Disposable cell phones ringing wrong tune
dailytrojan.com
Technology: Local company’s newest product not catching on with students, who are already attached to own phones
By JULIE KUO
Contributing Writer
A new form of cell phone that allows users to dispose of them after use is not capturing the interests of most college students, they said.
Hop-On Inc., a telecommunications company based in Garden Grove, is introducing disposable and recyclable cell phones in convenience stores across the region this week. The technology will also be sold in other major metropolitan areas over the next three months and will be manufactured by "a couple of partners that the company is working with in China and Mexico," Hop-On spokesman David Pasquale said.
No stores near the USC campus, however, sell disposable cell phones.
The battery-rechargeable phones are designed for incoming and outgoing calls only and have no voicemail capability, according to the company's Web site.
They are equipped with 60 minutes of airtime for $39.99 and do not incur long distance or roaming fees. After using all the minutes, consumers can add more minutes, throw them away or return them to the company for a $5 rebate.
"I already have a cell phone; it would be kind of pointless to have another, which you'll end up throwing away anyway," said Sophia Aduana, a freshman majoring in biological sciences.
The technology's target audience "is the 'glove box' group, the emergency users, senior citizens, younger audience and people who don't want to buy phones with contracts," Pasquale said.
These phones are "the next step in the evolution" of technology, said David Stewart, professor of marketing.
Stewart said students and travelers would be interested in the technology.
"I think it's good for people who don't use their cell phones regularly; it's an interesting idea," said Joseph Bannister, director of the Information Sciences Institute's computer networks division and associate professor of electrical engineering systems.
He said it would also make more sense if the telephone operators offer the product because they can get their customers hooked on it and then offer an upgrade.
It could be a good idea for people who have no consistent income, such as students, said Nick Osano, a graduate student in public administration.
Other experts, however, disagree.
"It's a sham," said Michael Noll, professor of communication. "The company will go bankrupt."
This is an "attempt to attract investors to this year's new bubble," he said.
Because the company would need to pay for marketing, promotions and advertisements, "they are already in the hole," he said; retail stores would also want to make some money.
Major cell phone carriers have no plans for disposable technology.
"We don't have plans to introduce disposable products currently," said Alexa Graf, an AT&T Wireless national media relations representative.
Verizon Wireless does not sell disposable cell phones, but they offer FreeUp, a prepay phone plan with no contracts, no roaming and is nationwide, said Brenda Raney, executive director of Wireless Consumer Products.
Students for the most part agree that the idea does not work for a variety of reasons.
"A cell phone doesn't seem like a disposable object and like a practical idea to me," said Ethan Levy, a sophomore majoring in music industry. "With cell phones costing as little as $30, it doesn't seem very marketable."
"I'm against throwing away phones because it's a lot of waste," said Mark Valderrama, a junior majoring in finance. "(Chips) are a pain to get rid of and cause a lot of nasty pollution."
Other students said they would not get the phones because they already have a permanent one of their own.
"I like my cell phone; I have an emotional attachment to it," said Anna Williams, a junior majoring in English literature. "I have numbers on it. It's pretty much my phone book."
Karim Taher, a graduate student in international business, said he thinks it is a good idea, but he would not buy it.
"I live here. I use my cell phone more than my home phone," he said.
Brent Smith, a junior majoring in print journalism, said he wouldn't get the phones "because the plan I'm on already has certain amount of minutes I have to use, and I don't usually go over."
"(The idea) works with cameras, not with phones," Williams said.
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