One for the Ladies…

Editorial Comment: I don’t usually comment too much on official press releases, but this one from BenQ made me chuckle. Their new E40 digital camera is aimed at “fun, fearless females”, surely something of a niche market - I’m not sure if you’re entitled to buy the camera if you don’t fall into that category. A little more seriously (but not much), BenQ have allegedly made their new digicam more female-friendly by adding the ability to “scrawl on photos” (their words, not mine), add built-in photo frames to your images, and ermmm, that’s it, apart from the stylish red case. Now far be it for me to give BenQ advice on marketing, but surely what a female digital photographer wants is exactly the same as any photographer, regardless of their sex - a 20 megapixel compact digital with image quality that matches DSLRs?

BenQ Press Release 19/07/04

Sweet ‘n Stylish - BenQ’s E40 Digital Camera with a female touch

Europe, 19th of July, 2004 - BenQ announces the release of the BenQ DC E40 digital camera. Targeted at females, the E40 features an intuitive touch screen with photo framing and “scrawling” options and equipped with a 4 mega-pixel high sensitivity image sensor.

The E40 features BenQ’s first and innovative touch screen design that allows photo personalization. Offering users more than just photo playback, the E40’s touch screen allows users to choose from various built-in photo frames (also available to download at BenQ.com, E40 specifications link). Furthermore, you can also make creative “scrawling” directly on photos.

The BenQ E40 can also perform as an on hand mini movie recorder. With the most up-to-date compression technology MPEG4, the E40 provides superior movie quality with an economic memory card consumption allowing you to enjoy and review video shots numerously.

The BenQ E40 is equipped with a long lasting Lithium-ion battery. Users may recharge the battery either with an adapter indoor or using an USB connected to a notebook outdoor. With its Dual Recharge Mode (DRM) recharging and power sustainability have never been so hassle free.

The BenQ E40 is designed to draw attention with its elegant cool red casing. A brushed metal sliding mechanism conveniently protects and allows for easy gripping of the camera. The E40 is now available for fun, fearless females.

Published: Tuesday, July 20, 2004

Reader Comments

1. Are they for real ??!!!! I suggest BenQ drag themselves out of the dark age ! Scrawling...???!! This is a camera for fun, fearless graffiti artists. No self respecting photographer (male or female) would be really interested.

   Rose at 10:47am on Tuesday, July 20, 2004

2. Christ.
   This is the worst idea I have ever seen. At least it's not pink with flowers. Although I am sure that you can add those to your PRECIOUS pictures of puppies or your cat or something, as I am sure that's all us girls take pictures of.
   Is the default gender of technology male, then, and the only way a woman can use something without her pretty little head exploding is if it is marketed directly to her, with crappy gimmicks that I have no idea what the function of them actually is?!?
   At least this made me laugh my head off. Maybe I need to go scrawl on my photos. Something explicit.

   Gwen at 01:45am on Sunday, July 25, 2004

3. You could email them to BenQ, Gwen, and let them know what you think!
   
   It would be interesting to see the sales figures for this camera, 6 months in the future, to see if they actually sell any to women...

   Mark Goldstein at 09:29am on Sunday, July 25, 2004