1stFone is a Mobile Phone for Young Children
If we're being totally honest, we all knew at some point a company would eventually release a mobile phone aimed at the 4-year-old demographic, right? Kids keep busy schedules these days, juggling weekend play dates and grueling hours at pre-school with visits to grandma's house. What happens if there's an emergency, like spilled milk or what appears to be a life-threatening boo-boo from falling off the jungle gym? Suddenly a mobile phone for kids doesn't seem so silly, does it?
Okay, so maybe there's no way to dance around the fact that no 4-year-old kid needs a mobile device, but doggone it, if they happen to live in the U.K., they can get one anyway. It's called the 1stFone and it's made by CyCell, the same company that builds mobile phones for the elderly.
The 1stFone is a small, colorful device billed as the "world's simplest mobile phone." It's about the size of a credit card, weighs 40g, and can store 2, 4, 8, or 12 names, depending on how you configure it when ordering. Let's say little Johnny falls off his bike while rounding a corner chasing the ice cream man (do they have those in the U.K.?). He spots a speck of blood on his knee and panics. Rather than wiggle and wail until every neighbor on the block comes rushing out, he can simply press the "Daddy" button on this 1stFone. Alternately, you can configure a button for grandma so Johnny can complain to a sympathetic ear about how parents just don't understand.
Silliness aside, we suppose something like this could come in handy during real emergencies. The device is strictly for making calls to pre-programmed numbers -- there's no Internet functionality, texting capability, or anything else you might find on a full-fledged smartphone or even a feature phone.
The 1stFone costs £55 (around $85 USD) with monthly plans ranging from £7.50 to £15. There's also a pay-as-you-go plan for £70, or you can pre-pay £90 or £120 ahead of time, which includes the handset and 6 months or 12 months of airtime, respectively.
Okay, so maybe there's no way to dance around the fact that no 4-year-old kid needs a mobile device, but doggone it, if they happen to live in the U.K., they can get one anyway. It's called the 1stFone and it's made by CyCell, the same company that builds mobile phones for the elderly.
The 1stFone is a small, colorful device billed as the "world's simplest mobile phone." It's about the size of a credit card, weighs 40g, and can store 2, 4, 8, or 12 names, depending on how you configure it when ordering. Let's say little Johnny falls off his bike while rounding a corner chasing the ice cream man (do they have those in the U.K.?). He spots a speck of blood on his knee and panics. Rather than wiggle and wail until every neighbor on the block comes rushing out, he can simply press the "Daddy" button on this 1stFone. Alternately, you can configure a button for grandma so Johnny can complain to a sympathetic ear about how parents just don't understand.
Silliness aside, we suppose something like this could come in handy during real emergencies. The device is strictly for making calls to pre-programmed numbers -- there's no Internet functionality, texting capability, or anything else you might find on a full-fledged smartphone or even a feature phone.
The 1stFone costs £55 (around $85 USD) with monthly plans ranging from £7.50 to £15. There's also a pay-as-you-go plan for £70, or you can pre-pay £90 or £120 ahead of time, which includes the handset and 6 months or 12 months of airtime, respectively.
