Cell phone accessories designer Rivet International is going after a growing market for fashionable gadget gear, a product line traditionally associated with tech geeks in company golf shirts and Dockers.

The San Diego-based company recently undertook a massive rebranding effort to lure female and young technology users to the accessories market with fashion-conscious designs that expand gadget wear beyond cell phones to accommodate wildly popular iPods and other MP3 players as well as small digital cameras.

Company President and Chief Executive Raleigh Wilson believes the market is wide open for expansion, estimating that consumers already buy hundreds of millions of tech accessories each year. “I think we can demonstrate to women and younger adults that you’re not going to be embarrassed to be attached to your phone,” says Wilson.

He’s got stiff competition from women’s fashion designers including Prada, Juicy Couture, Kate Spade and Dior, which sell high-end MP3 and cell phone accessories ranging in price from $45 to upwards of $300. And Seattle-based Tsaya.com recently began selling a patent leather cell phone thigh holster for $79.

Rivet turned to San Diego-based branding firm Mires Brands, which is designing the logo for the 2010 U.S. Open, to rebrand and expand its product line. The result is Mobile Wear, Music Wear and Pix Wear, packaged with simple 1-2-3 instructions and catchy, active brand names like “Trek,” “Flip,” and “Grab.”

A tag line — Attach your (device) to your life — promises to rid consumers of the odious spectacle of bulky plastic waistline accessories. Instead, flexible systems made of durable metals can be attached to belt loops, purses, backpacks and car dashboards for easy reaching. Wilson declined to say how much Rivet spent on the rebranding beyond “a lot.” The products cost between $19.99 and $29.99 and retail nationwide at Radio Shack and other retail outlets. The company has partnership deals with Apple for iPod Music Wear and Sprint and is going after the international accessories market with distributors in Europe, Dubai and Asia.

Hear This About Those Jobs

San Diego’s $11.5 billion communications sector is continuing its steady rebound, reports the San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. After declining 11.7 percent in 2002, San Diego telecommunications employment rose 16.5 percent in 2003 and 0.5 percent in 2004, EDC President Julie Meier-Wright told industry representatives attending the CTIA Wireless Industry Association’s recent trade show in San Francisco. The region had 29,400 telecom employees in 2004, up from 29,255 in 2003 and 25,113 in 2002. Wages also have risen. The average telecom worker earned $108,528 in 2003 compared with $84,636 in 2002.

WFI President and Chief Executive Eric Demarco was recently elected to the board for the nationwide CTIA — The Wireless Association. Demarco joins David Vigil, Qualcomm’s senior vice president for corporate business development, as San Diego’s only representatives to the board.

Making Leaders The Old Fashioned Way

Qualcomm has the seventh best leadership development program in North America, says Leadership Excellence magazine. The pub measures corporate programs based on their vision, leadership involvement and participation, accountability, curriculum, quality of presenters, take-home value, outreach and outcomes. Qualcomm’s peers in the category of best programs include Caterpillar University, General Electric, Procter & Gamble, McDonald’s, Motorola University and JetBlue.

The company also was honored with 29 others around the world by the American Society of Training and Development with a 2005 BEST Award for innovative approaches to training and development of employees.

Celebrating Our Gadgets

CommNexus San Diego (formerly the San Diego Telecom Council) is hosting its fifth annual GadgetFest to show off the hottest new technology and applications Nov. 30 at La Jolla Marriott. In keeping with the telecommunications industry’s expansion beyond wireless services and landlines, this year’s festival includes two new categories: multimedia and content, which features software applications that enable consumers to play ringtones, video games and movie trailers on their cell phones. GadgetFest’s theme is a cross between Survivor and American Idol. A top-secret grand prize will be awarded to the company with the best technology. Details are at commnexus.org.

Getting To Work On Time

With employee benefits that include transit subsidies, membership in a carsharing organization, electric vehicle charging stations, shuttle services, bike lockers and dedicated motorcycle parking, Qualcomm ranks as the nation’s second best Fortune 500 workplace for commuters, says the EPA.

Billions Of Keys Tapped

CTIA — The Wireless Association reports the industry has had a record-setting year, adding 25.2 million new subscribers between June 2004 and June 2005, marking the largest one-year increase since commercial wireless services were first available in 1983. CTIA’s semiannual industry survey shows SMS traffic (text messages) and revenue from data services also have risen. In the month of June alone, more than 7.2 billion SMS messages were sent through the wireless network compared with 2.8 billion in June 2004. Revenue from text messaging skyrocketed to $1.24 billion, a 154 percent increase from the previous year. Revenue from music and content downloads, game playing and Web access registered strong gains. Six-month data revenue increased to nearly $3.8 billion in June of 2005, up more than 85 percent from the same time last year.

No Still Shot

“Ask me next year,” was the laughing reply of Irwin Jacobs when we caught up with him while touring “Only Skin Deep” at the San Diego Museum of Photographic Arts. The question: “How’s retirement?”

Tracking Government Aviation Assets

La Jolla’s Blue Sky Network, has landed a five-year certification from the GSA for government agencies to use its FAA-certified technology to track aviation assets. The company — blueskynetwork.com — sees the satellite-based system as a perfect fit for remote operations or recovery efforts during a disaster.

Adventurer and pilot Steve Fossett used Blue Sky in May when he became the first person to circumnavigate the world solo, traveling 19,880 nautical miles in about 68 hours.

“We are thrilled to be working with GSA to grow our customer base,” says Jon Gilbert, president, CEO and founder of Blue Sky. Imagine how he’ll feel when he gets payment on the first contract.

Pod Casting And Wikis

As the San Diego Telecom Council matured, and before it became CommNexus San Diego, it discovered its general membership had specific needs that didn’t require a gathering of hundreds for a breakfast or cocktail presentation. So the special interest groups were formed. On Nov. 11, the Marketing SIG gathers at 7:30 a.m. in Forum Hall at Westfield Shoppingtown UTC for “The New Language Of Marketing: Blogging, Pod Casting, RSS, Wikis.” More information is at commnexus.org.

If You’ll Be In Hong Kong

If you happen to be in Hong Kong on Nov. 14 and want to see a San Diego face, stop by booth 1961 at the 3G World Congress & Exhibition at the Convention Center. CommNexus San Diego will be there, along with more than 1,500 delegates and 8,000 exhibition visitors.

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