After iPhone, consumers seek handsome gadgets

By Ritsuko Ando

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fed up with ugly routers and clunky hard drives, a growing number of consumers are looking for well-designed gadgets that complement decor instead of cluttering desktops and clashing with furniture.

Many credit Apple Inc's iPhone, with its strikingly simple forms, for raising the bar on expectations for good design in consumer electronics.

And while art and design professionals say that gadgets like mobile phones and personal computers are becoming increasingly well-designed, they also say many electronic products still need to work on their appearance.

"Routers are awful; they're ugly," said Kai-wei Hsu, a 31-year-old furniture designer. "With a lot of things, you don't always get to choose."

Cisco Systems Inc is trying to alter that reputation with the Linksys Ultra Range Plus Wireless-N Broadband Router, a slick black design -- although it doesn't quite look like it's headed for the Museum of Modern Art's store just yet.

Most design and art professionals agree that looks shouldn't come at the expense of functionality and that the best designs are those that make the object easier or more fun to use.

Christopher Benton, an art buyer in New York, said that thoughtless design suggests poor performance.

"If something's clunky, doesn't have fluid lines, then I think it's probably the same inside as well," he said.  Continued...