New ‘Firefly’ Phone Targets Children
By Jim Stafford, The Daily Oklahoman
Nov. 19–The pleas of 11-year-old Savannah Buck for a cell phone of her own have gone unheeded by her parents, Oklahoma City residents Steve and Lisa Buck.
“She’s been asking for a cell phone for about a year and a half,” Steve Buck said Friday. “A lot of her peers have them now.”
Cingular Wireless introduced a wireless phone this week that may end the cell phone stalemate in the Buck household.
Cingular said it is marketing the new “Firefly” phone that is targeted specifically to Savannah’s age group, children ages 12 and under
The colorful Firefly phone is designed with only five keys instead of a regular dial pad. Parents use a private PIN number to program up to 22 outgoing numbers into the phone, including speed-dial keys for Mom and Dad.
Kids place calls by pressing the Mom or Dad key or selecting a name in the phone book and pressing send. Caller ID lets the user know who’s calling.
Cingular is selling the Firefly for $49.99 after a $25 mail-in rebate with a two-year contract. Cingular spokesman Frank Merriman said the phone also is available with a prepaid plan that does not require any contract commitment.
Steve Buck said he is considering the Firefly as a Christmas gift for Savannah and her younger sister, Avery, 6. Both are students in the Deer Creek school system.
“I like the restricted incoming and outgoing calls,” Buck said. “That’s a big feature. Ease of use is nice. Certainly, it’s the safety factor, for the family. It’s an opportunity to extend our parental leash.”
The potential for children losing the Firefly is a concern for parents, although insurance is available for the phone. But the insurance comes with a $50 deductible, Merriman said.
“One thing, it comes with a lanyard so you can actually put it around their neck,” Merriman said. “Parents can attach it to their belt or put it around their waist.”
The phone is manufactured by Firefly Mobile and was recently awarded the 2006 “Best of Innovations” award in the telephone category by the Consumer Electronics Association. It weighs only 2 ounces and lights up like a firefly when the phone rings and intermittently during use or when it’s charging.
Telecommunications analyst Jeff Kagan in Atlanta described the Firefly as a “good starter phone,” although it will probably only whet the appetite of the preteen set.
“It give the kids the beginnings of the mobility, and it plants the seeds for kids getting a real cell phone sooner rather than later,” Kagan said.
Savannah Buck already has added the Firefly to her Christmas wish list, her dad said.
“It probably won’t be Savannah’s phone,” Steve Buck said. “It will be a family phone. This is not a social tool. I view this as an emergency communication tool.”
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