As temperatures in the northern hemisphere plummet shoppers are searching online for "iPhone gloves," which allow them to operate their phone without risking frostbite.
Touch screen devices such as smartphones and in particular iPhones don't function well when used with gloves. This is because their screens, rather than responding to pressure, responds to the bioelectric charge in the user's finger tips.
As a result a number of companies including Apple, the manufacturers of the iPhone, have developed special gloves with a thin electrically conductive inner layer, which allows iPhone and smartphone users to operate their devices without having to risk freezing their hands - the gloves were first patented by Apple in 2009.
Data from market analysis company Experian Hitwise shows that these gloves are proving popular with consumers; last week the most popular internet search amongst UK shoppers was "Apple iPhone gloves," and in the US the term "gloves for iPhone" and variants appeared three times in last month's United States Google Insights trends.
The gloves are available to buy online at amazon.com, www.itouchgloves.com and other local brick and mortar retailers such as Walmart. The gloves can retail for anything from $35/€26.70 on Amazon to $124/€94.62 on itouch.com.
Feedback and advice on smart phone gloves is available on iPhone apples and Android forums, and a review of the various types of gloves by mobile tech website mobileburn.com is available to watch on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-iFfZNtkwU.
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