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One hot new phone of 2025 has no screen, cant send a text, and needs to be plugged into the wall. But to buyers of the Tin Can, thats a definite plus. The Tin Can, from a Seattle startup of the same name, grew out of conversations cofounder and CEO Chet Kittleson had with fellow parents about the challenges of enabling kids to connect with friends and relatives without giving them full-fledged cellphones. While children of the 20th century could pick up the house landline to call a grandparent or schedule a sleepover, todays kids are often left dependent on parents for scheduling playdates and connecting with family until theyre old enough to carry their own smartphones. Our first social network was a landline, and our kids don’t have that, Kittleson says. We’re trying hard to keep them away from cellphones for as long as we can, but were not giving them anything in return, and so they’re sort of left in the lurch. Starting in 2024, Kittleson and his Tin Can cofounders started working on a prototype that would deliver some of the same features of the old-school house phone without actually requiring landline service from the local phone or cable company. The result, which quickly proved a viral hit among Kittlesons network of parents and kids, is a phone complete with handheld receiver and curly cord that lets kids call, and receive calls and voicemails from, parent-approved numbers. Chet Kittleson (center) with cofounders Graeme Davies (left) and Max Blumen (right) [Photo: Tin Can] It gives them the opportunity to be social and work out play dates without having to come to us and use our phone, says Chelsea Miller, a Seattle parent of two whose family was quick to adopt the device. Her two childrena 10-year-old daughter and a son about to turn 8also use the phone to connect with their grandparents, she says. The phones now come in two models. A white model called the Flashback is described by the company as the phone of 80s childhood, though it plugs via ethernet cable into a router instead of a wall-mounted phone jack. A second model, simply called the Tin Can, has an appropriately playful cylindrical design, and it only needs Wi-Fi to connect. But as a deliberate design choice backed by early user input, the phone lacks a battery and must be plugged into a power socket, meaning kids can only roam as far as the cord can reach. A majority of people felt strongly that it should not have a battery, Kittleson says. That it needed to be a stationary, plug-in-the-wall phone where a kid was actually focused on their conversation and not running around the house while they were talking. [Photo: Tin Can] Kittleson declined to disclose how many phones the company has sold, though he says theyve shipped the devices to all 50 states and all across Canada. The Flashback model is available for $75, and the Tin Can unit is available for preorder at the same price after a $25 discount, though the next batch wont ship until around early February. Previous batches of the Tin Can phones quickly sold out. The company this week announced a $12-million round of seed funding led by Greylock Partners and including participation from Lateralus Holdings, as well as existing backers. A previous pre-seed round raised another $3.5 million. In an age defined by digital noise, theyve created a joyful alternative that redefines how we view modern connection, says Mike Duboe, general partner at Greylock, in a statement. Were excited to support the team during this phase of incredible growth. Kittleson says the new funds will help the company scale up distribution of the phone and the VoIP network that enables the devices to connect. Currently, calls between Tin Can-powered phones are freeand other Tin Cans can be reached by dialing a special short code in lieu of a full phone numberwhile calls to other numbers in the U.S. and Canada are included in an optional $9.99 per month plan. The phones have proven hits with kids as well as parents, with new users often making dozens of calls in their first weeks with the devices before tapering off to a more typical calling cadence. Typically, over the course of a month or so, it starts to level out, Kittleson says. And then it becomes a utility where they use it a couple times a day or even a few times a week, and that’s kind of the behavior we want. Of course, while the phones evoke the landline phones of the late 20th century, todays kids are still growing up in a world of digital technology, so its likely many Tin Can kids will still want access to internet-enabled devices, video games, and social media as they get older. But Tin Can enables parents to limit screen time and internet access without leaving their children entirely unable to speak to friends and family. [Photo: Tin Can] I don’t want them to have internet or social media, Miller says. But I do want them to be socially connected.” Even some adults have started using the Tin Can, enamored with the devices simplicity and the fact that it doesnt receive spam calls, since callers from nonapproved numbers simply get a recorded message saying theyre not authorized to connect. And parents like Kittleson say they also appreciate being able to call a house phone to reach the family when theyre away from the house. While other companies offer kid-friendly cellphones, Kittleson says his company is essentially unique so far in offering a modern take on the house phone. And general-purpose VoIP phones are often more expensive and dont have kid-friendly features built-in and easy to set up, he says. Of course, most adults cant ditch their smartphones entirely. Even for getting the Tin Can connected to Wi-Fi and updating the list of permitted numbers and hours where the phone enters do-not-disturb mode, parents use a smartphone app to access their accounts, much like with other connected home electronics. It beats an early system, Kittleson says, where users of the first prototypes texted him personally to add authorized numbers to the companys database. The devices and features may continue to evolve a bit in the future, but since Tin Can exists to encourage real-world communications and childhood hangouts unmediated by screens or digital games, Kittleson says customers shouldnt expect a burst of new functionality. We don’t think this is going to be a feature factory where we’re launching new things all the time, he says. That’s sort of by design not what we’re trying to do.
