Fashion before Comfort, Style before Function?

Recently in the office, we were debating rather heatedly, how much style comes into question, in terms of a work mobile. I would suggest for the majority of consumers, whilst function is important, style does sway on a purchasing decision. I know when I went for my upgrade I was like "it needs an MP3 player and a radio, I don't care for games", I ended up with the Sony Ericcson w810i. I like it. Not so different from my Nokia 8310i but definitely a little more acceptable in the style stakes.

To go off on a minor tangent, I would have stayed with Nokia had they not been so short-sighted to change the size of their adaptor pin. I had been choosing them for years over these new-fangled Razrs etc, as the loyalty remained in the practicality. I could go to any of my mates' houses and know I could charge my phone hassle free. As soon as they changed the pin, it was a case of why should I stick with this? Everyone has different phones these days. And since, I've struggled with charging my new Sony.

But anyway, my point. I feel that if an IT Manager was making a handset upgrade on behalf of the company, the last thing he would consider is how cool the phone looks. You have pressure to fulfil on functionality requirements, you're not gonna say "oh but it needs to look hip too".

However, there was an argument to suggest that the style of a business mobile these days gives an indication of your company's status. The more stylish the phone, the more tech-savvy, innovative, wider thinking your company is.

It's a strong argument. Similar to the style stakes of the company car, no one picked the Lada.