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LIFE TECH FEATURE

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When children get hold of a phone, it can sometimes lead to a world of trouble. Opel have launched one of the first-ever phones specifically designed to connect and protect kids and teach them the safe and responsible use of a phone. Featuring full parental control for peace of mind, the Opel Mobile SmartKids touch phone is an affordably priced and indispensable device. Words Scott Hocking KID SMART

IT’S ALL IN THE APP The Opel Mobile SmartKids phone is powered by the free Opel Mobile Guardian app, which can be downloaded from the Google Play or Apple App Store. Setup is simple: Insert and activate the SIM card in the SmartKids phone, then download and open the Opel Mobile Guardian app on your smartphone and create an account. Be sure to turn on each feature in the app to enable use with the SmartKids phone – recommended key features are Geo-fence, App Controls, Phonebook/ Whitelist and SOS contacts.

Safety first When it comes to safely navigating the online minefield, the Opel Mobile has your child covered. The phone has no camera, and internal storage is capped at 32GB. Parents can remotely restrict the downloading of apps, block unsuitable ones, and receive notifications when an app has been downloaded. And if your child is indulging in too much screen time, limits can be set on the usage of apps as well as the time of day they can be accessed. Location, location The phone’s real time location GPS tracker keeps tabs on when the phone arrives and leaves school or a friend’s house and logs it in the location history. It also features an inbuilt SOS emergency button that will send an SMS with the real time GPS location and call up to five chosen contacts at the touch of a button.

It’s common knowledge that kids are prone to losing things, so should the phone go missing or get left behind at school, it can be easily located in real time. The whitelist Preventing unsolicited calls is as simple as creating a safe contacts list using the phone’s Whitelist feature. These safe contacts are the only ones that can call and be called by your

child. The Opel Mobile’s activity history will log when texts are sent, calls made and received, and apps accessed, providing a complete rundown of usage. You can also designate additional guardians to have access to the phone. Battery benefits The Opel Mobile’s 2,300mAh battery will last up to 11 hours at 1W per hour usage. Kids are likely to drain it quickly if you let them, so the ability to set time limits on app usage will prolong battery life. Moreover, the Opel Mobile Guardian app will notify parents of real time battery level on demand, and let them set the desired level to receive a notification. Kids can no longer use the old, “I couldn’t call because the battery went flat” excuse. Built to last A kid’s phone is virtually guaranteed to suffer drops, knocks and some rough play, but fortunately the folk at Opel have anticipated this and included a free silicon shockproof case and screen protector to extend its life.

OS: Android Display: 5.5” HD IPS Storage: 32GB + 3GB RAM + MicroSD Camera: None Network compatibility: 4G Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth AT A GLANCE

Parents can set up multiple geo-fences and virtual safe zones and receive alerts if the device strays out of bounds or fails to enter a safe zone at a designated time. 100m away from the location you want to set the geo-fence around is recommended.

36 SEPTEMBER 2022

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