14 DAY TRIAL // While in India the government doesn't allow children under 16 to use mobile phones at all, Japan kids are gifted with handsets specially created for them, as NTT DoCoMo, the largest mobile operator in the country, will launch the new FOMA F801i. After the successful SA800i model, also designed for children, now NTT DoCoMo brings another child-friendly phone, packed with safety and convenience features and available starting December 20.
FOMA F801i is manufactured by Fujitsu and offers a high level of security as well as a facile usability. It is ergonomically designed to be used by small hands and its body is waterproof, withstanding accidental contacts with water. The phone comes with an amulet-style remote controller, a 100-decibel safety alarm, a high-intensity, easily visible LED, and GPS functions that allow parents to know exactly where their kids are. Furthermore, the handset provides a pack of child-orientated applications, including a safety training quiz, a dictionary and a map.
All the handsets released in the FOMA series by NTT DoCoMo are 3G-enabled, meaning the F801i is also a 3G device. The phone measures 105 x 48 x 17.8 millimeters and weighs 120 grams. It can provide up to 185 minutes of talk-time and up to 570 hours of stand-by. The display is a 2.7 inch QVGA one, perfect for the not so perfect 1.3 Megapixel camera. There are four colors available: white, black, light blue and orange, and we have to admit that the orange model looks cool. For a kid. A little girl, more exactly.
There's no word about pricing yet, nor about a possible release in other countries, although European an American kids would like to have this sort of handset too. Or at least I would, if I were a kid. But I wouldn't choose the orange model.