No Surprise - Cell Phone Most Vital Device

According to a new study released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Americans are now more reliant on their mobile phones than their landline phones. When the research firm mounted a similar study two years earlier, respondents still cited landline phones as the more essential technology.

"The preferences have flipped," said Pew Research associate director John Horrigan. "During that timeframe, people have gotten new devices that have more capabilities. People have more experience using cell phones for text messaging and other information tools. That has helped pushed cell phones as 'go to' devices."

Mobile handsets are now the technological tool Americans would be most reluctant to give up, surpassing the Internet and television; two years ago, landlines topped the Pew Research list, with television in second place and cell phones in third.

According to Pew Research, 58% of mobile users have now sent or received text messages, a 41% increase over April 2006 totals; on an average day, 31% of mobile subscribers employ text services and 15% turn to camera features, with about 8% playing mobile games. Another 8% rely on their phones for email.

From Watches to Cell Phones

Swiss watchmaker TAG Heuer announced today that they have partnered with Modelabs for a series of luxury mobile phones.

"The launch of the first TAG Heuer mobile telephone is foreseen for the second half of 2008," the companies said in a joint statement.

TAG's announcement follows other luxury goods companies who have entered the space, including Prada and Armani, who have both recently launched phones made by LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, respectively.

TAG CEO Christophe Babin said in the statement the launch of its eyewear line in 2002 convinced it of the wider potential of the brand.

"The success of this line, already market leader in luxury eyewear, confirmed for us the potential of TAG Heuer as a brand for contemporary, technological and timeless products...such as luxury mobile phones," Babin said.

I can't wait to see the ads with Tiger Woods chatting it up on his pimped out TAG cell phone.

Relief on ETFs

Good news for Sprint & T-Mobile subscribers who want to get out of their contracts early and get an iPhone from AT&T. Today, Sprint Nextel Corp. announced it will pro-rate its early termination fees (ETFs) for customers, the last of the four national wireless carriers to do so. T-Mobile announced yesterday that it too will begin to prorate early termination fees next year.

“T-Mobile is widely recognized as the undisputed service leader in wireless. We want to do everything possible to create a great experience so customers want to stay with us for years,” said Sue Nokes, senior vice president, Sales and Customer Service, T-Mobile USA. “This announcement builds on our heritage of listening closely to our customers and always striving to meet their needs.”

Though exact details will not be announced and introduced until the first half of 2008, ETFs will decline over the course of a Sprint and T-Mobile contract. When they become effective, the terms will apply to new customers as well as current customers renewing contracts. Sprint and T-Mobile join Verizon and AT&T, both of which introduced pro-rated ETFs earlier this year.

Finally buying a cellphone for your 12 year old?

Determining when the right time to buy your child a cellphone can be a tough exercise. If your life is anything like mine, I feel like kids are exposed to things at earlier and earlier ages. Just recently my wife wanted to take our 5 year old to the Hannah Montana concert. Forget the fact that two tickets were around $300, I thought it was crazy to take a 5 year old to a concert. It wasn't easy to say no considering a handful of her classmates were going with their parents.

Fortunately, I haven't heard of anyone in her class carrying a cellphone yet but the question does come up occasionally in our house considering I spend a lot of time talking and reading about cellphones.

My guess is that our family won't be the first in our circle to outfit our kids with a cellphone but we won't be the last either. Like most things, deciding when to give children cell phones is an individual family choice, and it depends on lots of variables.

Some parents give in to kids' requests for cell phones as cool accessories. Others opt for a family plan because everyone in the family is off in different directions. Other parents want the peace of mind of knowing their children can reach them in a moment's notice if needed, and they can call them, too.

If you have decided that the time is right for buying your teen or tween their first cellphone, I'd encourage you to check out kajeet.

My guess is that most people haven't heard of the company because they are new to the cellphone space and they just started selling service this year.

Based in Bethesda, Maryland, kajeet was started by three dads who were trying to figure out how technology, kids and parents work best ("kajeet" is an anagram of the first letters of the names of the company's founders' children). Thinking of their own kids, they designed a service to provide them with everything they need to safely explore the exciting new world of mobile technology.

Through their efforts, they have created the only pay-as-you-go cell phone service that puts kids first. Kajeet provides fully capable phones to its customers, trusting that the parents will provide service limitations while the child will learn how to use a real cell phone. And because it's a pay-as-you-go carrier, there are no long term contracts.

Their pricing plan seems to be very competitive and straight forward: you pay 35 cents a day for daily access, 10 cents per minute of talk, 5 cents per text message, and $6.99 a month for unlimited mobile instant messaging.

And their lineup of phones, led by the Katana II, is great too. This holiday season, you can find kajeet at more than 3000 select retail locations nationwide including: Best Buy, Target, Toys “R” Us, Longs Drugs and Limited Too, as well as online at kajeet.com.

I certainly know that choosing the right cellphone provider and plan is a difficult task, but everything I've read about kajeet sounds really promising. I love the flexibility of not signing a long term contract especially when you're dealing with a first time user. For those of you that do go with kajeet, we'd love to hear how the service is working out.