Vodafone emits new wearable ... kid-trackers The best thing in two new consumer wearables Vodafone launched today is not mentioned by the firm itself: each does away with the need for a smartphone. The two wearables – a band and a watch – extend Voda's range of consumer services, "enabling parents to stay in contact with their child when they start to give them more …
Every time I think this stuff can't get worse something like this comes along to prove me wrong.
Talk about a false sense of security. Kids aren't dumb - if they want to get up to no good, they'll simply take the thing off, or swap it with a friend. At the same time I've no doubt these have the usual absence of security, so the kid is now being advertised as not with his/her parents.
I don't think it would be aimed at kids who are at an age or temperament that they get up to no good, it would be aimed at kids that are still young enough to not want to go missing. Therefore they would feel happy about wearing it and might get some extra freedoms like being able to walk home on their own from school or with friends without their parent having a nervous breakdown.
It would also mean that a phone does not to be purchased for the child at an age where the parent would prefer them not to be glued to a smartphone but would like the convenience of being able to be contacted if they are needed.
I could see the use case for my 8 yo daughter but it would not be something for my 13 yo son!
while paying us a monthly subscription...
otherwise you are a bad parent! BAD PARENT! NO COOKIE! HAVE YOUR KIDS TAKEN AWAY INTO SOCIAL SERVICES! unless you pay £30 a month per device with a £17 connection fee.
honestly. there is so much crap out there purely marketed at parents, making them even more stressed out and to near border line have a mental breakdown from, "are they doing the right thing?" - and then this shows up. nice one world, well done.
Ive been waiting for cat tracking / camera devices to get smaller and cheaper.
This VPet thing dosent seem to be there.
£55 , +4pm sub - well ok
Its still big :(
The map on the smartphone seems to only narrow the location down to a circle about a mile wide!
Source - their site and a their ad on utube
I got a Tractive device that's about the size of a Zippo lighter for my dog. My dog's an escape artist and the device has let me pinpoint and retrieve her on several occasions. On open ground it's accurate within ~2m, but struggles in woodland. It still gives you a starting point as will show you the last point it emitted a signal. It's also completely waterproof and has been submerged by a couple on inches for up to an hour with no issues. Slightly smaller than the vodafone/Kippy device too.
As it happens I've been looking for an Android lone worker/person down app. I do some conservation volunteering, sometimes in remote areas, and it would be handy if the team leader or Mrs H could check my location if I go AWOL. Unfortunately the affordable apps I've found look rather dodgy or ineffective, and the ones that might work only come as part of an expensive corporate package. So a dedicated pet or kid tracker might be a better option (albeit without the person down function). And more convenient in terms of privacy as I'll only switch it on and carry it with me when needed.
Does anyone know of a good Android lone worker/person down app? Or general tracking app? Happy to pay for it but don't want ads.
google find my device is standard on most androids, if you are OK with Google slurping data, that is an option with zero hassle
Though does need 3rd party to have your username / password to log on to the android find website .. so maybe use a throwaway account for that
As the parent of an autistic child who would have to be wrestled to the ground kicking and screaming to have his backpack removed when outside of the house and couldn't talk to someone if he somehow got seperated from us, I can see some use for things like this. However that's an edge case.
"battery that provides three days' power"
And this for me is where the major problem with these devices remains. Until there is something that can last a month+ then the usefulness is limited. Ethics? we'r all tracked by our phones today, we just can't access the data (unless you have the iCloud password).
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