Start-Up to Tailor Wireless Service for Seniors
A pioneering husband-and-wife team in the wireless industry, aided by Samsung Electronics Co., has formed a company to offer a simplified cellphone and wireless service for older users.
GreatCall Inc., a San Diego-based start-up led by Arlene Harris and Martin Cooper, plans to target baby boomers and their parents. The service, called Jitterbug, will offer a Samsung-built phone with large buttons, easy-to read text and a cushion that cups around the ear to improve sound quality, Ms. Harris said.
Other companies, including Vodafone Group PLC, are selling simplified phones aimed at an older audience. But GreatCall with its Jitterbug offering is one of few companies building a business around that market, which is expected to grow as baby boomers age.
GreatCall plans to provide each user with an individual Web page that can be used to set up phones and choose service options. A son or daughter, for example, could use the Web page to manage the account of a parent in another city, including configuring the phone and listing numbers for friends, family members or emergency contacts.
Pushing a button will bring calling assistance quickly. "An operator will answer and be able to make calls for you," Ms. Harris said.
GreatCall expects to start tests of Jitterbug this summer, and begin offering the service through a Web site after Labor Day. Pricing for the phone and service haven't been set but are expected to be competitive with other carriers. Ms. Harris said she expects monthly bills for light usage to average around $25, with some plans starting as low as $10.
Jitterbug falls into a category known as MVNOs -- mobile virtual network operators -- that resell communications capacity from major network operators. Some such services, including Helio and Amp'd Mobile Inc., are courting a youth audience with stylish phones that offer sophisticated features such as music downloads and text messaging. GreatCall, in contrast, is betting that some users have been turned off by cellphones' complexity.
Telephia, a San Francisco-based firm that surveys cellphone users, says about 31% of respondents age 55 or older said the most important feature for their next phone is just the ability to make or receive voice calls. Only 12% of people ages 18 to 24 mentioned that capability, said Bernard Brenner, a Telephia analyst.
GreatCall enlisted Samsung's help in designing a smooth-edged flip phone, which displays numbers in large text and has a dial tone akin to those on landline phones. The electronics giant was influenced by the reputation of Mr. Cooper, 77 years old, a former Motorola Inc. engineer credited with developing the first portable cellphone in 1973.
Ms. Harris, 57, also has lengthy resume in wireless, helping build her family's paging business and later joining Mr. Cooper in ventures that include Cellular Business Systems Inc., a wireless-billing company.
In 1994 Ms. Harris founded a company called SOS Wireless Communications Inc., which offers handsets with buttons that connect users directly to an operator, 911 service or roadside assistance. GreatCall plans to offer a similar three-button phone model, including a button that can be programmed to automatically dial a designated emergency contact.
初创公司为老年用户定制无线通讯服务
在无线通讯行业，一对夫妻搭档在三星电子(Samsung Electronics Co.)的帮助下成立了一家公司，专门为老年用户提供简化版的手机和无线通讯服务。
这家名为GreatCall Inc.的初创公司位于圣地牙哥，老板是阿琳?哈里斯(Arlene Harris)和马丁?库帕(Martin Cooper)。公司瞄准的客户群是婴儿潮一代以及他们的父母。哈里斯说，公司即将推出一项名为Jitterbug的服务，包括一款三星产的手机，这款手机按键较大，文字显示非常清晰，并且还在听筒上增加了衬垫，以提高音质效果。
包括沃达丰空中通讯公司(Vodafone Group PLC)在内的其他公司也在销售面向老年用户的简化版手机。不过，GreatCall是少有的几家以这个市场为核心的公司。随著婴儿潮一代逐渐步入老年，这个市场预计将不断扩大。
GreatCall计划为每位用户提供一个个人网页，供其进行手机设置、以及选择服务内容。比如说，住在另一个城市的子女可以利用这个网页为他们的父母管理帐户，包括对手机进行设置、输入亲戚朋友的电话号码等。
只需按一下键，用户即刻就能获得帮助。哈里斯说，将有接线员接听电话，并为你拨打电话。
GreatCall预计将从今年夏天开始测试Jitterbug，并在劳工节(Labor Day)后通过互联网提供这项服务。该服务及配套手机的价格尚未确定，但预计与其他运营商相比将很有竞争性。哈里斯预计，如果用得不是很频繁，该服务每月的平均费用约为25美元左右，其中还有一些服务计划的起价低至10美元。
Jitterbug属于移动虚拟网络经营商(Mobile Virtual Network Operator, MVNO)服务，主要是将大网络运营商的通讯服务进行转售。部分此类服务，像Helio和Amp'd Mobile Inc.主要面向的是年轻人群，它们提供具备音乐下载、短信输入等复杂功能的时尚手机。而与此相反，GreatCall将关注点放在了那些被手机的复杂功能吓跑的用户上。
总部位于旧金山的公司Telephia对手机用户进行了调查。Telephia的分析师布伦纳(Bernard Brenner)说，调查发现，年龄在55岁以上的受访者中，有31%的人认为他们下一个手机最重要的功能就是拨打和接听电话。而18至24岁的受访者中只有12%的人提到了这一功能。
GreatCall在设计一款流线型的翻盖手机时得到了三星的帮助。现年77岁的库帕以前是摩托罗拉(Motorola Inc.)的工程师，在1973年开发了第一代移动电话。正是他的声誉吸引来了三星电子。
57岁的哈里斯也在无线行业有很长的从业经验，她帮助自己家人建立了寻呼业务，后来与库帕一道建立了合资公司，像无线帐单服务公司Cellular Business Systems Inc.等。
1994年，哈里斯成立了一家名为SOS Wireless Communications Inc.的公司，推出了一种手持设备，上面的按键直接与接线员或911等相连。GreatCall计划推出一种类似的只有三个按键的手机，其中一个按键自动拨通一位预设的应急联系人的电话。
