National Survey Shows People Prefer Personalized Cell Phone Services (NAPSA)—Answeringthecall for a personalized telephone began longer ago than many people realize. In fact, it has been 35 years since Martin Cooper, widely recognized as “The Father of the Cell Phone,” made the very first cellular call on the streets of New York City from the phone he had invented. Cooper’s vision was that cell phones should becomea personal companion. Today, people consider a cell phone to be an essential part of their lives but they would like far moreflexibility in how they can buy and use them. A new national sur- vey conducted by Kelton Research showsthat people of all ages tend to prefer personalized features and services and share a strongdislike of cell phone service contracts. The survey showed that people are becoming very savvy in know- ing what they want in a cell phone. Feature Overload Is “Out” 73 percent of respondents prefer to pay only for what they believe they will actually use, compared to only 27 percent who wantall the bells and whistles. 32 percent of cell phone users say their current cell phone ser- vice has more features than they know whatto do with. Personalized Services Are “In” 71 percent said they would be interested in 24-hour access to a personal telephone assistant who could give them tailored service. 34 percent would prefer to have someone else set up their phone features and services for them. Service Contracts Are “Yesterday” 34 percent of cell phone users say their current contracts or service agreements have too many restrictions. 61 percent say they might purchase a cell phone or change cellular service providers if they could get one with no contracts. @ A recent survey discovered most cell phone users prefer to pay only for what they believe they will actually use. Several years ago, Cooper and his wife, Arlene Harris, co-founded a company that makes a personalized cell phone and service named Jitterbug to give people the kind of personal service he envisionedall those years ago. They created their Jitterbug phone with a simple and easy-to-use handset that has back- lit, larger buttons and screen, and even a familiar dial tone. Their service comes with a friendly personal operator who greets customers by nameandcan assist with special needs. They do not make people buy contracts. “We view a cell phone as a close personal companion and take the ‘personal’ part of that very seriously, so these research findings make perfect sense to us!” says Harris. Jitterbug phones are available at major retailers throughout the U.S. including Sears, Best Buy, CVS, select wireless stores and from www.Jitterbug.com.
