Mobile Phone Reviews
 
 
Teddyfone mobiles for four year olds

Wed, 30 Nov 2005

A teddy bear-shaped mobile phone aimed at children as young as four was launched yesterday.

It's small, blue and more likely to end up in children's mouths than in their hands where it belongs.

The manufacturers of the Teddyfone claimed it would help parents keep track of their children while minimising potential health hazards posed by radio frequency emissions.

But the handset is hardly cutting edge and unlikely to be a design classic. Teddyfone uses the most basic mobile phone technology. It has four buttons - one on each paw - to speed-dial four numbers. It also has two panic buttons - one close to each ear - that a child can press in an emergency. The speaker is concealed in the nose. There is no keypad and no screen.

Paul Liesching, Teddyfone's managing director, said: "There is no evidence that mobile phone radiation is bad for the health. My four-year-old son Felix has a Teddyfone and he calls me every other day on it. Mummies and daddies can't be at home as often as they'd like.

"I understand that parents are concerned about radiation, but I would encourage them to do some research and make their own minds up. Parenting is all about making decisions.

"It's not going to be attractive to your average hoodie-wearing thug standing on a street corner. It's not an absolute answer to safety."

Mr Liesching said his company had received orders for about 4,500 Teddyfones. The handset is free. Calls are charged at standard rate.

However, by directly marketing children as young as four the company has come under severe criticism. Health Protection Agency boss Sir William Stewart, said making mobiles for such young children just isn't right.

"My advice is that they should not have them because children's skulls are not fully thickened, their nervous systems are not fully developed and the radiation penetrates further into their brains."

The MPOA (Mobile Phone Operators' Association) said, "The companies we represent don't market their products to under-16s. Sir William said he wouldn't buy mobiles for his children because he didn't want to put their wellbeing at risk."
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