I love Jan Chipchase’s work and try to keep up with his site. He is a researcher for Nokia: travels around the word, observes mobile phone culture and takes a lot of pictures. What I love the most is his honesty. He brings to light interesting trends, habits, etc. but notes when there might be a bias:

Despite the rear area often being considered, in the words of a female clothing designer we interviewed, a ‘problem zone’, in Tokyo mobile phones and music players like the iPod (pictured above) are increasingly making their way into the back pockets of women. (…) Of course this ‘trend’ could merely be a result of me seeing what my male brain is hard-wired to see.

To note on women carrying their mobile or mp3 players in their back pockets:

1) The back pocket is used to state the worth of a pair of jeans. It is indeed a zone for personalization, for advertising, for expression. The mobile adds to this expressive zone - people will be looking there (for reasons other than hard-wiring in the male brain…I would be lying if I said I did notice back pockets).

2) Are women more attentive to things in their back pockets? Possibly due to self-consciousness (”is there something on my butt?”). I put my mobile in my back pocket when I am expecting a phone call or email that I cannot miss.

3) A mobile phone or mp3 player in the front pocket of women’s jeans/pants? No that doesn’t work.