FiLIP 2, A Wearable Smart Locater, Watch & Phone For Kids.

FiLIP 2 a smart wearble for kids arrive in AT&T stores today and will invite the holiday crowd with a price tag of $99.99 and a $10 service fee tagged on to parents phone plan. Depending on which side you are, you can call it an electronic leash or an affordable smart phone / watch for your kids. I would say both the side will be right and it a decision one make as a parent. If I was a parent, I would take any measure that will secure my kids. As a kid, I would love the toy, smart watch, until the next gadget in the block appears. Also I wonder about the design (Please do not quote me on this as I have not touched a FIlip 2 yet), it seems that it might get lost easily as I do not see the device is locked securely to wrist. See the video below. (Later I found that the wristband is lockable).
As a kid I got one of those Casio watches and I loved it. Some how the strong plastic watch lasted through a few years of my childhood, until I advanced to a newer model with a calculator. I was THE kid in the block with calculator watch. My interest in watches grew and today I am sort of semi collector, of watches. But the original Casio survived and still in my collection.
The FiLIP 2 seem chunky and big for small wrists but it might not be a problem. I think it is a good system for worried kids but I would prefer something like Kyowa bag with similar device, service that has existed since like 2007.
Users of FiLIP 2 in emergency situations can trigger off an beacon / alarm by holding  one button down. It will also start an ambient sound recording, and call and SMS the primary number associated with the account stored on the FiLIP 2. If mom or dad, doesn’t answer, the watch is smart enough to roll over to the next number stored and begin calling the all the numbers stored one at a time until one of these numbers answer. The watch can store up to five numbers.
“SafeZones” or geo perimeters could be mapped around places like home, school, the playground or general route the kid takes to and from school, and be alerted when the child enters or leaves the area. But as I remember coming home from school (I walked) was an adventure in itself, I explored new routes, new playgrounds before finally coming home. My mother would have loved to have the “smart locator” function which can continually track and plots child's location on a map, using a combination of GPS, GSM and Wi-Fi.
An accompanying app for iOS and Android, configures and manage the device. It has 50 min voice call and 48 hour standby time on the battery on one charge.


Filip via Techcrunch