From apple.com.

It’s about that time of year again when a new iPhone will be released. Lines will stretch around the blocks of cell phone stores and Apple disciples become all atwitter with talk of the new features and perks. This happens with every new iPhone Apple has manufactured and will undoubtedly be the case when the iPhone 5 finally goes on sale in the coming weeks.

Smart Style

It still holds its own as one of the most convenient, fastest and sleekest smart phones on the market. However, what the iPhone has over the other legions of phones out there is style. Celebrities, athletes and people who are generally considered to be cool usually have an iPhone, caught posing in paparazzi pictures checking their Facebook status or using the latest iPhone accessories like wireless emporium phone headsets to being contracted to show off their iPhone habits in sweetly simple Apple commercials.

Status Statement

Due to this, the iPhone is clearly the most popular smart phone out there because it is a fashion and status statement, rather than the most useful business phone. In fact, hardcore business folk are more drawn to Blackberries or other specialized smart phones— though many of them have personal iPhones on the side for more social environments. It’s as if the iPhone has become synonymous with cool, casual wear rather than a business suit you wear to work. This may be why the most noteworthy feature on the iPhone 5 is how much lighter it is than the last model— 20 percent lighter— making it more convenient to carry so that your overall style will be less affected by the device in your purse or pocket.

From apple.com.

Following Suit

Style plays into other aspects of cell phone ownership, not just with the iPhone, but all other models of smart phones on the market. As certain commercials have shown, people have recently been collecting different colors and styles of cell phone cases for different occasions or outfits, literally dressing up their technology like they dress themselves. This may come off as unnecessarily expensive and a little outrageous. Who cares that your smart phone case doesn’t color-coordinate with your outfit? However, because we live in a culture of high demand for style and individuality, the market for cell phone cases that distinguish one person’s phone from the next does ultimately make sense— on a sociological level at least.

At One With the iPhone

What’s most interesting about this phenomenon of style and technology merging together is how integral smart phones and other pieces of technology are becoming in all aspects of our lives. These new smart phone inventions are all happening so quickly that people have trouble catching up with them, yet when they do the technology itself melds to us through a certain lifestyle osmosis. These devices are so convenient and cool that it’s hard to remember what life was like without them, an eternal few years before. Much like the styling and brand of a car trumping the actual quality, smartphones will begin to represent people’s outward personas.