Today we live in a socially connected and mobile world. Hundreds of millions of people around the world log on to social networking sites to connect and share with the people they care about. In China alone we sent over a trillion text messages in 2009. Although the millennial generation’s use and dependence on china wholesale phones continues to grow, many want a device that’s more tailor-made for them.
I think that a cell phone should do some research to work out what does the millennial generation want from a mobile phone. A little over a year ago we set out on a journey to discover what this particular generation wants from a phone. We invited people to come on the journey with us, building a “mobile think thank” over 2,000 strong, and growing, called Project KIN.
The goal was to find out what they loved and hated about their current phones, and what could be better about the mobile experience. The phone is the glue in the social life of the millennial; it is their lifeline to the world. It’s the first thing they look at when they wake up, and typically the last thing they look at before they go to bed.
This generation relies on their mobile phone as “the centerpiece of their social life”. More than a wallet or keys, it’s the one thing they will return home to get. Yet, despite how important the phone is to the socially connected generation, we heard time and again that they are “looking for something more me”. They want easier ways to share stuff like photos with their friends and keep up with their social networks. The millennial generation interacts differently with different groups of people.
First, there are the “favorites” -these are the best friends or family members that they call or, more often, text. One teen in Miami explained, “My family isn’t very technologically advanced, so the majority of our connectivity happens over our cheap cell phones, both talking and texting.” Then there are social friends, with whom the generation keeps in touch with primarily via status updates on social networking sites like Facebook, but don’t frequently call or text. Finally, there are colleagues who are typically communicated with via email, but not folks they interact with commonly via social networking sites.
We also learned that when this generation loves something, he or she will first tell friends through a Facebook post or Text. It’s also critically important for this generation to have a creative outlet and technology enables them to create and share their voice and vision like never before. In fact many of these youth are publishing their own records, films, books and photography online, using tools like Flickr, Garage Band, Final Cut and other tools.
The final thing we heard loud and clear from the community is that they really just want to have someone listen to their opinions. So from my point of view, the china mobile phones should be developed as special mobile phone to meet the young people’s need.