Stay connected: Best cell phones for children
Marketing spoof or not – I believe in the “peace of mind” kiddies cell phones give parents around the world.
I believe any child should be able to contact his/her parents should he/she feel threatened, lonely, sad, happy, miserable or just to say hi. Or in extreme cases where he/she faces real danger like kidnapping, assault or rape.
And not to forget the benefit of being able to track where your child is through the cell phone. Although B is still a bit too young for a phone, I might just put one in her Christmas stocking next year.
Here’s four kid-friendly phones – tried and tested.
Verizon Migo (with optional Chaperon service)
Designed for kids between the ages of 5 and 9, it has five speed-dial buttons on the front (one is designated for emergency calls) that you can program via the Internet or on the handset.
When a child pushes one of the buttons a question pops up on the screen – for instance, “call home?” or “calls dad’s cell?” If that’s right, they push send and the call is made.
Parents can track the phone in real time on their handset or PC. For an additional charge, parents can set up boundaries for where the child can go. If the phone leaves the designated area, a text message alert will be sent to the parent’s phone. It also has parental controls that limit outgoing and incoming calls and how many minutes can be used.
The Migo phone is $49.99 with a two-year service contract. The Chaperone service, which lets you locate the Migo phone via handset or PC, must be activated by a Family Share account, which is $9.99 per month. Chaperone with Child Zone, which allows you to locate your family member’s phone and get alerts when they enter or exit a specific area costs $19.99 a month.
Disney Mobil
This LG flip phone targets an older market, kids age 11 to 15. It has lots of bells and whistles, including a color screen, camcorder, and camera with flash. Kids can download games, customize ring tones and display screens. The exterior display shows the time and caller ID. It even has voice-dialing.
There are “Family Alerts,” text messages that were already pre-programmed into the handset. So with the push of two buttons, kids can send a message saying “I’m running late” or “Ill be home soon.”
Parental controls let you restrict the numbers the phone can dial and receive. You can also limit the hours of the day and days of the week the phone can be used.
With the Family Monitor feature, you can set a monthly allowance for voice minutes, text and picture messages, and downloadable content. When the limit is reached, both you and your kid are alerted. Then you can decide what, if anything, to do.
Like the Migo, the Disney phone uses GPS technology to let mom or dad locate their kid’s phone online or on their handset whenever they want.
Disney Mobil phones are available at retailers across the country or online at http://disneymobile.go.com/disneymobile/home.do . The Red Disney Mobile Phone (DM-L-200) is $49.99 with a two-year contract. The Silver model (DM-P205) is $99.95 with two-year contract. Various plans are available, including a Kid Starter Plan with 200 minutes for $24.99 that does not include nights and weekends.
TICTALK by Enforma
Designed for kids age 6 and up, TicTalk comes loaded with five educational games from LeapFrog, including Hangman, Math Defender and Monkey Math.
The TicTalk doesn’t have buttons. It uses a rocker switch instead. You scroll through the numbers in the phonebook and push in to dial. Some kids found it very easy to use. Others had a hard time getting the hang of it.
Parents go online to add or delete numbers and to adjust parental controls. You can decide which calls are allowed through and what times of day you don’t want the phone to ring.
The TicTalk is $99 and available online at http://www.mytictalk.com/LeapFrog/ . It uses pre-paid phone cards. There is no activation fee. Coverage is limited.
Cingular Firefly
The Firefly is the most simplistic of the bunch, designed for very young children. There are two programmable buttons on the front. One has a picture of a man; the other has a picture of a woman.
There’s also a phone book that can hold up to 20 additional numbers. Parents can set the phone to reject any incoming calls from numbers that are not in the phone book. And since there’s no keypad, there’s no worry about outgoing calls.
When the call comes in, the buttons on the front light up and the phone plays one of 10 ring tones the child selected. They can also chose from various on-screen animations.
This phone cannot be programmed using a computer. You do it on the handset, which isn’t as easy. This phone is all plastic and seems to have a less rugged design than the other phones. All of the parents wondered how well it would hold up.
