We’ve always liked the idea of kajeet in theory. No, we don’t like eight-year-olds having cell phones, but kajeet is aimed more at tween — those between the ages of 11 and 14. Not a big age group there, but it’s a populated one. And one thing they all want is a cell phone, whether they need it or not. Kajeet fills that need well, though we still think their customers are getting hosed with the 35 cents per day access fee. Then again, we think all access fees are pretty bogus — though we’ll touch on that subject a bit later. Anyway, they’re working with Comverse to provide their instant messaging software systems. We’re actually not quite sure what this partnership means. Kajeet has already offered an instant messaging service through AOL Instant Messenger for $6.99 per month. So now they’re bringing in Comverse…which uses a “branded mobile interface for AOL’s Mobile AIM service.” Is it an upgrade? We’re still not sure. But it will probably cost more. Or that could be us being terribly cynical. Actually, while we’re being cynical, we’re not so sure kids even need mobile IM. Heck, we spent far more time than we should in our tween years IMing our friends back and forth. Now kids can do that whenever they want. Does not bode well, wethinks. Daniel Neal, CEO of kajeet, begs to differ:
“Mobile IM is a compelling must-have service for our young, technologically savvy users,” said Daniel Neal, chief executive for kajeet. He said Comverse’s platform provides “the fun and engaging experience that our teen and tween customers seek.”IM is mostly wasted time, so it’s not really “must-have.” It may be “fun and engaging,” but what do the kids take from the experience? Little or nothing, in our humble opinion. So we’re left with two questions from this story. First, how is this an upgrade? The article should have answered that, but didn’t. Second, why do kids need IM on their phones? Once again, no answers from either the article or a quote from Mr. Neal. Cynicism abound. [Newsday]]]>