Recently, Danielle Berwick’s three elementary school-age kids playfully fought over who could use the phone to call a friend first. Teacher assignments for the school year had just come out and each child (ages 10, 8, and 6) wanted to know if they’d landed in a class with their buddies.
Luckily for Berwick, they weren’t jockeying to use her smartphone. Instead, they wanted the Tin Can phone, a Wi-Fi enabled “landline” that’s grown in popularity over the last year.
“It was really fun watching that,” Berwick told Mashable of her kids’ rush to phone a friend. “It kind of took me back to my childhood.”
The Tin Can payoff isn’t about nostalgia, Berwick said. The screen-free device has helped her kids develop phone, communication, and conversation skills. It’s also given them freedom to make their own plans. Now Berwick, who lives in Michigan, isn’t playing secretary by scheduling her kids’ playdates, which she loves. Berwick also sees the Tin Can as a way to delay giving her kids a smart watch or phone; she’s worried about their exposure to social media, among other things.
Still, bringing a Tin Can into the household can still feel intimidating for parents who aren’t sure whether the $100 device will become a fixture in their child’s lives or another item cluttering their kitchen counter.
On-the-fence parents should know one thing about making a Tin Can work for their family: tapping into an existing community of Tin Can users, or making one of your own, is the key to success.
Tips for making the Tin Can catch on in your network
When it comes to the Tin Can, this may not be as hard as it seems.
The company notched its highest-ever sales in August, according to co-founder and CEO Chet Kittleson. Users placed 2 million outbound calls per week in August, suggesting that kids are ringing each other up, even when summer typically leads to lower call volume for the company.
Tin Can Communities: How one mom got hundreds of families onboard
Tin Can also introduced its Communities program earlier this year, which gives larger groups the option to make discounted bulk orders. That’s how Berwick’s family got their Tin Can.
Prior to the summer, she’d seen Instagram ads for the product and shared it with her friends. But when no one else committed to purchasing one, she didn’t either.
Then, an end-of-school year conversation amongst parents about the harms of social media prompted discussion about safer alternatives for communication, including the Tin Can.
Berwick, president of her children’s parent-teacher association, reached out to Tin Can about participating in its Communities program. She then got permission to include a link about it in a summertime school newsletter. Hundreds of parents have since signed up to get a Tin Can.
“It kind of grew like wildfire,” Berwick said.
Starting small with the Tin Can
But adopting a Tin Can doesn’t have to be a major group project.
Mom-of-four Killian Mandel, who is based in Missouri, started out small last Christmas by gifting a phone to her kids, knowing that their cousins would also receive one as a present.
Of course, they weren’t alone. A pre-order and holiday surge led to temporary service outages that Mandel said Tin Can handled well. (The company said it’s now fulfilling orders in three business days.)
Once the phone was operational and her kids (11, 9, 7, and 4) learned phone skills and etiquette, like how to hold the receiver and how to answer a call, they were regularly making phone calls. Even Mandel’s youngest rang her cousins using a speed dial option.
Eventually, Mandel also approached her children’s parent-teacher organization to gauge interest in the Communities program. Within 10 days of advertising it, 48 parents signed up to buy a Tin Can.
Tin Can “Connectors”
Some networks, like schools and sports teams, have created directories so kids can find each other easily. Meanwhile, the company is developing a directory feature to reduce the busywork for parents.
The only catch is that phone numbers must be approved and added via the Tin Can app before a phone can receive a call from that number.
Kittleson said empowering “connectors” like Berwick and Mandel is a key strategy for Tin Can. When these parents take the lead in their family, school, or neighborhood, other parents no longer feel like they’re making a risky purchase that may go to waste. Instead, other parents join with them — and they can take advantage of discounts, simplified shipping options, and unique features for Community program participants.
Kittleson said he’s seen this effect across the U.S., in small towns and wealthy urban areas.
Tin Can Pros and Cons
Challenges do come up, of course. Berwick’s oldest child is interested in the Tin Can, but some of their friends have phones, while others don’t. Meanwhile, Mandel’s oldest is less interested than their young siblings because their peers are largely messaging each other on smartphones or watches.
Additionally, since the Tin Can operates through home Wi-Fi, any connectivity issues can also affect the phone and call quality. When Mashable tested the phone at home, we occasionally experienced echoes and couldn’t make or receive calls thanks to a temperamental internet connection. The company recently released an update to improve echoey calls.
Yet, when the Tin Can becomes a part of a family’s life, it can be transformational, Berwick and Mandel said. In short, it revives an aspect of childhood socialization and independence nearly driven extinct by the way technology reorganized life around a smartphone.
“We actually see families embrace Tin Can as their home phone because it lets them foster connection without the distraction of apps or algorithms,” Kittleson said, “and there’s a huge benefit to that for both kids and parents.”
