Kids' cellphones: for security it's the i-Kids phone every time

Stuart Corner
Monday, 27 November 2006 15:14

Opinion and Analysis

Recently I wrote some comments on the cellphones-for-kids (or rather cellphones for parents to give their kids) on offer from Gecko and Telstra.  That prompted mobiles2Go, the providers of another product, the i-Kids phone, to offer me one on trial. And I'd have to say as a security device it leaves the others for dead. Unfortunately, as a phone it's a bit limited.

The i-Kids' greatest asset is its inbuilt GPS receiver and the associated tracking software. This allows a parent, via a web site, to define up to three safety zones. Whenever the i-Kids phone is taken out of a safety zone, an SMS is sent to the parent's mobile. Also, at any time the phone's location can be determined via the web site.

The second great security attribute is the emergency call facility. Pushing a button on the i-Kids phone will automatically dial four 'guardian' numbers in rotation and the first receiving guardian must acknowledge the call by pushing one of the dial buttons, to make sure the call has not gone to an answering machine. If no contact is made via any of these numbers, the call is routed to a call centre where an operator takes the call and can determine the nature of the emergency and locate the child via GPS. The i-Kids phone is also the only one available prepaid, so the meter isn't ticking every day even if your child is not using it.

The only real downside is that the phone can hold only four numbers (not the same four as the emergency numbers), accessed by pushing the corresponding numbered buttons. So by the time you have programmed some 'must have' numbers such as Mum, Dad and grandparents, there's little scope for the child to put their friends' numbers in there.

The Gecko on the other hand has 20 numbers programmed in from the keypad and accessed via a phone book, plus one button mum and dad numbers. Telstra's TicTalk has 22 friends' numbers and four 'guardian' numbers. In the TicTalk, time restrictions can be place on these friends' numbers at parents' discretion, via a web site.