A few years back, I wrote a blatantly sexist column entitled "Taking the sting out of the whip," which addressed the then-relatively new phenomenon known as Wife Acceptance Factor, or WAF for short. The idea for the column came to me when a couple of junior editors on the Electronics team commemorated my getting hitched by creating a mockup of Fully Equipped with the title changed to Fully Whipped and tacking it to my office door. As a headline, they wrote: "Honey, is it all right if I spend $50 at Best Buy?"
Today, WAF is one of those dirty little secrets of the electronics world, and it's both openly discussed and rarely talked about, because it's now integrated into the DNA of so many products. It's not always called WAF, because, after all, not everyone is married, but it's become fairly common practice for manufacturers to market electronics directly to women as they wink at men. Just take Sony's slogan for its Bravia LCD TV ad campaign: The world's first TV for men and women. Of course, there've been plenty of unisex TVs for a long time, but it sure helped out a lot of guys to have that female-approved label right there on the box. (It also seems to have helped Sony, as the company made huge gains in the LCD TV market after initially misjudging the demand for flat-panel displays).
Is female-friendly design the wave of the future? Or is David Carnoy just an unrepentant sexist?
The beauty of WAF is that it empowers you to spend large sums of money on sleek electronic gear without the slightest bit of guilt. And the manufacturers know it. That said, WAF is evolving. Like a few years ago, the WAF world is still largely about nonintrusive electronics taking up as little space as possible or, better yet, being completely invisible. Rear-channel speakers for surround sound? Sorry, that's not always possible in WAF-land. A 61-inch rear-projection HDTV that costs a palatable $3,500? Try again. The missus prefers the 60-inch plasma that's double or even triple the price but most likely doesn't perform as well. (Alright, maybe not the best example--the overwhelming majority of guys are likely to opt for the allure of the flat-panel too, whether or not a significant other is involved.)
But while you can still find plenty of high-end stuff to overspend on, an increasing number of affordable products are loaded with high WAF quotient. And it isn't all about just trim good looks anymore. WAF now has a deeper side--personality counts now, too. There's the whole ease-of-use thing we hear so much about. And the fairer sex actually does recognize when a product performs a cool function.
With that in mind, as we head into the holiday shopping season, here's my list of top WAF-friendly products. (Note: The female members of the CNET editorial staff wish to point out that there is a non-gender-linked counterpart to WAF: Significant Other Acceptance Parameters, or SOAP--but it's just not all that catchy.)
1. Sony VPL-VW50
Nothing's flatter than your wall--or your wall with a home-theater screen affixed to it. And so there's nothing as WAF-friendly as a home-theater projector. We loved the Sony VPL-VW100, but its high price tag ($9,000 list) hurt its WAF quotient. Now Sony's released the VPL-VW50, which costs nearly half the price ($5,000 list) and allegedly delivers much of the same performance.
2. Vizio P50HDTV 50-inch plasma
A decent performing 50-inch plasma for less than $2,000. Not a hard sell.
3. Sling Media Slingbox A/V
Tell your wife that when she goes on a business trip or takes a vacation, she'll be able to watch on her laptop all those Grey's Anatomy episodes she's got recorded on the DVR at home and she'll pay for the Slingbox herself. Just be sure she doesn't fire it up and change the channels from 1,000 miles away during Monday Night Football.
4. iPod 2GB Nano
No, the Nano isn't for you--the 80GB iPod with video is. But pick up the midcapacity Nano for the wife or girlfriend as you buy your 80GB video and everybody's happy.
5. Sonos Digital Music System ZP80 bundle
The Sonos Digital Music System isn't cheap, but it's a lot less expensive than the types of high-end multiroom audio control systems that are the bread and butter of home installers. Now that Sonos has the Rhapsody music service and its thousands of songs built into the system (subscription required after the one-month trial ends), it's even simpler to use and remarkably WAF-friendly.
6. Yamaha YSP 800 Sound Projector
The perfect WAF-friendly speaker system really isn't a system at all. It's basically a speaker--as in one single speaker--and perhaps a subwoofer that can be hidden in a corner. This Yamaha's a good choice, and so, too, is the less expensive Sharp SD-SP10 (which includes the sub) if you can find for sale anywhere.
7. Philips Digital Photo Display
Fact: Chicks dig digital photo frames, especially ones that look like iPods. Philips's 7-incher is closing in on $150, and the company has a new, larger 9-incher with an improved interface and features coming for the holidays. It'll retail for $250 but can probably be found for closer to $200. It's the perfect 21st-century way to share those memories.
8. Digital SLR camera
Quality sells, particularly when it comes to creating family memories. So you should have no trouble dropping a couple of grand on a dSLR and a few lenses. We like the Canon 30D and the Nikon D80, or if you want to save a few bucks, the Canon Rebel XT (in black) or the Pentax K100D.
9. Nintendo DS Lite
Now I'm not saying that I haven't seen women playing with Sony PSPs, but the DS is the more female-friendly platform. Why? Gals say it's the games. I say his-and-hers matching DS units means game on--which is better than game off.
10. Dual-tuner DVR
OK, the new TiVo Series3 is way overpriced. But whether you opt for it, the Dish Network ViP622, the DirecTV HR20, or one of the many "free" DVRs you can get from local cable operators around the country, just make sure it has dual tuners; that is, the ability to record two shows simultaneously. That feature has already saved more relationships than Dr. Phil.
Is female-friendly design the wave of the future? Or is David Carnoy just an unrepentant sexist?
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