A Phone of Their Own
Growing Number of Companies Offer Cellular Services Aimed At Children as
Young as 6
By KIM-MAI CUTLER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
August 4, 2005
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB112311926397704641,00.html?mod=todays_us_personal_journal
Mobile phones and talk time may be about to replace the weekly allowance as
a reward for good grades and clean rooms.
In the latest entry into what is quickly becoming a crowded market,
wireless company Enfora LP and educational toy maker LeapFrog Enterprises
Inc. are about to unveil a cellphone especially designed for kids. The new
phone, called TicTalk and aimed at kids ages 6 and up, joins a growing
lineup of competitors that includes Mattel Inc., Hasbro Inc., Firefly
Mobile Inc. and Walt Disney Co.
By next year, all of these companies expect to have launched products that
aim to give kids a phone of their own -- with limits. While the services
vary, most of these devices offer some sort of parental control. Both the
currently available Firefly phone and the new LeapFrog model, which will be
widely available in mid-August, lack keypads. Only numbers preprogrammed by
parents can be dialed. And the Hasbro offering is really a walkie-talkie
system that lets kids talk and exchange text messages only with friends who
also have the devices.
Most of these new models are prepaid phones, where parents log on to a Web
site and buy packages of minutes. This is where companies say parents can
reward or punish children by buying up or cutting down phone time. And to
appeal to kids, the phones also have features like games or decorative face
plates.
The under-13 'tween segment may be among the last available territories for
cellphone companies to mine. An estimated 80% of adults age 18-65 already
carry cellphones, according to market researcher Yankee Group. And family
plans, whereby several phones for various family members are linked to one
shared plan, are a popular option for teens. Family-plan subscriptions for
kids age 13-17 rose 38% to 6 million from 4.4 million from 2004 to 2005,
according to Yankee Group. Manufacturers say their research indicates that
cellphones are among the top items children are clamoring for.
Until now, adult phones have been essentially the only choice, and these
new players believe that if there are kid-oriented options -- especially
with parental controls -- more parents would be willing to sign younger
children up.
The race to capture the 'tween set has popped up this year, amid a
longstanding debate about the propriety of giving kids their own device.
Some parents like the security of having their children always reachable by
cellphone, no matter where they go. But others hesitate for fear of running
up triple-digit phone bills -- and worries over whom children may be
talking to when they're unsupervised. Many child-development experts say
the research on children and cellphones is scant but as with any new
technology, boundaries and rules have to be set.
The various entrants all have a different angle on how to tap the market.
The TicTalk phone from LeapFrog and Enfora touts educational games, along
with its parental controls. Sized to fit a small child's hand, the TicTalk
phone has just three buttons, to keep kids from dialing unwanted numbers.
Parents control the phone numbers online at www.mytictalk.com, where they
can also set total minutes. Parents prepay $15 for an hour of time in
addition to the $10 activation fee and the $99 cost of the phone. Children
can make their own ringtones by recording favorite songs or, say, their dog
barking with the phone's microphone. They can also download photos from the
TicTalk Web site and receive text messages from parents.
Emeryville, Calif.-based LeapFrog will offer five games on the phone,
teaching math, spelling and social-science skills. Via the Internet,
parents can reward children with phone minutes for reaching certain levels
in the games and they can set "quiet" times for the phone, for instance
during school hours.
Mattel, meanwhile, is trying to be a fashionable alternative for 'tween
girls. Its $79.95 MyScene Mobile phone, targeted for release in September,
is a fully functional cellphone that incorporates the Barbie character with
doll-themed face covers, wallpapers and ringtones. There are no parental
controls, other than the ability to control the number of minutes, which
will be available online.
Firefly's $99.99 phone is similar to LeapFrog's TicTalk, as a smaller
device with only a few buttons and several Web controls. It comes with 30
minutes of airtime on Cingular's network, and parents can buy additional
time online at www.fireflymobile.com or at Target for 25 cents a minute, in
blocks ranging from $10 to $75.
Disney, meanwhile, is modeling its entry more after major carriers' family
plans, which have had the most success in signing on 'tweens and teens
through their less-expensive group models. Disney plans to launch its
offering next year, and doesn't have devices available yet. But the company
says it will offer models designed for different members of the family,
including youngsters. (Currently, there are no plans for Disney-character
themed phones, though.) The service, to be called Disney Mobile, will
travel over the wireless network of Sprint Corp.
Hasbro's entry called ChatNow is a toy targeted at the younger end of the
'tween market -- but it isn't an actual cellphone. It's a walkie-talkie set
selling for $74.99 that looks like a standard cell or flip phone, and has
more bells and whistles than other toys, including the ability to send text
messages and take photos. Kids can dial up any of their buddies who also
have these devices.
All of the products face an uphill battle against adult cellphones, which
carry the "cool" factor for older children and can be cheaper for parents,
with free phone giveaways and charges to add a line to an existing account
as low as $10 a month.
================================
George Antunes, Political Science Dept
University of Houston; Houston, TX 77204
Voice: 713-743-3923 Fax: 713-743-3927
antunes at uh dot edu
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