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Must-have for tweens: a cell phone

And no kiddie versions, thank you. This burgeoning market wants the real thing.

By MADHUSMITA BORA, Times Staff Writer
Published August 26, 2007

Shaurya Bandyopadhyay, 11, received his first cell phone, a Motorola Razor. He is under his parent's cell plan and can make free calls to his mom, dad and brother. At this point he says he uses the phone mainly to make calls rather than text messages.
	[Times photo: Daniel Wallace]

Somewhere in the middle of fifth grade, Shaurya Bandyopadhyay began nagging his parents for a cell phone.

Why not? His friends already had them. Besides, it would be easier to stay in touch with mommy.

It took a year, but the 11-year-old Tampa boy got his toy: a popular Razr brand cell phone, which allows him to listen to Linkin Park, download wallpapers and change ringtones.

The sixth-grader now joins a burgeoning tween population with mobile phones. They are tech savvy, know what they want and are fast becoming the darlings of the wireless industry.

In 2006, 19-million wireless subscribers were added to a tally of 226-million, according to Jupiter Research. That's fewer than the 25-million amassed the previous year. With the adult and teen population nearing market saturation, cell phone companies are fast dropping the age bar in pursuit of new customers.

"We do see youth customers are a great market to go after," said Mimi Chan, director of youth marketing for AT&T Wireless. "What we are finding is customers are getting younger and younger."

The market penetration among 9- to 11-year-olds is 46 percent, according to a study by KidzEyes, the youth division of C&R Research. The same study shows that the number of kids from 6 to 8 years of age with cell phones has more than tripled since 2005 and now stands at 20 percent.

Even some 5-year-olds now carry cell phones.

Courting of children by cell manufacturers isn't necessarily bad, said Doug Fodeman, co-owner of childrenonline.org, a Web site devoted to issues surrounding children's Internet use.

"Parents are now increasingly in touch with their kids," Fodeman said. "But the issue is parents buy cell phones without realizing the implications of features they put in their child's hands."

Text messaging, video phones and Internet access may seem fun and cool, but do zilch to alleviate parental fears, he said.

The shift toward younger children began around 2004, said Neil Strother, wireless analyst at Jupiter Research. It sprang as a natural transition from the numerous family plans, which boasted free talk time with friends and family.

"Various market carriers said we got a lot of adults, so what's left?" he said.

After teens got pulled into the parents' plans, younger kids and siblings soon followed. To lure them, companies began unleashing new products.

Verizon began selling the LG Migo, a phone with an emergency key and four speed-dial keys, vibrate mode and polyphonic ringtones. Cingular, which is now AT&T, countered with the Firefly, a five-key phone with lights, sounds, colors and animation. The prepaid players such as Virgin Mobile, Boost, Amp'd and Kajeet also staked a claim. Most of these phones gave parents control over their children's wireless access.

The strategy was to impress the parents more than the kids. But cell phones are no longer just a communication device - they're also a status symbol, the C&R report said. Young users are becoming picky and rejecting what they call the kiddie phones.

Parents arm their kids with phones because they serve as a wireless leash, experts say. Parents can track kids' movements thanks to GPS capabilities on some phones, monitor their friends and connect with them any time.

Shaun Vaka of Tampa said she and her husband decided to buy their oldest daughter, Abigail, her first cell phone right after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001.

Abigail was 9.

"At that point it became a safety issue," Vaka said. "She was walking home from school and my husband and I were both working."

Even after Vaka began working from home, Abigail's five siblings still got their own phones.

Strother of Jupiter Research says companies have yet to figure out the magic mantra to deal with the demands of the emerging tween segment.

"My take is kids are smarter, and some of these (kiddie-styled) phones are only great for mommies," Strother said.

Sprint said it never dumbed down phones for the preteen market. The company had regular phones for the younger market, but did offer parents control on usage.

"Our customers told us that they don't want to be treated like children, but adults," said spokeswoman Nanci Schwartz.

Other cell phone companies are now taking note.

"What we are seeing is there's no desire for SpongeBob square phones," said Chuck Hamby, spokesman for Verizon Wireless. "Preteens are the influencers and tech experts in the family."

Verizon has discontinued the Migo, and AT&T bade goodbye to the Firefly at retail locations. Instead, they are now promoting adult phones such as the Razr.

The grown-up phones worry activists such as Fodeman.

"There are scammers and marketers targeting the kids because they know they are gullible and naive and have a powerful device in their hands," Fodeman warns.

He learned the hard way. Last year, he bought a cell for daughter Lauren, 13. They were still at the mall when her cell rang and a text message with a dumb blond joke lit up. Fodeman had never subscribed to or solicited the service, but it took three months to get the charge off the bill.

"It was offensive and I was absolutely livid," he said.

But customers such as Shaurya Bandyopadhyay don't want to be seen with phones meant for little people.

"It's for kids in third grade," he said. "By the end of fifth grade you should get a real phone."

Madhusmita Bora can be reached at mbora@sptimes.com (813)225-3112.

Cell phone ownership
Age	2005	2006	2007
6-8	6%	8%	20%
9-11	16	19	46
12-14	41	45	65
15-17	64	68	79
Source: C&R Research Services Inc.

[Last modified August 25, 2007, 23:42:04]