The Hindu Business Line : A mobile phone for tweens

THE US-based Firefly Mobile Inc has launched the Firefly mobile aimed at `tweens' - 8-12-year-old kids who are not yet teenagers but are fast growing into their teens.

It is available in the North American and Latin American markets through select telecom operators.

The phone's special features include speed-dial, one-touch keys for calling mom and dad; parents can even program 20 outgoing numbers using a special code. The phone has been designed for small hands, is lightweight, and has only five buttons instead of a full keypad.

It is ideal for nuclear families in which both parents work and there is a need to keep in touch. It also makes for good security: Parents know that their children are not calling the wrong kind of people; and they can also go to work with the knowledge that their children can call them when in trouble. Parents can also screen incoming calls by setting it only to accept calls from people in their contact list.

The phone also has features that will particularly appeal to kids: dancing lights, animations, choice of colour screens as well as a few accessories — clear and translucent shells, glow-in-the dark shells — and a variety of cases and pouches.

But the biggest challenge is to have some control over your kids' phone bills.

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