Beating the odds in the tween-only cell phone market
Donald L. Deubler has the guts of a high roller. In 2005, the former industrial parts salesman created a hot cell phone for kids. The award-winning device, which allowed only parent-programmed calls, soon generated US$20 million in annual sales for his Firefly Mobile.
In less than a year and a half, though, the owner was ushering out his chief executive officer and half his staff as the startup was nearly done in by differences of opinion over strategy. "It was that close to ending," says Deubler.
Now the 34-year-old entrepreneur is doubling down. Firefly has just come out with a phone for tweens, the flyPhone, which comes with MP3 and video players, camera, games - and parental controls - for US$124.99. Just in time for holiday sales, the company has also launched the next generation of its blue Firefly kid's cell phone, the glowPhone, for US$49.99.
The tween product may be a riskier gamble than Firefly's translucent, blue original. Industry analysts note many of the nation's 25 million 8- to 12-year-olds will be content with a kid's phone only so long before wanting a grown-up model. Firefly has competition, too: Sanyo, for instance, sells a phone that permits parents to block phone numbers or Web sites. "Firefly Mobile may be in catch-up mode," says David Weissman, a telecom analyst with Zacks Investment Research.
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