Dutch introduce phones for kids - Big daddy's watching you

Two Dutch telcos - KPN and Scarlet - have introduced mobile phones specially made for young children. On Wednesday, national carrier KPN will unveil a kid phone - iKids - with a built in GPS receiver, which remains working even when the phone isn't activated. Parents can select three 'safety zones', areas where their children are allowed to play. If they wonder off to another area, parents receive an SMS message. They can also look up the child's whereabouts on a virtual map. If one pre-defined number isn't answered, the phone will try the next one.

Scarlet, which launched its Buddy Bear on October 15, targets 4 to 9 year olds. Kids can receive calls from all over the world, but they can only phone and SMS to four pre-defined numbers. The € 129 handset can also be used as a baby phone. Parents receive a warning SMS when the battery gets low.

source: Article 'Dutch introduce phones for kids - Big daddy's watching you' by Jan Libbenga; www.theregister.co.uk/2005/10/25/kid_phone/; 25 October 2005