Today NTT DoCoMo annunciate a new model presently under development — the FOMA SA800i , made specially for kid ( specifically , elementary school kids ) . The telephone is expected to go on cut-rate sale in Spring 2006 and features :
– GPS , allowing you to check where your tiddler is , either from another
mobile phone or from a computer
– an approach alert ( activated by the big twist - out ring )
– paternal - control stage setting that , for example , switch off access to the internet during set times every solar day
– a “ kid ’s modality ” featuring bright , simple menus
It ’s easy to get misanthropic and but pass all this off as Docomo milking the market , paving the way for all mode of inappropriately kid - orient products such as My Baby ’s First Lexus or the Hello Kitty Colour - In Guide to Portfolio & Risk Management , and it ’s also a bit Big Brother - ish what with the ability to dog your shaver wherever they may go … .
BUT , as under - qualified as I am to talk on such issue ( being a non - parent ) , as an X - instructor who worked in Japanese schools I ’m totally of the legal opinion that this is a great idea . observe out why after the parachuting …
One of the prominent “ That . Is . mad . ” moments for me during my fourth dimension as a teacher in Japan was watching how the elemental kids came to shoal . The majority of elementary school kids in Japan have to take the air to shoal because it is believe that it is serious for the child from a societal and physical standpoint to do so . This I can understand , since the children have to form “ walk groups ” and stay in them at all times , which can help them bond socially . However as much as Japan has this reputation for being a safe res publica , to let small groups of children ( specially when some are as young as 5 years old ) walk anything up to 2 kilometers to school all unsupervised , to me — and to many other members of the extraneous community — blurs the line between teaching the fry worthful lessons and being socially irresponsible .
This phone at least shows that there is a need to be more socially responsible for the sake of children , and if more manufacturers can find standardised applications programme for their products , then the world can only become a better place .
Hey , quit hugging me .
The DocomoSA800i – a phone for kids[PCWeb ]
cellphonesJapanNTT DoCoMo
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