The rise of the fashion phone is inextricably linked with consumer's desire to differentiate themselves from other consumers. The pursuit of individuality seems to be a priority, at least that is what companies like Motorola believe. The staggering growth in the mobile content industry points to consumer preoccupation with personalizing their mobiles. The catch-phrase, Make it you own, is selling ringtones, wallpapers, phone charms and decorative cases, now it's selling fashion phones. More and more, it seems, what we own defines us. Despite capitalizing on the trend at lightening speed, handset manufacturers aren't the prophets personalization, the trend towards customized and fashion phones is consumer driven. In China, where mobile phone saturation is high, it is possible to see phones worn on the wrist in handmade lace cases, or covered in stickers of pop stars and smiley faces. In Japan, the omnipresent Hello Kitty dangles from every schoolgirl's phone. These small aesthetic additions are intended to reveal something about the phone's owner. A Samsung cell phone emblazoned with an image of Diane von Furstenberg serves a similar purpose. As does the Roberto Cavali phone, or the Anna Sui phone. Cell phones have become a ubiquitous accessory-- every woman has a mobile phone by her side. I wanted to create one that makes a statement with a signature look, declares Ms. Sui on her website. Making a statement is expensive, a designer's name on a phone increases it's value by several hundred dollars. It is no longer a high-tech tool, it is a designer accessory.

Not surprisingly, engineers like Bill Schweber are wondering who stole their glory. Engineers do design, and by this we mean the hard and slogging work of pulling together ICs and software and resolving mechanical, thermal, power, display, format, protocol, and packaging issues. Then a celebrity comes along and takes all this hard work, puts on a new case or shell—perhaps studded with crystals or glitter—and takes the bulk of the credit. Once again, engineers do the work and don't get the appreciation. Recently, Nokia has undertaken a project with the design firm of Schulz and Webb, to explore the possibilities of personalized phones. The Schulz and Webb blog describes the project as looking at how personalization of Nokia phones can change their meaning or impact culturally. Large-scale manufacture is inevitably distanced from the very precise social context of use. Once we bring in short-run manufacture, however, the mobile can be more culturally situated. Nokia have realized, at least, the inevitable paradox of mobile personalization. At the end of the day, the mobile phone in your hand is a mass produced clone.