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Looking for love? That iPad (probably) won’t help

Retrevo’s latest Valentine’s Day-themed study answers the question that’s been on all of our minds: will girls (or guys) be impressed by my iPad/Droid X/sexy laptop/3D HDTV?!

 

We finally have an answer: maybe…it depends.

 

Retrevo conducted their study by checking the preferences of a sample size of over 1,000 people distributed across gender, age, income, and location in the United States. According to their results, males and rich people are more interested in gadgets (and the people who use them) than females and non-rich people.

Cool phones and laptops are better status symbols than are iPads and artistic talents (such as painting or drawing). In other words, if you want to attract a rich dude, you’re better off chatting away on your iPhone than you are painting a lovely scene.

Fifty per cent of the male participants reported that they would be more attracted to a person who was using a cool phone, while only 42 per cent of men would be interested in a person reading a book. That’s still more than the number of guys who said they’d be interested in someone using an iPad — just 36 per cent of male respondents said iPad-usage would be a turn-on.

Girls are not quite as interested in people using sexy tech. Thirty-eight per cent of female respondents said they’d be interested in and attracted to someone using a cool laptop, while 36 per cent said they’d feel the same way about a cool phone. Only 29 per cent said they thought an iPad would be attractive — less than those who thought book-reading would be attractive, but not much less. Thirty per cent of female respondents said they’d be interested in someone reading a book.

The only people who really find gadgets sexy are Geek Tech bloggers rich people. According to Retrevo’s survey, 71 per cent of people making more than $200,000 per year said they find cool cell phones attractive. Sixty-one per cent of that group said they find cool laptops attractive, and 54 per cent said they liked people using iPads.

As for what people find unattractive, it probably shouldn’t surprise you that Bluetooth headsets and cell phone holsters are right up there with (actually higher than) tattoos and piercings.

So if you’re buying that new Verizon iPhone, it’s not to attract the ladies — it’s for you. Don’t try to justify it. But if you’re a girl…perhaps it’s time to get into tech. Not only are guys attracted to tech…rich guys are.

By Sarah Jacobsson Purewal,  PC World (US). Follow Sarah on Twitter (@ geeklil ) or on Facebook

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Jim Love, Chief Content Officer, IT World Canada

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