Today NTT DoCoMo announced a new model cellphone made especially for elementary school kids.

The phone is expected to go on sale in Spring 2006 and features:



– GPS, allowing you to check where your child is, either from another
mobile phone or from a computer


– an attack alarm (activated by the big pull-out ring)


– parental-control settings that, for example, switch off access to the internet during set times every day


– a “kid’s mode” featuring bright, simple menus

It’s easy to get cynical and simply pass all this off as Docomo milking the market, paving the way for all manner of inappropriately child-oriented products such as My Baby’s First Lexus or the Hello Kitty Colour-In Guide to Portfolio & Risk Management, and it’s also a bit Big Brother-ish what with the ability to track your children wherever they may go….



More here.