There's an unexpected connection between Apple's slick design and the vibrator manufacturing industry... and it's not just iPod compatibility.
For many years, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) has shared exhibition space with a somewhat different exhibition: the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE), which might well be described as CES for porn stars and producers.
While the fact that the shows share neighbouring halls in Las Vegas might once have been a coincidence, these days there's nearly as much technology in the halls of AEE as CES, and the overlap looks set to increase.
One unexpected outcome is that design trends seen in the consumer electronics industry are now emerging in the field of vibrators and other sex toys.
"Technology seems to be the kind of 'it' factor right now," said Coyote Days, the senior toy buyer for adult retailer and distributor Good Vibrations. (And before you ask, that's not some kind of porn star pseudonym: it's her real name, albeit one she chose herself when she was four years old.)
"Our customers have iPods and BlackBerries and Vaios," Days told a specialist panel on retailing toys in the adult environment at AEE. "They want a sex toy that has the same look and feel to it."
Just as in electronic gadgets, the interface as well as the overall design matters. "They don't want just on-off -- they want pulsations and different functions and dual motors," Days said.
 OhMiBod: Wouldn't a wireless version be more versatile? |
Manufacturers have responded to that demand. One notable success story is the OhMiBod, designed by a former marketing executive for Apple.
Not only does the OhMiBod have a distinctly Apple-like design ethos, it connects directly to your iPod and sets its rhythms according to the kind of music you're listening to. (You can insert your own vibrating iPhone joke here.)
That design apparently resonates (ahem) with consumers. "The OhMiBod is great -- we're selling really well on it, people really do like it," Days told APC. "It's just so innovative. I work with some really tech people and when we got it, they were like 'Oh my god, this works with my Treo!'"
That doesn't mean that the entire market is about to swamped with new novelty sex technology (Wii attachments, anyone) To quote Days: "Not everyone is going to want a dual-motor harmonising 15,00-speed vibrator. It's never going to be bread-and-butter for us, but if it has got innovation and the functionality is good, then techie people love it."