In case you’ve slept through the past five years, cell phones are everywhere. Everyone has a cell phone, with cell phone adoption rates skyrocketing since the start of the new millennium; at the last count, almost 200 million Americans owned at least one phone (source). In my family, even my grandma has a cell phone.
So what should you do when your teenager or young child wants a cell phone? What features should you look for in your teenager’s new cell phone? Most importantly, what are the best cell phones for young children and the best cell phones for teenagers? In this review, we will briefly summarize the Top 4 Cell Phones For Teenagers and Children, followed by an in-depth review of the cell phone that tops the list.
The Top Four Best Cell Phones for Children and Teenagers:
In ranking, we looked at cell phone features and any other factor that might appeal to a younger demographic. To make it easier for you, we’ve also split the list into five “uses.”
The Best Cell Phone For Young Children: The LG Migo is the perfect little cell phone for young kids who can’t wait to get their small hands on a phone just like mom and dad’s. Created with young children in mind, the LG Migo lacks an actual dialpad. Instead, there are four speed dial buttons that can be set to automatically call certain numbers, such as the child’s parents. It’s also made of rugged plastic, perfect for kids who might drop their cell phone a lot. You can purchase the LG Migo from the official LG website.
The Best Cell Phone For The Fashion- and Style-Conscious Teenager: If your teenager wants a basic cell phone unlike any other phone out there, check out the UTStarcom Slice PCS-1400. Everyone nowadays has a Motorola Razr. If your teenager wants a cell phone that’s different, the UTStarcom Slice is the one for her. It may not be the Apple iPhone, but it’s a lot cheaper! You can learn more about the UTStarcom Slice PCS-1400 on this cell phone website.
The Best Cell Phone for the Text Messaging Teenager or Child: The T-Mobile Sidekick is made for the text-addict in your household. The T-Mobile Sidekick 3 flips open to reveal a full sized keyboard. The T-Mobile Sidekick also houses a camera and an MP3 player. You can learn more about the T-Mobile Sidekick 3 from the official T-Mobile Sidekick III website.
The Best Overall Cell Phone For Teenagers: If your teenager wants the features of everything above (text messaging, MP3 player, camera and extreme style and fashion), there is one phone for him. It’s called the Samsung Juke, which was just released last year. You’ve seen the advertisements on television for the Samsung Juke cell phone (SCH-U740) from Verizon Wireless. Pulsating red circles move to a steady music beat while the slim Samsung cell phone rotates in slow motion. It’s clearly designed and aimed at a fashion-forward, young audience. And it does its job very, very well.
The Samsung Juke cell phone is part cell phone and part MP3 player. I recently purchased it with the new Nationwide Plus Canada cell phone plan from Verizon Wireless. With a two-year contract, the Samsung Juke costs an amazing $0.00 (free after rebate), but without a contract you could end up paying up to $300.
When I first received the Samsung Juke SCH-U740, the first thing that caught my eye was its edgy design, unlike anything I’d seen before. The Samsung Juke cell phone has some very obvious sex appeal, setting it apart from other cell phones and making a big fashion statement. While it measures a bit thicker than a Motorola Razr (more in-depth measurements and statistics regarding the Samsung Juke cell phone later in this review), it is much thinner.
The first design feature that you’ll notice is its never-before-seen-anywhere-else swivel hinge that flips the phone open like a switchblade. It’s a bit quirky, requiring you to turn the Juke upside down to flip it open in a properly oriented position. However, you’ll get used to it and it will soon become second nature.
Once open, you will find it’s thin keypad. It’s very thin, thanks to the phone’s design. At first, you will find it hard to text and type because of its small size, but like the swivel hinge, you will get used to it. The Samsung Juke phone also sports a metal scroll wheel that you use to navigate in its MP3 music player. The cell display screen that boasts an amazing 262,000 colors for bright, vibrant displays.
If the Samsung Juke SCH-U470 cell phone for Verizon has an amazing and fashionable design, its internal software features are a bit less amazing. You get all the basics of a regular cell phone: A calendar, a stopwatch, a program to take notes, an address book, Bluetooth, etc. However, the Samsung Juke SCH-U470 cell phone doesn’t take advantage of Verizon’s 3G features. Also, the Juke doesn’t use Verizon’s V-Cast music service to download music. Instead, you have to connect the Juke to your home computer or laptop to transport music onto it. That being said, many user’s opt not to use Verizon’s V-Cast music service because it is very expensive. Thus, I have not found this lack of features to be any serious flaw.
One big feature to concentrate on is the Samsung Juke SCH-U470 cell phone’s music capabilities. It is marketed to be a young and hip cell phone AND an MP3 player, and it does both very well. Its internal music player can hold up to 2 gigabytes of music, which I have found to be around 500 songs. It can read music tags, meaning when you import songs through a USB cable, the songs’ artist and song titles are included.
The Samsung Juke cell’s music player can play a wide variety of music files, including AAC (the format the Apple’s iTunes Music Store uses), MP3s and Windows Media files (.wma). Keep in mind that the Juke doesn’t let you expand your storage capabilities. However, 2 GB is very sufficient for on-the-go users who don’t plan to use the Samsung Juke as their sole music player, or don’t mind changing out their music every now and then.
The music quality of the Samsung Juke was just fine. The cell phone boasts a speaker, which makes the music sound awful. I would suggest that you use the pair of included headphones that are included when you order a Samsung Juke SCH-U470 cell phone. With headphones, the music sounds great and navigating the internal music player is very easy and simple.
Overall, the Samsung Juke SCH-U470 cell phone is the perfect cell phone for those who want the basic features of a cell phone while also being able to bring their music with them wherever they go. I have found that the battery is also substantial, giving me nearly three hours of talk time before needing to be re-charged (the Samsung Juke SCH-U470 includes a charger kit when ordered new from Verizon Wireless).
