的新品4月1日上市至今，公司一半的销售额都来自购买更加时尚电脑包的女性。但在以前，女性消费者只占该公司客户基础的15%左右。
具有时尚外形的苹果电脑iPod Mini音乐播放器也引起了一股电子产品装饰品消费热潮。Kate Spade将在10月份推出专门用来放iPod Mini的小包。
Case Closed Bags也打算生产iPod包。该公司将于7月份发布首个为iPod Mini设计的小包，售价大约25美元；还可以再多花10美元，获得一条漂亮的项链，这样就可以将它戴在脖子上。
洛克哈特认为，这类产品的市场非常有潜力，“你见过几回女性的手机包？”她问，“而女人就喜欢这些”。
