The woman has changed once more.

And this time she did it while you were sleeping. From our great grandmas who were scared to turn up the volume on the radio and our moms who were content choosing their mixie-grinders - today, the woman is buying her own Notepad, cell phone, MP3 player, plasma screen and more. A woman is no longer a mere prop to push the product into the market. She is a serious consumer. And how!

Athika Pai , founder & COO , B2Km, drives an SUV, uses an Apple iPOD, the latest Toshiba Satellite Notebook with a bundled TV tuner, the smallest digital camera and Mpeg player, and a Sony P800 phone. Sunita Didwania, a homemaker in Mumbai, owns a Sony Viao laptop, Bose headphones and the new portable Philips DVD player. Her laptop is her best friend as she watches movies on it, maintains her accounts and reminders on it and regularly connects to the Web.

Uma Ganesh, CEO of Kalzoom Technologies , the only knowledge management company of India, uses an Acer Laptop and two mobile phones - one is for constant Internet access (a Samsung with a Reliance connection) and the other a Motorola Tri Band, because it aids her connectivity across the globe. The laptop is Uma's "most precious companion". She upgrades it frequently for better speed and features since she connects from multiple locations and has to stay connected with office, family and friends.

The gender issue is becoming less and less apparent as technology is becoming part of our everyday lives. The technicalities of computers, which had earlier put women off, are no longer frightening them. As hardware and software becomes cheaper, more accessible and easier to use, they are becoming more widely adopted in the home, workplace and educational institutions. "The entire consumer revolution is based on getting more people to buy more stuff. Today, digital cameras and hand-held movie cameras (Handycams) have made everyone a photographer and a moviemaker... not just women, even kids," says 62-year-old Girija Padmanabhan, a homemaker and freelance writer from Chennai. "I am no longer afraid to make a mistake because there are clear manuals and also because I see children handling these gadgets with such ease." Fashion designer Bela Shanghvi too confessed she used to be technology shy once, but today, she "wants more."

A study on women consumers by Grey Worldwide indicates that the woman consumers of tomorrow will move from frugal living to guilt-free materialism. She will evolve into someone who maintains separate bank accounts after marriage and thinks cell phones as a more useful gadget than a mixie. The researchers conducted a quantitative study amongst 3,400 women in across five metros and four mini metros - Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow, Nagpur, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh. Grey's national head of account planning, Naresh Gupta, says, "The objective of the study was to understand the way women consumers will behave in the future."

According to him, future homemakers would first add TV, refrigerators and cell phones to their shopping list. Other durables like washing machines, food processors, music systems, microwaves and ACs would come way down. It also revealed that the 'I want to live for today' factor is surprisingly highest in the mini metros at 65 per cent while it is lowest in Chennai at 38 per cent.

Sheena Sippy, a photographer in Mumbai , uses her Canon EOS 3 for a majority of her shoots but her favourite is the Hasselblad X Pan 2. Sheena chooses all her electronics and gadgets herself. "My description of a perfect day is one spent at the B&H store in New York City." Her other favorite gadgets are her MP3 player and the iPod. After she brings home a new electronic item, Sippy rips open the box and dives into the gadget. Sheena says she never had inhibitions working/buying/figuring out electronics. That's like Leena, whose head was always under the bonnet with the boys, each time the car broke down. Once when a prospective groom's family came home visiting, Leena was found under the car trying to fix it. She was sternly told by her brother to stay where she was until the guests left! Adman Prahlad Kakkar says, "The woman was always a hands-on person, repairing the iron and coolers at home. Just because computers, PDAs and mobile phones have come in now doesn't mean she has become tech-savvy now." He further adds that the market is largely made up of non-earning women, who bought gadgets and gizmos because "they were bored and because they competed with other women in material acquisitions."

The result is that it's no longer surprising to find women spending on technology. Though broadly speaking, there are two types of women - the early adaptors (who are adventurous and try out whatever new comes into the market) and the pragmatists (who wait for things to settle down before they get into it). Sunita Didwania looks at electronics as an investment rather than an expense. She is the troubleshooter in her family. When something new has to be bought, she checks out the price, configuration and options before she and her husband take the decision. "My husband eventually finances it!"

Multitasking has never been easier. Sharmishta Roy, art director , who uses a laptop at work, swears by the Autocad software; working three sets at the same time. "I cannot imagine life without my Autocad." Initially, she would hand draft all her designs, but now, work is easier and quicker. "As long as the gadget helps facilitate a woman's life, she will take the trouble to know it," says Roy. Most women in small and big cities are turning to technology to make their lives easier. Understanding it is no big deal. "I am pretty comfortable with technology. I use a HP laptop and am familiar with almost 80 per cent of its features. I had an IPAC handheld computer, which I took to quite easily though I didn't use it too much because I was already using a laptop." The trend is also making the argument redundant that girls prefer languages and boys take to numbers and technology.

