One commentator on the Palm Pre asserted that it's great for women with long nails because of its slide-out keyboard. Hard to see why that distinguishes the Pre from other slider designs.

But more to the point: Women with long nails have always found a way to get their words out. There's no reason to think it would be any different with a smartphone, no matter what type of keyboard, kepad or touch screen it has.

Maybe some folks never saw a secretary pick up two pencils, erasers down, and tap dizzingly fast on a manual typewriter. But with that kind of history, professional women know they can keep up with technology even if industrial designers aren't following fashion.

That said, the same cadre of well-coifed professional women likely remain an underserved audience in the gadget market. But, then again, fat fingers don't do so well on a touch screen … and which gender tends to sport wider digits?