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E-Commerce
The Trump administration has announced a massive package of arms sales to Taiwan valued at more than $10 billion that includes medium-range missiles, howitzers and drones, drawing an angry response from China.The State Department announced the sales late Wednesday during a nationally televised address by President Donald Trump, who made scant mention of foreign policy issues and did not speak about China or Taiwan at all. U.S.-Chinese tensions have ebbed and flowed during Trump’s second term, largely over trade and tariffs but also over China’s increasing aggressiveness toward Taiwan, which Beijing has said must reunify with the mainland.If approved by Congress, it would be the largest-ever U.S. weapons package to Taiwan, exceeding the total amount of $8.4 billion in U.S. arms sales to Taiwan during the Biden administration.The eight arms sales agreements announced Wednesday cover 82 high-mobility artillery rocket systems, or HIMARS, and 420 Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS similar to what the U.S. had been providing Ukraine during the Biden administration to defend itself from Russia worth more than $4 billion. They also include 60 self-propelled howitzer systems and related equipment worth more than $4 billion and drones valued at more than $1 billion.Other sales in the package include military software valued at more than $1 billion, Javelin and TOW missiles worth more than $700 million, helicopter spare parts worth $96 million and refurbishment kits for Harpoon missiles worth $91 million.The eight sales agreements amount to $11.15 billion, according to Taiwan’s Defense Ministry.The State Department said the sales serve “U.S. national, economic, and security interests by supporting the recipient’s continuing efforts to modernize its armed forces and to maintain a credible defensive capability.”“The proposed sale(s) will help improve the security of the recipient and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance, and economic progress in the region,” the statements said.China’s Foreign Ministry attacked the move, saying it would violate diplomatic agreements between China and the U.S.; gravely harm China’s sovereignty, security and territorial integrity; and undermine regional stability.“The ‘Taiwan independence’ forces on the island seek independence through force and resist reunification through force, squandering the hard-earned money of the people to purchase weapons at the cost of turning Taiwan into a powder keg,” said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun.“This cannot save the doomed fate of ‘Taiwan independence’ but will only accelerate the push of the Taiwan Strait toward a dangerous situation of military confrontation and war. The U.S. support for ‘Taiwan Independence’ through arms will only end up backfiring. Using Taiwan to contain China will not succeed,” he added.Under federal law, the U.S. is obligated to assist Taiwan with its self-defense, a point that has become increasingly contentious with China, which has vowed to take Taiwan by force, if necessary.Taiwan’s Defense Ministry in a statement Thursday expressed gratitude to the U.S. over the arms sale, which it said would help Taiwan maintain “sufficient self-defense capabilities” and bring strong deterrent capabilities. Taiwan’s bolstering of its defense “is the foundation for maintaining regional peace and stability,” the ministry said.Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung similarly thanked the U.S. for its “long-term support for regional security and Taiwan’s self-defense capabilities,” which he said are key for deterring a conflict in the Taiwan Strait, the body of water separating Taiwan from China’s mainland.The arms sale comes as Taiwan’s government has pledged to raise defense spending to 3.3% of the island’s gross domestic product next year and to reach 5% by 2030. The boost came after Trump and the Pentagon requested that Taiwan spend as much as 10% of its GDP on its defense, a percentage well above what the U.S. or any of its major allies spend on defense. The demand has faced pushback from Taiwan’s opposition KMT party and some of its population.Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te last month announced a special $40 billion budget for arms purchases, including to build an air defense system with high-level detection and interception capabilities called Taiwan Dome. The budget will be allocated over eight years, from 2026 to 2033.The U.S. boost in military assistance to Taiwan was previewed in legislation adopted by Congress that Trump is expected to sign shortly.Last week, the Chinese embassy in Washington denounced the legislation, known as the National Defense Authorization Act, saying it unfairly targeted China as an aggressor. The U.S. Senate passed the bill Wednesday. Mistreanu reported from Beijing. AP video journalists Olivia Zhang in Beijing and Johnson Lai in Taipei, Taiwan, contributed to this report. Matthew Lee and Simina Mistreanu, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
A new hotspot just opened in New Yorkand its in terminal 5 of John F. Kennedy International Airport. BlueHouse, a 9,000-square-foot space exclusively available to select JetBlue Airways customers, welcomed its first guests at 5 a.m. this morning as the airlines first foray into the pitched battle for lucrative premium fliers. Designed by Gensler, BlueHouse is a smorgasbord of New Yorks iconic and eclectic design heritage. From the Art Deco elevator indicator to black-and-white deli tile on the floor and the Grand Central Terminal-inspired ceiling mural, the space screams Big Apple while staying true to JetBlues quirky and, well, blue heritage. [Photo: JetBlue] Its unquestionably a hip New York experience, said Marty St. George, president of JetBlue, on a recent pre-opening tour of BlueHouse. His favorite feature is the 45 pieces of art that fill the space from artists around the city and three of the airlines crewmembers, as it calls its staff, including a bespoke piece from New Yorker illustrator Matt Reuter. [Photo: JetBlue] JetBlue goes premium BlueHouse is part of the larger premiumization trend sweeping air travel. Everyone from JetBlue to egalitarian stalwart Southwest Airlines and even discounter Spirit Airlines are unveiling more upscale offerings for their planes and at airports. The aim is two-fold: strengthen loyalty among top tier customers and wring more money from everyone all in the hope of improving their bottom lines. JetBlues effort, dubbed JetForward, includes BlueHouse locations at JFK and, in 2026, Boston Logan International Airport. Its also introducing domestic first class on its fleet of Airbus planes, a new partnership with United Airlines, and changes to its TrueBlue loyalty program aimed to make customers even more loyal to the airline. [Photo: JetBlue] The lounge is also an effort to counter JetBlues nemesis at JFK and Boston: Delta Air Lines. While St. George did not name the carrier, keeping JetBlues customers from leaving the fold and, maybe, wooing some widget fliers away from Delta is top of mind. Our number one goal was to not repeat the mistakes our competitor made with lounges, he said. Delta is known for overcrowded lounges and, at times, long waits to access its Sky Clubs. [Photo: JetBlue] Access to BlueHouse is, for now, limited to only JetBlues most loyal frequent fliers, transatlantic Mint business class passengers, and holders of its premium credit card, which has an annual fee of $499. Delta has also upped its lounge game with the exclusive Delta One Lounges, the first of which opened at JFK in mid-2024. It now has four locations, including in Boston, Los Angeles, and Seattle. [Photo: JetBlue] Inside BlueHouse Travelers enter through a foyer that can best be described as a quintessential New York apartment lobby: a Just Ask desk in the place of a doormans desk in front of a set of mailboxes (inside are keepsakes for visitors, just ask for a key), a stairway to the second level lined with art, an elevator with a Deco indicator and a blue tunnel leading to the lounge area of the lounge. Elsewhere across the lounges two floors, books curated by the Strand bookstore match JetBlues white-and-blue color palette line bookshelves and ledges. Bespoke wallpaper by Brooklyns Flavor Paper decorates the restrooms. And craft cocktails by Please Dont Tell in the East Village are served at the bar.
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E-Commerce
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