A potentially revolutionary idea – but time will tell whether it will produce more problems than it solves.
This month’s head-turning product is the iKids GPS phone. It’s an 8cm-long, pre-teen phone (for ages four and above) which can only dial four numbers via dedicated buttons. It can receive SMS messages but can't send them.
Most novel of all, it has a GPS receiver which lets you track your child or alert you when they move out of a designated safety zone!
We’ll be trialling it for the next issue to establish whether on-paper claims hold up. For instance, do we really want kids walking around with electronic tags in plain view? Will it prove distracting in lessons and will it cause issues in the playground? GPS is a pernickety thing and keeping it in a pocket could lose a signal – though the iKids system tracks previously recorded positions.
But it could also soothe peace-of-mind and function as an essential safety tool for young kids. Our test toddlers will let us know next month.
Additional info:
Price –$299 without contract
Supplier - www.mobiles2go.com
Internet - www.i-kids.com.au