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Ask HN: What's a good "semi-dumb" phone/watch for kids?
Hard req: has to have cell connectivity & support roaming (US <> EU). Not for daily use, but for comms when they're out of the house in case they need to reach out. I looked at apple watch family and it's great, except that it doesn't allow roaming or plans abroad (it seems that BetterRoaming might work but it's unclear). The Garmin Bounce 2 looks like it fits the bill, but it has ZERO reviews and some comments make it look like it's crap.
The Light Phone III seems like an awesome idea, but at ~$900 it's a strong pass.
The Punkt MP02 is so far my top contender.
Any suggestions?
- al_borland 21d agoThe iPhone has a mode called Assistive Access. It’s meant for older people or those with cognitive impairments, but could work well for children as well. It changes the UI, limits the apps available, and simplifies those apps, so they just have very basic features. You could set it up on a cheaper or hand-me-down iPhone (if you have one). https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welcome/ios https://support.apple.com/guide/assistive-access-iphone/welc...
- funkaster 20d agothat's not a bad idea, thanks! I'll take a look at it
- mdp2021 20d ago+1 for people who want no spying modules and need the phone to serve connectivity (tethering, hotspot). I was very upset to find FB and similar on recent Nokia products.
- d3Xt3r 20d agoFor the phone, a good candidate is the Commodore Callback. Runs Linux, deliberately blocks all social media, operates like a semi-dumb phone.
- funkaster 20d agowow... I was not aware of this. Brain hurts from trying to process commodore building a phone lol. Will def take a look. I specially like the fact that it has messaging apps in it.
- Egg-Man 20d agoWhy not a Volte feature phone?
- darkzip 20d agoMy nephew had a Gabb watch for a bit. Would not recommend.
- brudgers 20d agoWhat ages?
- gus_massa 20d agoSomething like this may be useful for very old people, or in other words, you may want to search also for phones designed for old people.
- logn 20d agoJust give em a smart phone. It's like critical in todays world. For any age.
- a_lifters_life 19d agoi use google family link - which allows me to limit any apps/websites my child could view. i paired this with nextdns to auto-block obvious blacklisted sites (porn, etc) for a child. Works really well.
- 4d66ba06 19d agoI have a https://sleke.io/ https://sleke.io/ phone and it is a refurbed Pixel and doesn’t allow unrestricted web browsing or social media but you can install Beeper and Whatsapp and Google Suite. Nice community too.