Full control of kids’ mobile phones now available to British parents

With parents worrying about their children’s use of mobile phones, a new service from Mobile Sentry could be just what they’re looking for.

Claiming to be the UK’s first full parental control system for children’s mobile phones, Mobile Sentry is mobile phone software that allows parents to set up allow/deny contact lists, monitor SMS text messages, block the mobile Internet, install download protection, track the phone via GPS (when available), and report on all communications sent and received.

It might seem a bit “Big Brother”, but it may help those parents who recognise the need for their kids to have a mobile phone but aren’t totally comfortable with them having free reign.

It costs £5.99 per month to keep the service active, and it only works on Symbian-based phones (which includes a lot of the Nokia mobiles and some Sony and Samsung models, but not the likes of the iPhone).

The Mobile Sentry website will even monitor the phone to check that the software hasn’t been uninstalled.

It’s not a foolproof system but, particularly for younger children, could provide the peace of mind that parents need.

Mobile Sentry

Gadget Watch: Firefly glowPhone

Here’s a really simple mobile phone designed for younger children. The bright pink (or black) Firefly glowPhone is simple to set up and only has five main buttons, arranged in a butterfly pattern, so is much easier and less fiddly to use for small fingers.

Two of the buttons can be assigned to call mum or dad, while the middle one has arrow keys for moving around options. There’s a 1.5-inch colour screen which can display customised wallpapers, and there are also built-in games and ringtones.

Important features include an emergency button on the side of the phone, and the ability for parents to lock the phone to allow certain calls to be made or received.

The phone works on Pay-As-You-Go, so your child won’t rack up a huge phone bill.

If you think your younger child should own a mobile phone (half of under-10s in the UK do, apparently) then this might be worth considering. It’s likely that older kids and teenagers will want the latest, expensive, “grown-up” mainstream mobile phones.

The handset launch has been delayed but it’s expected to cost around £85 and you’ll find places to buy it at the Firefly Mobile Ireland web site.

(Via Tech Digest)

Orange launches mobile and broadband advice site for families

At the end of September, Orange UK launched an online resource aimed at helping families deal with the issues of technology misuse, including cyber-bullying, email fraud, spam, phishing, and mobile theft.

Each section on Orange’s website at http://www.orange.co.uk/communicate/safety/ describes an issue, offers clear and practical advice and also provides links to other authoritative sources of information.

Trish Church, Community & Abuse Operations Manager, said, “Technology provides great opportunities and offers real value but the sad fact is some will find ways of misusing it. Orange’s new online resource provides advice on ways to stay safe and offers useful and practical information to everyone, especially families. The website will help parents understand how their children are using technology and help them to ensure they are using it safely. It also provides top tips to children about the things they shouldn’t do on the internet.”

Parents believe their kids’ mobile phone use is “out of control”. Enter OmegoMobile

This post was first published at Tech Digest

Parents are increasingly concerned about their children’s use of mobile phones.

Research published today suggests that over four in five British parents (81%) are worried about their children being contacted by strangers, of having their mobile phone stolen, or being a victim of cyber-bullying. That’s despite 71% saying that the phone would be vital in the case of an emergency.

Conversely, 58% of children would hate to have their mobile phone taken way.

The research leads nicely to OmegoMobile, the mobile phone for kids which has been designed to address the concerns of parents.

Read more