• by March 10, 2005

How many kids own cell phones? Take a guess.

According to NOP World Technology, 16 million teens and tweens in the United States own cell phones. NOP's mKids Study reveals that nearly half (44 percent) of 10- to 18-year-olds own a wireless phone.

The mKids Study researches teen and tween cell phone ownership in the top 25 markets and found that ownership among 12- to 14-year-olds increased from 13 percent in February 2002 to 40 percent in December 2004. In addition, the majority (73 percent) of 18-year-olds own cell phones, a 15 percent rise from 2002. Seventy-five percent of 15- to 17-year-olds also carry cell phones, up from 42 percent in 2002.

The study indicates that 10- to 18-year-olds are fairly loyal. Seventy-seven percent of them are still using their first wireless provider, and only 11 percent are planning to switch in the next six months. That's even though 74 percent are aware they can take their number with them to a new carrier. Plans to upgrade an existing cell phone are actually more common than switching providers (26 percent versus 11 percent).

Among kids who switched cell phone providers, the top reasons were seeking "better reception" (20 percent), "lower costs" (19 percent), or "persuasion from parents" to switch providers (13 percent).

Now for the brand intelligence. The study finds that Verizon leads in brand awareness with 46 percent of teens and tweens aware of the brand, while Cingular came in second with 42 percent. Sprint logged 23 percent, AT&T 20 percent, T-Mobile 14 percent, Nextel 11 percent, Virgin 8 percent, Cellular One 7 percent, and Cricket 2 percent. It's surprising that Virgin ranked a lowly 8 percent since the Virgin Mobile brand is dedicated to serving teens and young adults. Cingular, given its acquisition of AT&T Wireless, is likely to overtake Verizon at some point.

Notably, the majority of the teens and tweens polled were interested in multifunction cell phones with 71 percent wanting phones that convert to MP3 players, and 70 percent interested in phones that double as digital cameras.