City Cell Phones a Fashion Fixture

For Vasily Bogdanov, marketing director of the Moscow retail store Mobile Center, the world can be broken down into two types of people: those who care how they look with their cell phone and those who don't.


Fashion-wise, a mobile phone long ago joined ranks with other contemporary high-end accessories - for the past five years, Moscow streets have been resounding with cellular beeps and rings. But with the initial thrill wearing off, is image still a primary concern for the capital's cell phone owners? Opinions appear to differ.


"Absolutely!" Bogdanov said. "It started in 1994. As soon as mobile phones entered the market, they became objects of prestige."


"Not at all," said Marriott Hotel financial controller John Kellites, showing his Nokia 6350. "I bought this type of phone because a friend of mine has it."


"Of course it's important!" said Natasha, a 24-year-old student, while browsing in a boutique of the Radisson Slavjanskaya Hotel. "Mine is light blue, to match my car."


For the usual financial reasons, business people in today's Russia are the biggest cell phone fans. But even for them, the prestige of having a mobile is fading. Cool, blas?, mature Moscow has apparently been there, done that fashion phase.


According to Mikhail Yemelyanov, manager of the Firma Dixis retail store, cell phones stopped being the exclusive property of the so-called New Russians when prices for handsets and tariffs sharply dropped two years ago. He noted that last year's crisis badly hit the business, but that thanks to new tariffs in the months that followed, prices had stabilized. "Now you can get a phone for as little as $100," he said, adding that the Siemens C25 model has plenty of young middle-class users.


Students and young professionals from their mid-20s onward are the new target of telecommunication companies, although they tend to choose cheaper models, such as Ericsson's GA 628 or the Motorola V3188, which costs $119.


Katya Andriyanova, administrator of Planet Fitness Moscow Beach Club, where the clicking of weights and ringing of phones often mix, stressed that for these young people cell phones are no longer a question of showing off but of practical necessity. "Before, when GSM just came out, some women were walking around the gym with their mobiles around their neck. Now everybody has got one. These are business people. They don't want to miss a phone call, so they take it with them," she said.


Moscow is no longer a stage. But if you still want to impress, head for the regions. Outside of the capital, the sight of a cell phone can still pack a punch.


"Is it prestigious to own a mobile phone? In Moscow, no. In Russia, yes," said Oleg Logunov, key account and product manager for Ericsson.


"Moscow is very different from the rest of the country because of mass production in the capital," he said.


Logunov added that St. Petersburg comes next on the callers' look-awareness scale. Following closely is south Russia, particularly Krasnodar. "If the marketing strategies are good, the regions will soon catch up with Moscow," he said.


Aesthetics don't stop at the handset. Yemelyanov's Firma Dixis store has a selection of faux mahogany covers and leather carrying cases. "This is definitely to show off," he said. "You don't really need it to protect your phone."


What about the future of cell phone fashion? For Ericsson, it is multicolored. The T 10 model, due this month, is designed for young active people and comes in blue, turquoise, red, purple and yellow.


For Siemens, it comes in the shape of the SL 25, the deluxe class phone due to debut next year. "In the future, mobile phones will be smaller and lighter," said product manager Oleg Chekhranov. "This one weighs 75 grams. It's like a pencil."


Size does matter in the world of cell phones, and the less-is-more trend is already catching on. Alina Ivanova, 24, said she chose her phone according to price, but that she was somewhat disappointed by its relative heft - so two years ago. "I don't like it. If I could really choose one, I'd go for something smaller. The smaller, the better," she said.


For some, good old-fashioned values prevail. Business manager Alexei Bogachyov, who owns a Nokia, said, "the design is not irrelevant, but the most important thing is reliability, efficiency and quality."


Still, the call of the wild always beckons. "Mine is not enough anymore," Bogachyov added. "I need a newer version."