Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Kids are stylin' as the cell phones are ringin'

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2003 00:54:44 -0400

Kids are stylin' as the cell phones are ringin'

Thursday, July 31, 2003

By JAKE GROVE, Scripps Howard News Service

The youth have spoken . . . and they are doing it through cell phones. In case you
haven't noticed, the cell phone culture is in full bloom. Look around a mall, a
campus or even a park and chances are most of the kids ages 16 to 24 that you see
will have a cell phone dangling from their bodies somewhere. "Everybody has one
and you can't get away from it," said Alicia Barmore, manager at One Stop Cellular
in Anderson, S,C. "It has become as much a part of fashion as your shirt or your
shoes. It's a trend that just keeps growing."

Stuart Beach, sales associate at Jet Wireless, has seen a lot of students come his
way in the past couple months looking to jump at the latest that cells have to
offer. He said most students want a small, sleek, technology-filled piece of
equipment that gives them access to the Internet, two-way walkie-talkies and
downloadable, customized ringers. It's not until Mom or Dad says no that they
start to settle.

"They all want the two-way radio that Nextel offers," he said. "The parents can
keep in touch and the kids can talk to their friends from anywhere at anytime."
That along with LCD color screens and Internet connections have become the big
things for the young cell phone buyer. Lamar Gambrell is a cell phone aficionado
who keeps up on the latest trends in phone fashion. He said teens want cell phones
to be as small as possible and are favoring flip phones as well. But, he said, as
long as it looks good on the hip, they will make the right statement with their
cell.

"They don't want to cover up the phone at all," Mr. Gambrell said. "It's a status
symbol and a fashion statement to have a cell. It says something about you." What
most peers notice about the cell are colors and sounds. Most phones come in black
or silver, but there are thousands of different styles of covers available.

One trend is having enough covers to color coordinate with your outfit, Mr.
Gambrell said. He has a handful of covers for his phone that he can switch out to
match his favorite clothes. His brother does the same thing. Basic colors like
red, blue and white seem to be most popular, he said, but even the psychedelic and
multi-hued accessories have their place for some.
Mr. Beach said the college student is looking to show their school spirit through
their phone. He has trouble keeping the USC, Clemson and Georgia covers in stock
while other popular team colors are just as difficult to keep around.
Also look for light-up antennas and flashing, electronic covers to be in the halls
and on campus this year.
Last comes the downloadable ringer. The days of a buzzing, humming or electronic
ring are over. Now, for a small fee, teens can download their favorite song, TV
theme or mix their own music to serve as their phone ringer.

"I have different rings for different callers," Mr. Gambrell said. "If 'Mission:
Impossible' starts playing, I know who is calling me. If it's a rap song, I know
them too."
You can get anything from Eminem to "Fat Albert" for your phone and it tells
people about you before they even talked to you. Of course, they have to have your
cell number first.

http://www.naplesnews.com/03/07/neapolitan/d958896a.htm

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