Sprint Offers Kid-monitoring Through Cell Phones
Thursday April 13, 2006
"What the heck are you doing at Sara's home? I thought you broke up with her!" might just be your mom's next call. A new service launched today by Sprint-Nextel allows parents to know where their kids are hanging out through GPS location-based services (LBS). Most recent Sprint phones are GPS enabled and a wealth of Samsung, Sanyo and Motorola iDEN phones can act as "parent" phones to locate kids on screen. The service can also be accessed on the web.
Modern days parental gossiping doesn't come cheap, however, as Sprint charges $10 per month for that service. Is it me and my consumer journalism background or are cell phone value added services becoming scandalously too expensive? $5 for a TV channel, $5 to follow your favorite movie stars' moblog, $10 to track your kids... Wait a minute! On a $40 per month subscription plan, that kind of pricing can double your bill in a snap. Agree with me or would you be buying in that service for that much tomorrow morning if you just could? Hit the "comments" link below and let us know. And by the way, Sprint's "Family Locator" service is already available in a neighborhood near you.
Comments
I agree… I have a $39 basic plan, but by the time I add a few “extras” (like the PRIVILEGE of having “nightime minutes” start at 7pm instead of 9pm) my bill is more than doubled, with taxes and “surcharges.” They get away with it because we let them.
how is with the privacy they can track everyone just that has become easier
My plan is 29.99 per month and with all the charges it cames to about 38.00.
However, i alway seen to get my checks after phone bill and have to pay additional fee for being late.
I been with Sprint for five years and
they will still try to jerk you.
Why is that electronic seems to be getting cheaper with more things added to your phone and then the phone companies charge you more to have the features? the hole reason for going to the 3G type phones is because it is cheaper for the phone companies to give you service. remember they give you $200 min for a phone to use on the system for a 30 to 40 bill per month so how much of the bill is profit? and they pay a good commission to the phone sellers AND THE COMPANIES that sell their service to boot. the cell phone companies are the American gas companies!
$10 is way too much for this service. On top of that I understand it gives you a location within 1000 feet, that is a little more than 3 footbal fields! Why not tell your kid to call you and tell you where he/she is going before they go.
I think Penny is completely right! They know that we will pay for “extra” luxaries and have no problem selling it for $5-$10/ month. In essence, we are our own worst enemies…
I agree. I’m not with Sprint but my carrier is just the same. My plan is “only” $40 with just CID, voice mail, and text/picture messaging. Basic services. My bill after taxes/fees averages about 58 - 60 bucks a month. What happened to $40 ?
i agree too,i mean what is up with the copanies now,its like they know what there doing but doing it in a bad way,and what i mean by that is like when you get a plan 4 29.99 a month and when you get your bill its more then 29.99 and if you dont pay it the phone goes off,its like they are using there powers 4 evil.
Roger, from what I understand, the Sprint GPS can locate the phone within a few (3 or 4) yards not hundreds or thousands.
Some more details about the service (though not the billing aspect) can be found here: http://www.kidswireless.com/articles/family-locator-program/