Seeking Recommendations for Kid-Friendly Phone with GPS Tracking

Cheapkiwi on 06/02/2024 - 17:08

Hi everyone,

I'm in search of a suitable phone for my 10-year-old, specifically designed for occasional use during birthday parties or classes. The primary requirements include GPS tracking for added safety and minimal internet access, ensuring a secure online environment.

I'd appreciate any recommendations or insights from parents who have found a reliable and child-friendly option for similar purposes. Your experiences and suggestions will be incredibly valuable in helping me make an informed decision.

Thanks in advance for your help!

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  • Ceffyjaye on 07/02/2024 - 07:26
    +1

    I just got my son a cheap $40 warehouse phone and both his bag and bike have smart tags. Hes just turned 11 and bikes a long way to school every day, its bice he can tell me where he is, but i also know if he forgets to tell me.

    • mrmathewcrow on 15/02/2024 - 06:56

      How do the tags work? I've looked into them, but they only appear to be useful at a very short range, like for finding your keys at home.

  • Wakrak on 06/02/2024 - 18:08

    I recommend posting on Geekzone as well.
    https://www.geekzone.co.nz/default.asp

  • BlackLab on 06/02/2024 - 23:45

    I've just been throught this as we gave our 10 year old a phone for Christmas.

    We ended up giving her an old iPhone 7 that we've had sitting around for years (originally released in 2016!) but she was stoked. She knows it's her responsibility and needs to look after it. In a year or two she may get a newer phone but haven't thought that far ahead. We did tell her it would be a second hand phone but she was just excited to be getting one it didn't bother her.

    iPhones are great as they receive updates/support for years after the original release date and have great build quality so can last a lone time.

    We've also locked down the phone so she can't install any apps (only a few we've allowed), added time limits and even removed the browser. Apple removes all of the parental controls when she's 13 so we set her age as 10 months old!

    A phone is only good for an emergency if you can actually make calls or send a text. After the first few days on prepay we realised she would burn through the credit pretty quickly so we switched to a Kogan Mobile plan from this deal.

    If you want to be able to track with GPS and set up all the parental controls I would stick with whatever type of phone you're currently using so you can stay in the ecosystem (Apple/Android).

    • kfr23 on 07/02/2024 - 21:09

      Just wanted to point out that the iPhone 7 no longer gets iOS updates. It's stuck on iOS 15.

      • BlackLab on 07/02/2024 - 22:46

        Yes, it doesn't get the latest iOS version but it's still supported and receiving security updates. Apple released iOS 15.8.1 two weeks ago.

        Considering it came with iOS 10, that's 5 full versions of iOS that have been released and supported for this phone plus additional security updates.

        Compare that to the Samsung Galaxy S7 that was release in the same year… it came with Android 6 "Marshmellow" and was only given official updates to through to Android 8 "Oreo" (unsupported since 2021 and no security updates)

        Anyway, my point was that you don't need to buy a new phone. You may have one lying around that they will enjoy just as much.

  • stuntah on 07/02/2024 - 07:12

    I've given them a cheap burner phone and got smart tags in their bags. Phones are often not charged etc, smart tags gave a security layer over that

    • cutcutcut on 07/02/2024 - 10:22

      That sounds like a good idea. I take it the phone was a cheap android? What kind of smart tags do you use? How close to the phone do they need to be to work? Do you have to charge them?

      • stuntah on 07/02/2024 - 14:07

        Yup 40 dollar android jobs. The tags are Samsung smart tags and they work independently of a phone

        • cutcutcut on 07/02/2024 - 16:47

          Ahh OK I'll need to look into those, sounds like a good idea.

        • Telemachus on 09/02/2024 - 18:05

          Do you need a Samsung phone to track the smart tags or will any android phone do it?

  • toomanywises on 07/02/2024 - 07:53

    Also, if you use an app such as Family Link from Google (also Apple compatible), the app provides GPS tracking. You can control use time, permitted apps, block/allow extra time and it gives you the child's location. So you may be able to pick anything within your budget.

    • cutcutcut on 07/02/2024 - 10:21
      +1

      I've found family link works pretty well with gps tracking

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