"This study shows there are significant opportunities (for cell phone vendors) with the tween segment," Iain Gillott, president of iGillottResearch, said in a statement.
The study predicts that there will be 26 million tweens in the U.S. in 2009 and that four million of them will use their own phones. The challenge, the study said, is for handset vendors to understand that there are significant differences between different groups of tweens.
"There are actually clearly defined sub-segments in this market," Gillott said. "For example, older tweens prefer different types of devices, want different services, and will use their handsets in different ways."
Handset vendors, however, will have to learn how to market phones for tweens to parents, the study noted.