Monqi, pronounced ‘monkey’ have just released their first smartphone, aimed at kids but produced from a parents point of view. The Monqi has a unique operating system, giving the ability to remotely track and monitor what your child is doing, via your own iOS/Android device. It will track their location, give details on who they are talking to and show how long they have been using their phone.
But will your children want to use this phone? Is it ‘cool’, yeah I think so! The phone itself is actually a Sync 5e and its packing a 1.5GHz quad core processor, backed up with 8GB Rom, 1GB Ram and up to 32GB microSD storage. It’s running Android 6.0, with the Monqi OS, has a 5″ HD Display, 13MP rear camera, 5MP front camera, WiFi, Bluetooth and its own app store, with access to 120 free apps. The spec looks good and covers everything a phone needs nowadays but that dedicated app store, will it include the new ‘must have’ app that everyone’s playing at school…
There should be enough to keep the kids happy, but what about the Parents? Well they will be able to:
- Approve, and add/edit contacts
- Set geo-fencing and be notified when the child leaves or enters a zone
- Set a schedule so phone features and apps can be limited at specific times of day i.e after homework!
- Lock and remotely lock the phone- especially useful if the phone is lost!
- Approve and manage all apps and downloads
- Limit app use, calls, texts and data usage
- Connect safely to internet both when out and about or on WiFi
This phone is approved by Mumsnet, so that’s a pretty good accolade to have and it is also backed by Carphone Warehouse, which is the only place you can purchase the phone. Is this snooping? Yeah but as a parent, I believe you have a right to know what your kids are doing, to a degree. When they hit a certain age, I think it’s time to let them do their own thing!
It currently retails for £149, sim free and we have one on the way to us! Full review to follow shortly. For more information, visit Monqi