However, Jerry Wang, chief marketing officer, BenQ , says that women globally choose the look and styling of the gizmos and then often come back with boyfriends or husbands to double-check for them.

Women make choosy customers. While men are happy with straight lines and functionality, women want their possessions to look great too . Ish Bawa, Marcom Manager, BenQ India Pvt Ltd , says, "The Indian women consumers know exactly what they want and like women across the world, they compare features and prices across brands before buying any product. Indian women are quick to notice value for anything they are out to buy. Our research shows that women require large phone book memories in their mobile phones and so we have incorporated a 500-entry phone book memory even in the base model of our mobile phone range. Our road shows across the country tell us that young women in the metros replace their mobile phones much faster than women in smaller cities."

Studies reveal that the youth and women in particular are increasingly emerging as key decision makers in families. The 18 to 35 age group has the maximum purchasing power and is keen to try new gadgets with the latest features. Katsuhiko Murase, marketing head, CAV Division, Sony India Pvt Ltd, says: "Women are becoming major decision makers or influencers when it comes to technology products. In the digital imaging category, we have a range of Handycam and digital cameras that are aimed at this audience group, keeping in mind the fact that it is the woman who is fond of capturing memories - whether it is of babies, holidays, picnics, sunsets or weddings." Seetu Kohli, an architect and interior designer from Delhi, who uses a Nokia Palmtop and a Sony laptop, says, "Since we work on interiors projects, I've noticed that in most cases, the woman of the house decides which TV should be bought." The trend is moving towards bigger screens, be it for television or computers. The plasma screen for its contemporary look and functional appeal is rated as a hot favourite among upwardly mobile women. At Seethu's house, both she and her husband decide "sometimes jointly, sometimes individually. Like our current Sony music system is what I chose in Dubai."

Smart homes are now becoming a reality in India - from refrigerators and microwaves that receive and send e-mail to smart doorbells that recognise the fingerprints of its occupants. It looks like Bill Gates' 'The Road Ahead' is right round the corner. And guess what, a woman is waiting right there to show you the way.

Uma Ganesh, CEO of Kalzoom Technologies , bought her mother-in-law a glucometer on one of her trips abroad. "She can now check her sugar at any time of the day." Not to forget the CDMA mobile phone with a video display. "My MIL is a happier person as it keeps her closely connected with the family." A lot of older women are carrying cell phones and happily sending e-mail to their children and grandchildren.

Women On Top

"The top Indian IT companies have more than 20 per cent of women on their rolls, way above the representation of women in the banking or manufacturing sectors, and way above what the US can boast of."

— The Economic Times

Designs on women

• The Nokia 7600 is designed like a solitaire on a finger ring.

• Samsung's SGH-T500 mobile phone is studded with 32-cubic zirconium . It also includes a health-monitoring device. It has biorhythms, which checks physical, emotional and intellectual wellbeing on a daily basis, gives a fat index, calculates fat levels, by accounting for height and weight, has a calorie counter which checks and monitors calories and has a pink schedule which computes potential pregnancy periods by tracking the dates of your menstrual cycle.

• Sony's DCR-HC 30 is a sleek DVD format Handycam with colour options.

• Sony's range of Cybershot Cameras DSC U40 and DSC T1 have compact designs.

• BenQ's LCD Monitor FP785 is designed in the shape of a woman's handbag.

• Digicam S30 is available in trendy colours, can fit into a woman's purse, has an FM radio and MP3 player, and the VOP (voice over photo) feature which allows for recording 20-second voice memos over pictures.

• The BenQ Joybee 102 MP3 player is shaped like a locket and can be worn around the neck.

• Apple iPod Mini is smaller and sleeker than the original and comes in a number of cotton candy colours.

Leena Srivastava , a bureaucrat posted in a godforsaken little town of Maharashtra, is a gizmo freak. She uses a Sony P900, a sleek digital camera and stays connected to the rest of the world through the Internet. She shops on the Net (is a big bargain hunter) and is up on all tech news. She reels out models, features and prices like another woman would recipes.

Just A Click Away

Fashion designer Bela Shanghvi , famous for her revivalist saris, swears by her Pocket PC. Her O2 helps jot down her inspiration anywhere, even mid-air. It has her organiser, telephone book and her personal music. Since her gizmo is synchronised to the PC at her house, she's able to transfer the data instantly. "It's got everything I require and is just a click away!"

(With inputs from Sakshi Didwania, Mumbai; Sameera Moledina, Pune; Meenakshi Doctor, Chennai and Reshmi Chakraoborty, Delhi)