'Tweens' Represent Market Opp for Handset OEMs, Firm Says

Just a few years ago, the youngest wireless users were generally accepted to be college kids. This quickly transitioned to kids getting cell phones along with their driver’s licenses. Now, according to iGillottResearch, there are children as young as six with their own cell phones.

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The firms’ research also indicated that there are significant differences in usage by age, the type of devices these young users want to carry and their reasons for wanting a handset.

Understandably, parents have strong views on when is the right time for a child to have their own phone, suitable features and services and the type of device, the firm also found.

“There are significant opportunities with the tween segment [and] there are actually clearly defined sub-segments in this market,” said Iain Gillott, founder and president of iGillottResearch Inc., in a statement.

“For example, older tweens prefer different types of devices, want different services, and will use their handsets in different ways,” he explained.

“Parents of different ages and education levels also have preferences for what their children will do,” Gillott added.

Further, there are particular concerns for the cellular handset OEMs. The Austin, Texas-based firm reported that the handset OEMs also need to leverage the fact that the parents currently use their devices.

Many parents in the study did not know which brand they would buy for their child, even though they knew which handset brand they used themselves, the firm concluded.