RIP Amp'd Mobile

Somewhat sad news for flashy startup company Amp'd Mobile....on July 24th they are indefinitely suspending service....I have mixed feelings.

The "blingy" commercials that insulted our intelligence as the startup company attempted to market to its main demographic were obviously quite effective.

In my opinion, here was their main flaw: They were obviously pushing to obtain young customers in the 14-27 or so year old market, mainly in urban areas, and suburban kids who wish they were from urban areas. Forcing kids in this demographic to be cellphone users has a plus and a minus. The plus: they know about the phones, and they will use the heck out of them. The minus: they don't pay! The company declared BANKRUPTCY quite quickly when half of its 175,000 customers failed to pay their bills. Oh yeah, they also owe Verizon $56+mil.
A cell phone is a huge responsibility. Making sure you don't lose it, and also to paying the bill! The target audience of Amp'd Mobile were obviously not so great at living up to these responsibilities. If you think about it, many national and regional carriers have accepted the burden of customers who need a little help with their priorities....however most have learned the hard way and now have measures in place to minimize costs in maintaining these customers, yet still getting paid. These protective and procedural measures are those that have been in place and constantly revised for years and years.

I'm a huge fan of smaller start up companies that do things better and offer better service - I'm all for getting behind an invention or service or product that might take one of the big 3 mobile carriers down a notch. However Amp'd Mobile just seemed to have the same mindset most Americans in $8k plus of debt have....