I must start by being perfectly honest about something: I don’t understand how the ringtone/wallpaper/theme industry is a multi-billion dollar industry. I’ve tried out a few ringtones, but I think they are for the most part silly. I’m one of the fifty million (or so) Sprint Ambassadors who received a free phone to try out, and it’s cool, but if I had to pay for a background image, it would be fedexed out of my possession a few minutes later. But for some reason I have yet to discover, I really think there is something cool about custom skins for devices.
Maybe it’s because owning a RAZR was cool for about 3 days, and having a black one for about 2 more days than that. Everything is a commodity today. So when I found out about skinit, I decided I needed to have a Habs phone.
Getting your device skinned is terrifically easy. Go to their Web site, select your category of device, then pick the brand and model. Then pick a skin. Or start by selecting your skin. They have TONS of em (art, sports, models, colleges, movies, etc).
Pricing ranges from $14.95 to $29.95. At face value, this seems a wee bit high to me, but then I gave it some thought – if I personally put value on personalization, this isn’t all that pricey. Don’t get me wrong, if you are reading this, and your dull grey Compaq laptop is looking suh-weet in your opinion, you are probably shaking your head wondering how I could even possibly consider spending that money. No worries, my friend, you are under no obligation to purchase, and may safely go on your merrily surfing ways. But if you want your own Star Wars Vaio, keep reading!
I selected my skin (Montreal Canadiens hockey logo) and my phone (LG VX6100), and today received it. A little bit of prying and applying, and a few minutes later, the Habsphone was born!
In today’s world of endless Starbucks, Targets, Walmarts, Mickey D’s, Home Depots, and every other chain that is strategically placed 1.7 miles apart, it’s fun to find a little individuality. Granted, buying a sticker (easily removable, by the way, with no residue left over) isn’t going to solve world hunger, but at least I can make the bet that I’m the only guy in San Francisco with a cell phone that looks like the Montreal Canadiens hockey team logo. I have to go now, I need to get a new pair of khakis at the Gap.
I’ve skinned my laptop and it looks really cool. I actually uploaded my own picture directly to their site and they shipped my skin to me within 3 days. -Pretty cool!
sorry fella but you have missed the point. It ain’t surprising because a) the market for mobile media in the US is less mature than Europe and b) you ain’t the right demographic – the majority of customers are under 18 years old. Ringtones, wallpapers and other mobile products are massive in Europe and Asia and will become much bigger in the US too. Its not about personalising the look of your phone, its about personalising the function of it.