We've seen similar products on the market in Japan for a cuople of years now
---- http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/04/06 /BUG1NI41O81.DTL&type=tech Disney to market phones New devices will let parents restrict use, keep tabs on kids - Ryan Kim, Chronicle Staff Writer Thursday, April 6, 2006 Las Vegas -- Entertainment titan Disney unveiled a mobile-phone service Wednesday in a move to leverage its close relationship with parents and children into a successful wireless brand. Disney officials kicked off the CTIA Wireless 2006 cell phone convention in Las Vegas by touting its Disney Mobile phone service as a communications option for increasingly busy families. The service, which starts in June, includes tools that allow parents to monitor and control calls by family members, and a Global Positioning System locator that can provide real-time maps and addresses of family members. By addressing safety and management concerns, Disney Mobile hopes to allay the fears of parents who have resisted purchasing a cell phone for their children, said Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney's Internet Group. The phones, devoid of trendy designs or coloring, are intended for teenagers and so-called tweens, children between the ages 10 and 12. Parents can use a tool on the phone called "Family Center" to monitor the number of minutes their children are using and set allowances for monthly use of voice minutes and text messages. Parents can also block out a period of time during which children won't be able to make calls to anyone except in an emergency. And they can place restrictions on what calls and messages their children can send and receive from certain phone numbers. Parents will also be able to track their children using GPS technology that can pinpoint where their children are on a map. And family members will be able to send priority text messages to one or all members to alert them if they're running late or want a return phone call. Virtually all of these the services can be accessed through the cell phone. The one exception is the parental call control function, which must go through the Web; that particular function sets limits on whom their children can call and at what time the children can make those calls. The phones also will offer an array of services and content for children as well as access to Disney's library for ring tones, wallpapers and games. Disney is one of a growing number of companies like 7-Eleven and Amp'd, a youth phone brand, that are trying to become virtual mobile operators. They buy minutes at wholesale prices from established carriers like Sprint and then offer personalized service to a certain segment of users. Julie Ask, research director for Jupiter Research, says the Disney Mobile brand is the most comprehensive mobile offering for parents and children and addresses one of the last available markets. She said only about 45 percent of 13-year-olds own a cell phone. "The youth market is great market to be in," Ask said. "Even if Disney just gets kids, that would be great, but if they can get parents, too, they can be really successful." But she said it will not be easy to sign up users, especially considering the limited number of handsets the phone service will be available on. The service will feature phones from Pantech and LG. Disney officials said the phones will start at $59.99 with a contract, but it did not release a price for its service. The phones and plans will be sold first online at disneymobile.com and mall kiosks before they go on sale at retail stores later in the year. The Disney announcement Wednesday was the biggest news coming out of the three-day cell phone convention, the largest in the United States with more than 40,000 attendees. The convention is a stage for the latest trends, products and services in the $120 billion cell phone industry. After the success of the Motorola Razr, a superslim cell phone, other phone manufacturers have been dabbling with design in pursuit of more stylish and thin phones. Samsung has taken the lesson to heart with the release of the d807, one of the sleekest slider phones on the market, as well as the t509, the thinnest non-opening cell phone in the United States. The company also released the t719, the first flip phone to offer RIM's BlackBerry Connect e-mail software. LG also released its 550, an ultrathin flip phone with an iPod-like music control pad, as well as the Chocolate, a thin slider handset. Motorola for its part continued its aesthetic creativity with a release of a new version of its Razr cell phone in three new colors: dark blue, maroon and violet. "All the vendors are trying to differentiate on design," said Tim Bajarin, president of Creative Strategies. "Clean industrial design has become a critical success factor." On the content side, rapper and Public Enemy front man Chuck D made news Monday night when he announced a new mobile music service called Chuck D Mobile. The service would give music lovers access to underground and emerging hip-hop tunes that have not been filtered through the major music labels. 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