Source: MSNBC
I believe any child should be able to contact his/her parents should he/she feel threatened, lonely, sad, happy, miserable or just to say hi. Or in extreme cases where he/she faces real danger like kidnapping, assault or rape.
And not to forget the benefit of being able to track where your child is through the cell phone. Although B is still a bit too young for a phone, I might just put one in her Christmas stocking next year.
Here’s four kid-friendly phones – tried and tested.
Verizon Migo (with optional Chaperon service)
Designed for kids between the ages of 5 and 9, it has five speed-dial buttons on the front (one is designated for emergency calls) that you can program via the Internet or on the handset.When a child pushes one of the buttons a question pops up on the screen – for instance, “call home?” or “calls dad’s cell?” If that’s right, they push send and the call is made.
Parents can track the phone in real time on their handset or PC. For an additional charge, parents can set up boundaries for where the child can go. If the phone leaves the designated area, a text message alert will be sent to the parent’s phone. It also has parental controls that limit outgoing and incoming calls and how many minutes can be used.
The Migo phone is $49.99 with a two-year service contract. The Chaperone service, which lets you locate the Migo phone via handset or PC, must be activated by a Family Share account, which is $9.99 per month. Chaperone with Child Zone, which allows you to locate your family member’s phone and get alerts when they enter or exit a specific area costs $19.99 a month.
Disney Mobil
This LG flip phone targets an older market, kids age 11 to 15. It has lots of bells and whistles, including a color screen, camcorder, and camera with flash. Kids can download games, customize ring tones and display screens. The exterior display shows the time and caller ID. It even has voice-dialing. There are “Family Alerts,” text messages that were already pre-programmed into the handset. So with the push of two buttons, kids can send a message saying “I’m running late” or “Ill be home soon.”
Parental controls let you restrict the numbers the phone can dial and receive. You can also limit the hours of the day and days of the week the phone can be used.
With the Family Monitor feature, you can set a monthly allowance for voice minutes, text and picture messages, and downloadable content. When the limit is reached, both you and your kid are alerted. Then you can decide what, if anything, to do.
Like the Migo, the Disney phone uses GPS technology to let mom or dad locate their kid’s phone online or on their handset whenever they want.
Disney Mobil phones are available at retailers across the country or online at http://disneymobile.go.com/disneymobile/home.do . The Red Disney Mobile Phone (DM-L-200) is $49.99 with a two-year contract. The Silver model (DM-P205) is $99.95 with two-year contract. Various plans are available, including a Kid Starter Plan with 200 minutes for $24.99 that does not include nights and weekends.
TICTALK by Enforma
Designed for kids age 6 and up, TicTalk comes loaded with five educational games from LeapFrog, including Hangman, Math Defender and Monkey Math.The TicTalk doesn’t have buttons. It uses a rocker switch instead. You scroll through the numbers in the phonebook and push in to dial. Some kids found it very easy to use. Others had a hard time getting the hang of it.
Parents go online to add or delete numbers and to adjust parental controls. You can decide which calls are allowed through and what times of day you don’t want the phone to ring.
The TicTalk is $99 and available online at http://www.mytictalk.com/LeapFrog/ . It uses pre-paid phone cards. There is no activation fee. Coverage is limited.
Cingular Firefly
The Firefly is the most simplistic of the bunch, designed for very young children. There are two programmable buttons on the front. One has a picture of a man; the other has a picture of a woman. There’s also a phone book that can hold up to 20 additional numbers. Parents can set the phone to reject any incoming calls from numbers that are not in the phone book. And since there’s no keypad, there’s no worry about outgoing calls.
When the call comes in, the buttons on the front light up and the phone plays one of 10 ring tones the child selected. They can also chose from various on-screen animations.
This phone cannot be programmed using a computer. You do it on the handset, which isn’t as easy. This phone is all plastic and seems to have a less rugged design than the other phones. All of the parents wondered how well it would hold up.
Source: MSNBC
posted by Lady_Marmalade at 11:40 PM
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