Market research firm The Yankee Group believes that 74 percent of those between the ages of 18 and 25 will own phones by 2006, the largest percentage of any other market segment owning cell phones by that time. Researcher Cahners In-Stat believes there will be 43 million wireless youth subscribers by the end of the decade. Virgin Mobile, a joint venture between Sprint PCS and Virgin Group, has jumped into the market, selling phones ranging in price from $99 to $199. The phones offer teen-friendly features, such as a variety of ring tones and the ability to store hundreds of phone numbers.

Similar lagoon nebula iphone case to Sprint PCS, Nextel has teamed with an outside firm and created a joint venture to handle much of the marketing and sales and to design the phones and features, The Nextel joint venture, Boost Mobile, brings Boost, an Irvine, Calif.-based company specializing in selling wireless devices, to the 18-to-25-year-old market, The prices of Nextel's phones and services will be revealed in September, Kelly said, With its forthcoming phones and services that will include color screens and games, the company joins a growing number of wireless carriers catering to teenagers and young adults..

In a departure from the company's usual focus, it announced plans to launch "Boost Mobile" phones and services for younger customers. The company is known mainly for its "Direct Connect" walkie-talkie style phones and its business clientele. "Nextel has so far made a conscious effort not to market to teens," said Nextel Communications Executive Vice President Tom Kelly. "But now we see tremendous potential (in that age group).". Be respectful, keep it civil and stay on topic. We delete comments that violate our policy, which we encourage you to read. Discussion threads can be closed at any time at our discretion.

CNET también está disponible en español, Don't show this again, A version of Sega's GameCube title "Monkey Ball" is now available to Sprint PCS customers, the wireless carrier said Thursday, Subscribers to Sprint PCS' new PCS Vision plans can download the game onto their cell phones for $3.99, The fee entitles them to 30 days of unlimited play, after which the game must be re-downloaded, lagoon nebula iphone case Games are among the new features cell phone companies are offering now that they have built new telephone networks to double the number of connected calls, The networks are also touting a wireless Web experience, which they say is equivalent to landline dial-up services..

CNET también está disponible en español. Don't show this again. The new equipment is expected to provide little challenge, at first, to popular Wi-Fi networks, based on a standard known as 802.11b. According to recent industry information, there are 15 million to 18 million homes and offices worldwide that use Wi-Fi networks. One reason that Wi-Fi may continue to dominate the wireless landscape is that the new standard isn't backward compatible. This means a Web surfer with a 802.11a wireless card couldn't tap into a network made up of 802.11b equipment, and vice versa. What's more, 802.11a equipment is more expensive; for example, an access point--a vital element in a wireless network--can cost upwards of $1,000.