TRAC Reviews “Tween” Cell Phones - In the ongoing search for new market “niches” wireless phone companies are now looking to target the 8-13 year old “Tween” segment. With children increasingly involved in numerous extracurricular activities, these phones promise to help children keep in touch with parents and emergency services, when needed. The benefit of these “Tween” phones is that they usually can only make or accept calls to or from a pre-programmed list of numbers that parents can edit. Additionally, there is no downloadable content available on these phones – a little piece of mind for parents who don’t want to find out at the end of the month that Junior racked up a hefty charge downloading ring tones and games to his cell phone or texting his buddies.
“This is great,” you say, “but how much is it going to cost me?” Most “tween” phones are in fact prepaid wireless phones, meaning that there is a higher upfront cost to purchase the handset, but minutes are purchased ahead of time, instead of as part of a monthly service plan. In July, Firefly Mobile will begin selling its Firefly Phone service (operating on Cingular’s GSM network) in Target stores nationwide. Firefly handsets will cost $99.99 which will include 30 minutes of airtime (25¢ for each additional minute). Additional minutes can be purchased in increments of $10, $25 or $50. Unused minutes expire after 90 days unless additional minutes are purchased. Click herei for additional information on FireFly Mobile. In August toy manufacturer Mattel, partnering with Single Touch, will begin offering its MyScene Mobile prepaid phones, targeted at young girls, for $79.95. MyScene Mobile will run on Alltel and Verizon Wireless’s networks, with minutes costing a flat 25¢ per minute, with no expiration date. For more information on MyScene Mobile, click hereii. Wherify Wireless’s Wherifone, promised for launch in September and operating on the Cingular and T-Mobile networks, will cost $150 with service plans starting at around $20 per month. Wherifone’s biggest feature will be its built-in GPS location tracking feature. According to Wherify, parents will be able to go its website and find out where their kids are any time, anywhere. For more information on Wherify Wireless, click hereiii.
The bottom line: Parents who want to keep in touch with their kids at soccer practice or piano lessons, but don’t trust them with the responsibility of an “adult” cell phone may find these “tween” phones useful. However, as with most prepaid cell phones, the higher per-minute price for these phones when compared to postpaid service plans should be a consideration for parents of talkative children. If you want the convenience of a prepaid phone for your 'tween and trust them with a more "adult" phone that can make and receive any calls, consider TracFone's prepaid wireless phones. Additional information is available at www.tracfone.com.
More Americans Considering Cutting the Cord - Nearly one in ten (9%) U.S. adults have “cut the cord” with their wireline telephone companies and are now using wireless phones exclusively for their calling needs, according to a study released this week by market research firm Harris Interactive. Additionally, more than half of U.S. adults are “seriously considering” or “somewhat considering” giving up their landlines. The study, which surveyed 1,088 U.S. adults, showed that the most significant issues keeping consumers from switching are the safety of a traditional wireline phone (26%), the need for a phone line to support a DSL or dial-up Internet connection (20%), and unattractive pricing on wireless plans (12%). Other factors cited as reasons to not cut the cord include weak or unreliable cellular phone signals at home, insufficient coverage, and the need for additional phone lines at home. Changes that could cause consumers to make the switch include cheaper pricing plans, improved coverage, money-back guarantees, and wireless broadband for home or office. "These results show that many consumers are actively seeking out alternative telecommunications services and the options are out there," states Joe Porus, chief architect for the Technology Research Practice at Harris Interactive. "While the majority of consumers are happy with their landline service, the movement toward wireless replacement options clearly shows that consumer sentiment is changing.”
Before making the decision to cut the cord with your landline phone company, we recommend that you try using only your wireless phone for one month and see how it affects your communications needs and monthly bills. Since most local carriers charge a connection fee to hook up new service, you don’t want to cut the cord only to find out that you can’t live without your landline after all. If after thirty days of wireless-only living you find that your telephone budget is better off, cutting the cord may be right for you. To conduct such a trial, consider putting a recording on your landline stating that you are temporarily available only at your cell phone. This assures you that your one-month test truly simulates your normal incoming and out bound calling habits.
TRAC IN THE NEWS
EV-DO a Powerful, But Pricey Technology, Says TRAC - TRAC was quoted in the Indianapolis Star in a story about Verizon’s new EV-DO wireless broadband service. For $80 per month, the technology gives mobile users 400-700 Kps data speeds, which enable customers to download large e-mail attachments, digital pictures, and other larger files in as little as 20 seconds. While wireless broadband technology like EV-DO and Cingular and T-Mobile’s EDGE network are great for bandwidth-hungry business and residential users, the high price will likely keep most broadband users tethered to their cable modems, DSL connections, and Wi-Fi hotspots, said TRAC Research Associate John Breyault. "What it means is that you will be connected wherever you go," said Breyault. "Take that for what you want. For an office user, it's great. I'm not sure that it will necessarily revolutionize wireless phone usage overnight, especially at the price point that it's at now." To read the full story, click herevi.
INTERESTING LINKS
FCC Main Page: http://www.fcc.gov
FCC Complaint Form - http://svartifoss2.fcc.gov/cib/fcc475.cfm
List of State Regulatory Commissions: http://www.naruc.org/displaycommon.cfm?an=15
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