Teenager only personal computer and Mobile

The 17-inch desktop display -- which boots up to screaming black and white swirls and squiggles against a lime-green backdrop -- has a "hangout tuner," an on-screen dial that lets users jump to categories of desktop applications: music, movies, games, photos, news, communications, shopping and homework.

Savage said teenagers generally don't like performing separate searches for various programs, so "it made sense to organize it for them and serve it up to them."

"I think what Apple did with iTunes and the iPod is great. But that's just one application," he said. "We are doing that -- on steroids. It's all of these applications, all on one platform."

Bigger computing companies have had mixed success in reaching teenagers. Last year, Microsoft Corp. released free software called 3 Degrees that is designed to give groups of young people a centralized way of sharing pictures, songs and instant messages. Microsoft says it still considers 3 Degrees a pilot test and won't comment on how much use it gets.

Leading PC seller Dell Inc. has avoided age-group-specific marketing, opting instead to highlight ways anyone might use the company's machines, spokesman Venancio Figueroa said. For example, Dell advertises its portable music player in music magazines and touts portable computers in back-to-school circulars, but neither device is retooled differently for younger users.

That's why Savage figures the teen-focused hip-e has a nice niche.

He cites market research that says teens are considered the tech gurus in today's families and dictate electronics purchases.

Meanwhile, teenagers are increasingly using credit card-like debit accounts and becoming more sophisticated consumers, said Paul Soltoff, head of SendTec Inc., a marketing services firm. In fact, the hip-e includes a prepaid debit account that teens or their parents can put money into, to fund the cell phone, online shopping or music downloads.

"In certain respects, it's easier to sell to teenagers today. They're gaining more fiscal control over expenditures," Soltoff said. "They have needs and wants, too. And they recognize bargains."

Soltoff thinks the hip-e must get big-time "viral marketing" -- word-of-mouth recommendations among teens themselves.

Savage has that covered, too: Hip-e's marketing plan includes dispatching 1,000 teens as a "launch squad," whose members earn sales commissions.

Ultimately, however, the most important thing will be the hip-e's performance, said Rob Callender, senior trends manager at market tracker Teenage Research Unlimited.

That's because while teenagers love things that are designed for them, they also like to look ahead a few years, Callender said. So if the hip-e is geared for 16-year-olds, it might actually appeal to kids closer to 14.

                                                   This is the phone made for hip-e and made for keeping you in touch. Text messages, your IM buddy list, games, and ring tones - the reachme makes it all easier. Plus, it snaps into the node for quick charging and simple downloads.

Via:sfgate.com

www.hip-e.com