Tumblr 101: Tips And Tricks To Get Started
Sebastian Thrun: Google's Driverless Car
Child Asks BlackBerry Execs for Kid-Friendly Smartphone
RIM's BlackBerry is the standard when it comes to smart phones for the corporate workplace. RIM has built its reputation on building serious adult phones for serious adults. So it really caught RIM CEOs Jim Balsillie and Mike Lazaridis off guard when, at a recent shareholders' meeting, a child asked them when they were going to make a cell phone for kids.We're not sure why a child was at a shareholders' meeting, but during the proceedings he or she stood up and stumped the company reps by asking, "Are you going to make a phone more for kids so that my Mom will let me get one?," Reuters reports. We're sure it was met with a few "awww"s and an obligatory pat on the head.
The tyke has a point, though. BlackBerry devices have a strong appeal, but there is no phone that's targeted at or priced for a younger market. Even its consumer-oriented devices (with the exception of the pseudo-QWERTY, toy-like Pearl Flip) are decidedly "adult" and geared towards workaholics. Although Lazaridis's response to the kid was anything but direct, he did say, "[If] the current BlackBerrys aren't acceptable to your mother, hopefully the next ones will [be]." Could we see a baby BlackBerry in the near future? Here's hoping, junior. [From: Reuters]
16 Grammys Looks That Weren't Working
Whitney Houston Autopsy: Cause of Death Determined?
Worst Movie Mistakes: Date Night Edition (PHOTOS)
Whitney Houston, Bobbi Kristina: Late Singer's Daughter Hospitalized
Adele Five-Year Break? Singer Plans to Focus on Relationship, Write 'Happy Record'
PHOTOS: President Obama's Kissing Technique
Jennifer Hudson Whitney Tribute: Grammy President Reveals Why Singer Was Chosen for Musical Memorial
Grammy 2012 Winners' List: Adele Sweeps Music's Biggest Night
How Hattie Lost 300 Pounds: 'I Was Ready To Do Whatever It Took To Survive'
3 Economic Misconceptions That Need to Die
5-Hour Energy: A Success Equal Parts Caffeine, Chemistry and Meditation
Matt Bomer Comes Out As Gay
People With Easy-To-Pronounce Names More Likely To Succeed, Study Says
Katy Perry Grammy Performance 2012: Did the Diva Diss Her Ex-Hubby With Revealing New Song?
Photos Of Dead Lacrosse Player's Injured Body Shown To Jury
Whitney Houston Dead: Stars React to Legend's Sudden Death
Grammy Awards 2012: The Best & Worst Of The Red Carpet!
12 Grammys Stars Who Gave Good Style
The Top 10 Slacker Colleges
15 Funny Valentine's Day Cards
Mystery Disease Kills Thousands
WATCH: 25 Million Tons Of Japan Tsunami Debris Headed Directly Our Way
Oprah Under Fire For Controversial Tweet
Remembering The People's Ballerina
PHOTOS: Thank God For Grown-Up Glamour
JUNGLE SURVIVAL: Marines Drink Snake Blood, Eat Insects
New Clues, Details Emerge In Powell Case
PHOTOS: Model Falls At Dennis Basso Show
Scuba-Diving Murder Trial: Prosecutors Drop One Charge Against Husband
PHOTOS: Kate Spends Valentine's Day Solo!
PHOTOS: Beautiful Scars
15 Funny Valentine's Day Quotes
Comments
7
Subscribe to commentsGipionocheiyortJul 15th 2009 3:50PM
Maybe a plant to ask a question to get people talking about an upcoming product?
Not sure...but that's the only reason I can think of for a kid to be in a shareholder's meeting.
Dr. Evil GeniusJul 15th 2009 4:17PM
If I were this kid, I would be asking my work-a-holic parent(s) and dumb-ass Pop Culture for my childhood back.
mikemaj82Jul 15th 2009 5:53PM
Why do kids need a cell phone? Kids today are so pampered, they think they know life but they don't. When I was a kid I wasn't talking on a cellphone while riding my bike, or sitting inside playing multiplayer games with people across the world. I was outside playing in the dirt and mud, getting scraped up, fractured arms, eating junk food...all that good stuff.
J M GreyJul 16th 2009 10:18AM
You then walked uphill both ways to school and McDonald's in the freezing snow barefoot, or on your fractured arms when those got too numb. When you got to school, you were lucky to a book to even share with two other kids!
Shoes in children sizes was a ludicrous idea, as who would market shoes to such a niche market with no primary source of income? And living in a cardboard box, like everyone else did at the time, just forced you to use your imagination to fool yourself it wasn't as damp and miserable as it seemed.
Also, whatever happened to good old fashioned, reliable tin cans and a string? As long as the string was long enough, you could talk to anybody! "Cell phones" is just another term for social sorcery, and texting is just a lamer way of writing a note on a piece of paper, folding it into an airplane, and throwing it towards its destination.
And who could forget how the closest thing you had to video games involved a rock, a stick, and more bleeding than any video game today has!
Oh, and you liked it that way just fine!
unityexxonJul 15th 2009 9:09PM
A kid having a cell phone is common now in days.Its not that you are pampering your kids.Now in days it is a safety thing.I love beening able to locate where my kid is and to be able to reach them when I want to
mhalpJul 16th 2009 11:27AM
@ J M Grey
(shakes angry fist at the younger crowd...)
Damn whipper-snappers!!!!
griffithsbusinessJul 16th 2009 6:16PM
Great article! but a blackberry for youths? what are they gonna call it? baby blackberry???
-Steve, berryfeed.com