There is a certain karma-reducing feeling that makes my stomach tighten when I toss
things in the trash. Not with bubble-gum wrappers or paper plates; I have gotten over
that. But throw-away cameras -- it just seems crazy.
Although it may agitate the environmentalist faction -- and my stomach -- from time to
time, it is only a matter of months until disposable wireless phones make their way into
convenience stores and kiosks.
Already, one company has concocted a handset cheap enough to be tossed in the trash after
one use. Really. And analysts believe the market has a decent amount of potential for
grabbing new wireless users.
Trash Talk
It seems like a smart concept: Buy a phone at the deli, make a few calls, then plop it in
the circular file under the desk. The only hitch is making sure the handset is cheap
enough that users need not get emotionally attached to it before buying it.
"I do think it's a viable market if the price can be kept low. Probably for the preteen
market, and for emergency use," Cahners In-Stat
senior analyst Allen Nogee told Wireless NewsFactor. "Since it won't be all that 'cool,'
it probably won't catch on for the older teen crowd."
The market for these devices will be those technophobes who are not dabbling in the
wireless space yet -- probably because they shiver at the notion of a year-long contract
with a carrier. I understand their fears. It is not often that I can even stay with a job
for more than a year.
Months Away
The uses for these devices will be left to the marketing gurus. But the technology pros
already have built the toss-away phone.
"The furthest one along that I know of is from a company called Telespree," Nogee said.
Telespree's phone costs about US$30 to make, Nogee
said, and will allow 60 minutes of airtime.
"When that runs out, you purchase another 60 minutes in the form of a new phone back they
call the 'Airclip.' The Airclip contains the minutes and a new battery," Nogee said.
Telespree, in fact, announced in March that it had
developed this "trash" technology -- though it does not like to call its phones
"disposable."
Telespree spokesperson Lissa Franklin told Wireless NewsFactor that the phone Telespree
developed is so inexpensive because much of the technology remains on the actual network,
not on the phone.
If all goes well in its discussions with carriers, Telespree said the phones will be on
the market during the first half of 2002 -- first in North America, then in other
nations. (continued...)
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