JVTech News A mother was fed up with her children always being on their smartphones, so she created a phone without an Internet connection for middle school students
Published on 06/05/2024 at 08:55
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To prevent her children from spending too much time on their smartphones, an entrepreneur mother decided to launch a new phone intended for middle school students, which does not have Internet. An interesting initiative, but which still raises questions!
Teenagers are spending more and more time on their smartphonesand children are getting their first mobile phone earlier than ever: at 9 years and 9 months on average according to a study carried out in 2020 by Médiamétrie. Difficult to go against this approachunless you make the child an “outcast” in relation to his peers.
The problem is that the smartphone is used more to go to TikTok, Snapchat or Instagram than to call parents or use more useful services. And that really annoys Maïlys Cantzler, a mother and entrepreneur who decided to tackle the problem.
The Phone, a smartphone without Inter(n)et
Maïlys Cantzler is one of the initiators of The Phone project. It is certainly a matter ofa smartphone based on Androidbut who is not not able to connect to the internet. To ensure this, its creators decided to remove the WiFi and Bluetooth chips from the terminalwhich is manufactured in China, as revealed by the investigation carried out by
Numerama.
The Phone therefore focuses on four functionalities: phone calls, sending SMS, access to contacts and management of settings. It’s a bit like equipping your child with a Nokia 3310except that it has a touch screen.
The objective is therefore simple: provide teenagers with a smartphone, but prevent them from using it to surf the Internet and use social applications. Simple and inexpensive, can The Phone appeal?
The most boring smartphone?
Presented as a “effective solution against digital overexposure”, The Phone displays a sleek but still modern design. However, according to the prototype displayed on the initiative’s website, it is very simple to identify it: The Phone is written in large letters on it, and moreover, the place where the photo sensor is supposed to be is blocked.
As for the interface “fluid, simple and modern”, it is based on Android 11, which is a clearly outdated version of Google’s OS. Certainly, for the few uses that are proposed, this may be sufficient. Finally, the connection is provided in 3G, a network which is far behind 4G and 5G… but no need for more for calls and SMS.
Certainly, The Phone responds to parents’ concerns who fear that using a “full” smartphone will lead to online harassment or too much reliance on screens. But the seduction operation will probably not take the side of adolescents, and it is not difficult to understand why. However, it is difficult to give a definitive opinion before the release of the terminal, scheduled for the coming months. The phone should cost around 100 euros.
