Mobile Phone Blog:

Anyone who’s read this bog in the past may remember I did a post, ages ago, about the Zeki phone, aimed at toddlers. And you may remember my sentiments from that story, which can be summed up thusly:

Ahem.

Stop giving mobile phones to kids!

I mean, let’s be honest, I didn’t need a mobile phone until I was at least 21. Mind you, the fact that mobile phones were about as widespread as, well, as something very tightly knit that wasn’t everywhere, back then, is probably a factor. I still maintain, though, that I honestly can’t see the point of kids having mobile phones. But maybe I should be a bit more specific: it’s young kids I don’t think should have mobile phones. They don’t need ‘em, and I certainly don’t reckon they need them to keep them safe, since that’s the parents’ job.

So, where does this leave the new Samsung Tobi S3030 that’s been reported on by MobileBurn? As a mobile phone designed and being marketed for kids, does that mean it’s a daft idea, a phone that just won’t sell?

Well, no, because Samsung have actually been rather canny with the Tobi S3030. Sure, it may be ostensibly designed for kids, on the surface, but when you look into the features… well, it’s not vastly different from a Samsung mobile phone aimed at adults. They say it has animated menu icons, but so do many Samsung mobile phones. And, I might add, the menus on the Tobi, despite being ‘kiddified’, aren’t a million miles away from those on the Samsung U900 Soul.

The Samsung Tobi’s other big selling point is its safety features, specifically SOS call, SOS message, and ‘fake call’ (no idea what that is, but I’m guessing it simulates someone ringing you to distract whoever’s trying to kill you/steal your dinner money). And yet… those features are present on a lot of Samsung mobile phones.

So, what you’ve got with the Samsung Tobi is, in fact, pretty much no different, internally, from other Samsung phones.

And that, right there, is why Samsung have been very canny. They haven’t just made a mobile phone that can only be sold for kids. They’ve made a phone that can be sold for kids (well, teenagers, which I’m not against, unlike Zeki, who made a phone for toddlers), but that also works for other people. Like, for example, young single women who have to go to their car after work, in the dark, on a quiet car park. Surely I can’t be the only one who can see how much that would benefit young women who could, theoretically, get mugged or worse? And surely I can’t be the only person who can see the benefits others would get from what is, essentially, a kids’ phone that’s not really a kids’ phone?

And as for the outlandish and bright designs, hey, some people prefer their mobile phones to look like that, no matter how old they are. After all, if a woman in our office, who is 41 (and as she says, rapidly approaching 42, although she insisted I remind people she doesn’t look it) can have Spongebob Squarepants as her ringtone, and keep a straight face, then anything is possible…

If you want a bright, loud phone that shouts out your personality, the Samsung Tobi is for you. Meanwhile, if you want a phone that’s a bit more restrained and classy, grab yourself the Samsung U900 Soul, today!