Skip to main content

The Pinwheel Home is a retro-inspired landline phone that will keep your kids safe from doomscrolling

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support
  • The Pinwheel Home is aimed at kids aged 5-10 years
  • It only makes phone calls to approved contacts
  • There's an optional subscription for calling real numbers

The question of how much time young people should spend on their smartphones and social media has dominated the headlines in recent months, and a new retro-styled phone from Pinwheel is the latest device looking to give parents easier choices.

When we say retro-styled, we don't mean a classic Nokia or a BlackBerry — we mean a landline. The Pinwheel Home (via TechCrunch) just does calls, and that's it, so there's no chance of your kid getting sucked into Snapchat, Roblox, or YouTube.

It works over Wi-Fi, there are full parental controls built in — so all contacts are pre-approved, and the device can only be used at certain times — and there are absolutely no screens to act as a distraction.

"Pinwheel Home gives kids the freedom to call their friends, make plans, and stay connected, all without borrowing your phone or picking up a screen," explains the official blurb. "You'll be amazed at what they figure out together."

Just the basics

Pinwheel Home

You can get the phone in various colors (Image credit: Pinwheel)

The Pinwheel Home is pitched at kids aged 5-10, so while they may be disappointed they can't start Instagramming, it might be enough to delay the need for a smartphone until they're a little bit older.

Being able to chat to friends, grandparents, and other trusted contacts in a safe space is likely to appeal to many kids and their parents, and it might even encourage real-world meet-ups and activities to get youngsters outdoors.

Pre-orders are open in the US right now, with shipping expected later this year: the Pinwheel Home starts at $68 in a choice of two designs and four colors, with subscriptions beginning at $6.99 a month (international pricing is yet to be announced). You can use the devices without a subscription, but only to call other Pinwheel Homes, not mobiles or landlines.

Pinwheel has been around since 2019 and has previously sold Android phones with child-safe software running on them. With increasing restrictions on what kids can do online anyway, the Pinwheel Home could be the ideal first phone for younger children.



via Hosting & Support
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Web Hosting
Remote IT Support
Sites & Socials

Popular posts from this blog

These mobile games are just trying to steal your crypto hoard, FBI warns

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The FBI has warned consumers about a newly-detected, fake "play-to-earn" mobile and online game that tricks victims into depositing cryptocurrency, only to later steal it.  In a public service announcement , the FBI said the elaborate scheme sees scammers first contact the potential victim and try to build a relationship with them.  After a little back-and-forth, the scammers would invite the victim to play an online or mobile game, in which players purportedly earn cryptocurrency rewards in exchange for some activity, “such as growing ‘crops’ on an animated farm” the FBI said.  Depositing cryptos But getting into the “game” isn’t free - the victims must first create a cryptocurrency wallet and deposit some money, which is where the real scam begins. The fraudsters would later also tell the victims that the more funds they deposit, the higher the gains will be. However, as soon as the victim stops depositing additional funds, the...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Samsung Galaxy Ring could go into production as soon as next month

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support With the dust beginning to settle from the huge Samsung Unpacked 2023 event, we can turn our attention towards what Samsung might have planned next: and a smart ring seems to be in the company's near future. As per a report from South Korean outlet The Elec (via SamMobile ), mass production on a Samsung Galaxy Ring could begin as early as August, with a decision imminent on the schedule for getting the wearable manufactured and out to consumers. A full launch is slated for some point during 2024 though, rather than 2023. The nature of the device means that it'll need to clear several regulatory hurdles before it can go on sale and start tracking various vital statistics. An early 2024 launch would put the Galaxy Ring on a similar schedule to the Samsung Galaxy S24 – and it would therefore make sense to launch both gadgets at the same time, perhaps in January or February if Samsung follows its 2023 routine. The story so far Rumors ar...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Apple Watch ban is lifted, on appeal – but the reprieve might only be temporary

Web Hosting & Remote IT Support The Apple Watch ban story has developed quickly over the last week and a bit, and there's now a new twist: the US Court of Appeals is putting a pause on the US sales and import ban while it reviews the case, which means the Apple Watch 9 and Apple Watch Ultra 2 can go back on sale for the time being. "We are thrilled to return the full Apple Watch lineup to customers in time for the new year," an Apple spokesperson told TechRadar. "We are pleased the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has stayed the exclusion order while it considers our request to stay the order pending our full appeal." The watches in question are now once again available from "select" Apple Stores, and will also be going on sale from the Apple website from 12pm PT / 3pm ET on Thursday, December 28 (that's 8pm in the UK, and early on December 29 in Australia). All Apple Stores should have stock by the weekend. As for how long t...
Post a Comment
Read more