Sprint To Offer Smartphone For Kids… And Parents

Sprint To Offer Smartphone For Kids… And Parents

Starting tomorrow, Sprint will offer a new Android smartphone geared toward kids and their parents. It will be called the ZTE Fury.

The phone itself is inexpensive (with a two-year contract). Just $19.99 after a $50 mail-in rebate. The specs are not as chintzy as one might expect on a ‘kids’ phone. The Fury runs Android 3.1 on a 1 GHz processor with 4 GB of internal storage. It will have a 3.5 inch touchscreen, a 5 megapixel camera, and be able to double as a 3G hotspot.

ZTE-FuryBut to take full advantage of the family oriented features that many parents would want on a kids phone, Sprint will nickel and dime shoppers.

For example, the phone is compatible with Sprint’s ‘Family Locator’, which is a service that allows parents to access a map with the location of the phone (and hopefully, the child). It has a ‘safety check,’ which alerts the parent if a child doesn’t reach their destination within a certain timeframe. For this, there is an extra charge of $5.00 per month.

For the parent of a teen driver, there’s also ‘Drive First’. This service locks the phone when it’s traveling over 10 mph. This service adds an extra $2.00 per month.

Then there’s Sprint Mobile Controls. The service lets parents lock the phone on demand, or on a schedule, and lets a parent view a child’s address book and what apps have been downloaded to the phone. This cost $4.99 per month.

The phone is to be available starting tomorrow, March 11, at Sprint stores and Sprint.com.


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Author Profile: Consumer Expert Jimmy Borough

Jimmy is an assistant editor and a writer here at News For Shoppers. He has more than two decades of experience in the shopping industry, having worked in sales and marketing in both the technology and fashion industries.

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