A tiny Australian company has developed a smartwatch for children that can’t access the internet or social media websites, but allows parents to call or text their child, and even view their location on a map in real time via an app.
The Spacetalk GPS smartwatch is made by MGM Wireless, the company that pioneered the SMS technology in schools that texts parents when students fail to show up. It costs around $349 and is aimed at children aged four to 12 years old.
Spacetalk allows parents to stay in contact with their primary school-age children without giving them access to a phone, and is the answer most parents are looking for, according to MGM Wireless chief executive Mark Fortunatow who told News.com.au, “responsible parents won’t give their children at that age a smartphone. Parents are more concerned about their kids using social media and YouTube than getting on drugs.”
While the Spacetalk smartwatch can make calls and send text messages, it can only do so to numbers that have been approved through an app on parents’ phones. Unapproved numbers are automatically blocked and if anyone tries to contact the child via the device, the parents are notified via the app. There’s even an SOS function that allows children to notify their parents in case of emergency.
Parents can even set up ‘zones’ around places their children regularly frequent, such as schools, bus stops and relative’s homes, and if the child leaves the approved zone, parents are notified by an alert in the app.
The device is already making waves in the market, selling 3000 units after their soft launch on October last year, bringing in more than $1 million in revenue. The smartwatch is available online from the JB HiFi website, and MGM Wireless expect it to be in JB HiFi store by Christmas.
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