Kajeet

Infobox_Company
company_
company_type = Private| company_slogan = Use It For Good
foundation = 2006
location = Bethesda, Maryland (Corporate headquarters)
key_people = Daniel Neal, CEO & Founder
industry = Wireless Services| products = Wireless using CDMA
homepage = [http://www.kajeet.com kajeet.com]

Kajeet is a pay-as-you-go Sprint-based Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) that began selling phones to the general public in March 2007 through their website.

Kajeet advertises with six animated characters ("dudes") who represent various kid archetypes: Kane, Lottie, Obie, Skratch, Tallulah, and Zeo. Each character has his or her own ringtones, wallpapers and graphics that kids can choose to use . The characters' personalities are fleshed out in "Dudeworld."

Kajeet was discussed in the TIME Magazine online article [cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1590955,00.html|publisher=TIME Magazine|title=Cell Phones for the SpongeBob Set|date=2007-02-16] and in the print edition. [cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1595252,00.html|publisher=TIME Magazine|title=Calling All Kids|date=2007-03-01] In both, the author Wendy Cole recounted her daughter's experience during kajeet beta testing.

On March 19, 2007, kajeet launched a presence in Whyville, the virtual world for kids, sponsoring a "Chat Factory" in the Whyville Mall. In May 2007, the kajeet-Whyville relationship was presented as a case study in online marketing to kids at the Kid Power 2007 conference in Orlando, Florida.

In mid-March 2007, kajeet officially announced its retail launch in Best Buy and Limited Too stores, and in April began selling in Long's Drugs stores on the west coast.

In early April 2007, kajeet began running its first television commercial on Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network and other kid-specific broadcast outlets.

On May 16, 2007, kajeet was featured in "Marketing Cell Phones to Kids," [cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2819564n|publisher=CBS News|title=Marketing Cell Phones to Kids|date=2007-05-16] part of a five-part CBS News report on marketing to kids. [cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=2819367n|publisher=CBS News|title=Eye To Eye - Kids Go Mobile|date=2007-05-16]

In June 2007, kajeet launched [http://dudemail.kajeet.com Dudemail] , an e-mail application featuring customizable versions of the six animated characters that includes a text-to-speech component. The company was also singled out by Best Buy in their 2007 Corporate Responsibility Report. [cite web|url=http://www.bbycommunications.com/csr/products.htm|title=Best Buy 2007 corporate responsibility report|month=June|year=2007]

By October 2007, kajeet had secured phone and refill card distribution not only in Best Buy, Limited Too and Longs Drugs, but also in Target, Toys R Us, Wal-Mart, CVS and Rite Aid locations. The company moved quickly in the wake of Disney Mobile's announcement that it was shutting down in December 2007 by offering a $50 service credit to Disney Mobile users who switch their number to the kajeet service.

Kajeet was named one of five companies to watch by The National Venture Capital Association, a trade association that represents the U.S. venture capital industry, in its [http://www.nvca.org/pubs.html 2005-2006 Year in Review] . In September 2007, kajeet announced the securing of $36.8 million in series-B venture capital funding.

References

External links

* [http://www.kajeet.com/ kajeet homepage]
* [http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/devlin/10572 Yahoo! Tech: "kajeet: A Cell Phone Service for Tweens," April 2, 2007]
* [http://reviews.cnet.com/cell-phones/kajeet/4505-6454_7-32416632.html C|Net review, April 19, 2007]
* [http://www.prepaidreviews.com/blog/kajeet/kajeet-delivers-best-of-cell-phone-world-to-parents-kids-34881/ Prepaid Reviews: Interview with kajeet CEO and Founder Daniel Neal, September 24, 2007]