Are BlackBerrys for men only?

Remember the CRTC, the friendly bunch who told us that only 3% of Canadians use a BlackBerry? Well, they have another interesting BlackBerry-related stat for us: around 75% of BlackBerry/PDA users in Canada are men, compared to the near 50/50 split in cell phone users. Why is that?

Well, fellow blogger Shane Schick from ITBusiness.ca has a couple potential answers. One (and this is stereotyping quite a bit, but bear with us) is that communication-prone women are more apt to want a device with voice communication as its primary function; math-loving men are more apt to want a device that provides them with a constant stream of sales figures and cost estimates for them to number-crunch to their heart’s content. Another, more direct answer is that this number is a simple reflection of the disparity between men and women in the enterprise space.

Question of the day, folks: why are more men using BlackBerrys than women?

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Aaron

Because it’s ugly.
Aaron

Because it’s ugly.
Matt

And the 72XX series looks like a hockey puck which appleals to Canadian men.

It’s also what I see most of in Canada.
Matt

And the 72XX series looks like a hockey puck which appleals to Canadian men.

It’s also what I see most of in Canada.
Kevin

I don’t know – when you look at that celeb BB site, there are lots of women users! But I would say this minority is largely due to the cosmetic factor – at least with the older models. Since the 8700 I can see more and more women coming on board. Judging my girlfriend as an indicator, my 8700g is the first model that hasn’t made her squeamish. She uses an XV6700 (Verizon Wireless Windows Mobile PDA), FYI.
Kevin

I don’t know – when you look at that celeb BB site, there are lots of women users! But I would say this minority is largely due to the cosmetic factor – at least with the older models. Since the 8700 I can see more and more women coming on board. Judging my girlfriend as an indicator, my 8700g is the first model that hasn’t made her squeamish. She uses an XV6700 (Verizon Wireless Windows Mobile PDA), FYI.
foner

OMG this is really pretty simple. By and large guys dig gadgets and gals not so much. I mean really..is this such a difficult concept for us to grasp. There was a time when the cellphone was just a gadget and their weren’t a lot of women carrying them around either. Do you guys recall seeing a lot of women with bag phones or motorola bricks back in the day? No. Why? Because they were gadgets!
foner

OMG this is really pretty simple. By and large guys dig gadgets and gals not so much. I mean really..is this such a difficult concept for us to grasp. There was a time when the cellphone was just a gadget and their weren’t a lot of women carrying them around either. Do you guys recall seeing a lot of women with bag phones or motorola bricks back in the day? No. Why? Because they were gadgets!
Lucy

Noticing most responses so far are from men, here is a woman’s perspective. (1) BB are not ergonomically designed for women’s hands – they are big and clunky; (2) only comes with clip device, and doesn’t consider positioning with respect to women’s wardrobes and bodies, for that matter e.g. waist and hips!; (3) carrying in purse/bag means I can’t hear the damn thing ring/beep; (4) really hard to use as phone, almost requires headset or bluetooth; and last by not least, (5) inelegant design, read, geeky.
Lucy

Noticing most responses so far are from men, here is a woman’s perspective. (1) BB are not ergonomically designed for women’s hands – they are big and clunky; (2) only comes with clip device, and doesn’t consider positioning with respect to women’s wardrobes and bodies, for that matter e.g. waist and hips!; (3) carrying in purse/bag means I can’t hear the damn thing ring/beep; (4) really hard to use as phone, almost requires headset or bluetooth; and last by not least, (5) inelegant design, read, geeky.
Aaron

Lucy for the win!
Aaron

Lucy for the win!
foner

Uhm.. Well, yes… Those are all valid reasons as well I suppose
foner

Uhm.. Well, yes… Those are all valid reasons as well I suppose
Charrell

I have owned 3 Blackberrys and am a woman. I know a few women that do have them and even more that want them. I love my Blackberry!!
I think that you see more men with Blackberrys because most companies (including mine) provide them for management use onle. Natually there are more men in management than women, which is unfortunate. There is also the obvious reason that even though we are closing the gap, men still make more money than women.
Charrell

I have owned 3 Blackberrys and am a woman. I know a few women that do have them and even more that want them. I love my Blackberry!!
I think that you see more men with Blackberrys because most companies (including mine) provide them for management use onle. Natually there are more men in management than women, which is unfortunate. There is also the obvious reason that even though we are closing the gap, men still make more money than women.

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