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Kurio comes out with parent-controlled smartphone for kids

Kurio comes out with parent-controlled smartphone for kids

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Kurio Kids Phone
Kurio Kids Phone

Techno Source and KD Interactive are launching the Kurio Kids Phone at CES 2014, hoping to give both parents and kids a cellphone to be excited about. It's a smartphone that lets parents keep track of everything their kids could do on a mobile device. They can restrict the apps kids can access, how much data they use, and monitor their child's location, getting notifications when the child leaves a certain area. The phone also has the Kurio Genius Internet filtering system that has different security levels and autoupdates that let parents restrict the websites kids can access. In addition to allowing parents to control the "smart" aspects of a cellphone, the Kurio Phone also lets parents control whom their child can call and text, as well as all the content on the phone with a remote lock / erase feature. All of these features come built into the phone, meaning parents are granted subscription-free access to all of them.

There's no word on availability or pricing for the Kurio Phone yet, but like the range of children's tablets the company came out with last year, the phone will run on Android, specifically 4.2 Jellybean, and will have most of the standard features of any smartphone: a multicore processor and 1GB RAM; a 480 x 800 4-inch screen; front and rear-facing cameras; 3G, Wifi and Bluetooth connectivity; GPS; FM radio; and 8GB of internal memory, expandable to 40GB with a micro SD card. With those features and a design that doesn't scream "this phone is for a child," it could be a smartphone option that both parents and kids embrace.