■数字ボタンのない子ども用携帯電話を販売 Cingular
■キーワード
・segment 一区切り
・reluctant to 《be 〜》〜するのに気がすすまない、しぶしぶ〜する
・distracting 目［注意］をそらさせる
・rebate リベート、払い戻し、割り戻し、手数料
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A cell phone for kids. Bloomberg Boot Camp, a report on today’s technology. Cingular, the country’s largest mobile phone carrier, has begun selling the Firefly…a handset designed specifically for kids. Firefly Mobile chief executive Robin Abrams…
”Cingular is going to carry Firefly both in their company owned stores as well as in their re-sellers and agents. And that’s big news, because what it says is that Cingular believes in the 8 to 12 space. It says that they believe in that as one of the fastest growing market segments and it says that they’re all about families communicating, and that’s what Firefly’s about.”
While there’s little doubt that just about all 8 to 12 year olds want cell phones…parents, for good reason, have been reluctant to give in. The Firefly unit is designed to overcome parental concerns. It has just five buttons…and parents are able to control which numbers are programmed in that their kids can call. They can also control the calls the phone can receive. Beyond that…Abrams says the phone overcomes some objections schools have about cell phones…
”The video games are distracting, the text messaging is distracting, the cheating that goes on with text messaging. The cameras get kids into trouble.”
Cingular is selling the Firefly for about fifty dollars…with a two year contract and a rebate. Firefly does have competition… educational toy maker LeapFrog has begun selling the TicTalk parent controlled cell phones…designed for children ages 6 and up. Bloomberg Boot Camp, I’m Fred Fishkin.
■関連記事
・ドコモ、GPSで「子供を守る」携帯SA800iを発表
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0511/24/news043.html
・子どもを守る携帯電話 韓国版“キッズケータイ”
http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/mobile/articles/0512/13/news007.html
■編集者のつぶやき
20代、30代、40代の人が、携帯電話を持つのが当たり前になってくると、
携帯電話会社の、その世代での競争も難しくなり、
もっと若い世代や年配の世代を、取り込もうとしているようですね。
家族割だとか、LOVE定額だとか言って、
お客さんの囲い込みに必死ですよね。
携帯電話を使う人、全てが、ウィルコムのＰＨＳにすれば、
通話もメールの全部無料になるのに。
って、私は、auですが。（笑）
１クリックお願いします。（英語ランキングサイト）
