Subject: Cell-phones for children???.....
Date: Sun, 30 Aug 1998 103223 -0500 (CDT)
From: "Roy L. Beavers" <rbeavers@mail.llion.org>
To: emfguru@hotmail.com
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 03:42:51 -0700
From: dingel@concentric.net
To: rbeavers@llion.org
Subject: FYI
Ericsson Eyes Cell Phone Market
For Teenagers
Reuters, (08/27/98; 12:31 p.m. ET)
By Andrew Craig, TechWeb
Ericsson has rejected rumors that it is developing
cellular phones for children, but said it agrees with
analysts that teenagers present a good market
opportunity for cell phone vendors.
The Swedish technology giant said Thursday that
though it is continually researching the feasibility of
products for various consumer groups, it is not
developing cell phones for young children as reported in
the British media this week.
However, Ericsson said it is possible it will launch cell
phones aimed at parents wanting to keep in contact
with their children. If such a product were launched,
Ericsson said, "it would be marketed responsibly to
adults only, and [Ericsson] would certainly position it as
a communication tool -- not a toy."
Although young children may be unsuitable cell phone
users, use of cell phones by teenagers is likely to
increase, analysts said.
"There is growing interest among young users," said
Peter Richardson, senior analyst at Dataquest in the
United Kingdom. "Certainly, the 14- to 18-year-old
age group is a potentially lucrative age group," he said.
Ericsson also sees a business opportunity in the teenage
market, said Jan Ahrenbring, vice president of
communications at Ericsson's mobile division. "We're
not aiming specifically at small children, but certainly,
youngsters are a good market," he said.
Ahrenbring added, "Today, you see youngsters from 14
to 15 years old with mobile phones. This is good
because they can keep in touch with people at home."
Separately, Ericsson increased its prediction for global
cell phone shipments by all vendors over the next two
years. The number of cell phones shipped worldwide
will increase from 140 million in 1998 to 265 by 2000,
said Ericsson's CEO, Sven-Christer Nilsson, in Tokyo.
Ericsson's estimates are 5 percent to 10 percent higher
than the forecasts the company made six months ago,
said Ahrenbring.
The increasing number of cell phone sales has to do
with the introduction of prepaid services -- where a
user pays for his/her calls in advance, according to
Ahrenbring. Prepaid services remove the fear of racking
up huge monthly bills that deters many people from
using cell phones.
Ericsson's forecasts are in line with Dataquest's own
figures that will be published next month, Richardson
said. "I have no disagreement with them at all -- they're
a bit conservative if anything," he said.
As well as prepaid services, increasing competition in
developed countries and the advent of cellular services
in developing countries such as India and China, are
fueling global cell phone usage, according to
Richardson.
Archive provided courtesy of WaveGuide, http://www.wave-guide.org
Reprinted with permission of Roy Beavers, http://www.feb.se/EMF-L/EMF-L.html