Location-based services were also popular with all parents surveyed: 44 percent were interested in these types of applications on a child ’s phone. About 36 percent of parents polled said that they would not purchase a mobile phone because their child is too young.

Aricent ’s survey also revealed that children with mobile phones could soon become a majority group. Twenty-three percent of parents surveyed indicated that their child already owns a mobile phone. Thirty-one percent of parents with a child who does not currently have a mobile phone said they were considering giving their child a wireless handset this holiday season. If all these parents were to purchase mobile phones as gifts for their children (currently without phones), then 54 percent of the surveyed parents ’ children would have mobile phones by the end of 2007.

“The needs of both parents and children will drive the development of compelling new value-added applications for safety and location-based services in mobile phones, ” said Ash Bhardwaj, chief executive officer, Aricent. “While service providers and device manufacturers are bringing advanced multimedia and entertainment services to market for adult consumers, safety-related applications will drive parents ’ purchasing decisions in the rapidly growing children ’s cell phone market. In all segments of the wireless industry, Aricent has seen heightened focus on the integration of advanced messaging services and location data. The resulting applications will be particularly relevant to children and their safety. ”

Among all respondents:

• 78 percent of parents cited safety as the top reason to buy their children mobile phones.
• 1 percent of parents named entertainment as the top reason to buy their children mobile phones.
• 23 percent of parents indicated that their child already owns a mobile phone.
• 31 percent of parents of children currently without a phone were considering the purchase of a phone as a gift this holiday season.
• 44 percent of parents cited location-based services as an interesting application for a child ’s phone.
• 19 percent of parents with a child who already has a mobile phone are considering upgrading their child ’s phone this holiday season.
• 36 percent of parents polled said they would not purchase a mobile phone this holiday season because their child is too young.

Aricent ’s survey polled 338 parents with children ranging in age from 1 to 18 years old using Zoomerang ’s online survey service.