New name, same dumb phones for kids
When I started Privo Mobile a few years ago, my initial inspiration for founding the company was concern about digital privacy. Our mission was to create privacy-focused mobile solutions for adults. We chose a name (Privo Mobile) which matched our mission. Early on, I started to hear from parents who didn't necessarily care about privacy, but wanted something similar to what we were building for their kids, so that their kids could have basic communication without the whole internet. As I spoke to hundreds of parents, it became clear there was huge unmet need for a kid-safe alternative to smartphones.
We decided to shift our company focus on solving this immense problem, and on building a phone for just the basics, so kids can spend more time being kids. When we changed our focus to kids a couple years back, we initially kept our old name. As we get ready to release our first dumb phones for kids in a few weeks, we decided we should have a name which better reflects our mission, so we're changing our name to Zalpha Mobile.
What is Zalpha?
The term Zalpha is sometimes used to refer to the generation of kids born at the tail end of Gen Z and the beginning of Gen Alpha (the generation right after Gen Z). The kids in Generation Zalpha are just starting to enter adolescence. It feels off to lump them in the same category as Gen Z, which includes late-teens and those in their mid to late twenties, and equally awkward to group them with Gen Alpha which includes small children and newborn babies.
The Zalpha kids are in between. They are starting to gain more independence but are still just kids. We sell a phone for these Zalpha kids, we decided our name should match and to call it a Zalpha Phone. We’re changing our name from Privo Mobile to Zalpha Mobile, but our mission remains the same: to provide a phone for just the basics, so kids can spend more time being kids.
Like all generations before them, generation Zalpha will eventually grow into adults, and we’ll be stuck with the name. But even when the Zalphas become adults, the term Zalpha will always represent something in between, something that doesn’t quite fit in either group. For those ready for a phone, but not a smartphone, ready for basic communication but not social media, there is an in between solution…that’s the Zalpha way.
So that’s why we changed our name to Zalpha. Well that, plus it’s fun to say, and the domain name zalphamobile.com was available.
About the author:
AJ Rice is the Founder & CEO of Zalpha Mobile.
