Women 'hungry' for technology
By CHRISTINA OCCHIPINTI:: August 18, 2006

Forget a pair of Jimmy Choos or that diamond necklace. The new way to your lady’s heart? Technology.

Women’s Watch: Girls Gone Wired, a new study released by Oxygen Media, found that 79 percent of women are interested in and using technology, proving that the technology gap between men and women is no longer an issue.

Geraldine Laybourne, chairman and chief executive officer of Oxygen Media, said the study validates the company’s belief that women are more interested in technology than previously thought.

“We are proud to be giving women the credit that they deserve for being savvy and knowledgeable about technology – something we have long suspected and are thrilled to be able to quantify,” Laybourne said in a statement. “Girls Gone Wired is Oxygen’s most ambitious Women’s Watch study yet, and we have gotten amazing new insights into women and technology.”

Oxygen Media, the 6-year-old cable network owned and operated by women, commissioned Teenage Research Unlimited to conduct the study, which surveyed over 1,400 women and 700 men between ages 15 to 49.

Some of the study’s findings include:
Seventy-six percent of women will buy a cell phone that they consider to be unattractive as long as it does everything they need it to do.

Seventy-seven percent of women would prefer to receive a new plasma television over a diamond solitaire necklace.

Seventy-eight percent of women would rather buy a new cell phone loaded with the latest features and a sleek design instead of buying a pair of designer shoes.

Instead of a shopping spree, romantic evening, spa treatments or a night on the town with their girlfriends, 37 percent of women said they would choose a new iPod, cell phone, digital camera or other piece of technology if they had $500 to spend.