Kid’s Phones Become Smart

Implications: The kid-phone strategy involves the future triple play and fixed-mobile convergence with implications from the following:
    1. Parenting tools,
    2. Location awareness,
    3. Coolness technology,
    4. Home bundle,
    5. Standard smartphone.

Analysis: The kid-phone is evolving into a youthful product that converge mobile and home applications for location and content.  Verizon Wireless and AT&T/Cingular have witnessed the MVNO product innovations.  MVNO’s such as Kajeet and Disney Mobile are emphasizing parenting tools and location awareness.  Kajeet has a time manager to control the usage during school hours.  Disney Mobile has the capability by PC or wireless handset to use its Family Locator Services.  At the same time, the phones have the “coolness” technology for youths to access games, wallpaper, ringtones, etc.

For Verizon and AT&T, a youthful product has the ability to be bundled with home services for Internet and TV.  Instead of being a kid-phone, the phone can be a standard device with either embedded or downloadable software for youthful features like Verizon’s Get It Now.  The former kid’s phone migrates to a youth smartphone.  And rather than being packaged for toy retailers, the youth phone can be promoted across the vast distribution of agent and carrier stores.  The new “AT&T Experience” stores can cross-sell the youth smartphone with the entire portfolio of wireless, broadband and video services.  The youth phone becomes a part of the emerging triple-play in the home.