Category: Gadgets

This wearable technology has been designed to be easier to use and more durable than previous versions.

As mobile technology becomes increasingly child friendly and kids become smartphone owners on a rapidly expanding basis, it also makes sense that wearable technology such as the smartwatch would also cater to the youngest demographic.

Though Pebble, Moto 360, and Samsung Gear may not be appropriate, there are several models meant just for kids.

Among them, AT&T has been selling the FiLIP 2, which is an upgraded version of the model that was first released last year. That smartwatch was meant to function as a phone that is worn on the wrist and that also works as a child locator for parents who are worried that their kids will go missing through miscommunication or other circumstance that can cause a child to end up somewhere that he or she should not be. So far, this year’s version has been receiving applause from the first consumers who have had their hands – and wrists – on these devices.

The newest version of this smartwatch is easier for parents to set up and is more practical in the real world.

The FiLIP 2 is meant to be simpler for parents to connect to their own smartphones through mobile apps, and is improved for use in the real world. For example, the screen on this wearable technology is now considerably more durable than the previous version, which is important when worn by children, who are notoriously hard on their belongings – particularly when they are being worn in the playground.

The wristband has also been improved in order to make it more adjustable for a better fit – even after the child has grown – and more comfortable overall. This was a complaint about previous models, as the wristband was not able to change sizes in order to allow for children to get bigger over time.

Though this device isn’t cheap, at a current price of $100 (which will be increasing to $150 after the end of the holiday shopping season), in addition to $10 per month to add this smartwatch to an existing phone plan (meaning that by the end of next year, more will have been spent on connecting it to the phone plan than was paid for the device, itself), it does have a range of features that many parents and kids find highly appealing, if only the peace of mind of always knowing where the child is located.

A recent study has shown that smartphone users are far more likely to text than make and receive calls.

Mobile Commerce Press has conducted a study that has revealed that when it comes to the use of mobile devices for communication, people aren’t using their smartphones to talk anymore, but are much more likely to send and receive text messages.

The smartphone usage trend study was conducted with the participation of North American smartphone owners.

The survey held by Mobile Commerce Press about communication using mobile devices showed that the vast majority of people are using texting far more than calls in order to reach friends and family. When asked “What percentage do you use your phone for texting vs. talking?”, the responses were as follows:

• 50 percent of the respondents said that they text 80 percent of the time and talk for the remaining 20 percent.
• 22.9 percent of participants said that they talked and texted about the same amount.
• 12.9 percent of the people who voted in the survey said that they couldn’t remember the last time they actually talked on their mobile devices.
• 11.4 percent said that they talked 80 percent of the time and texted 20 percent of the time.
• 1.4 percent, each, said that they used their cell phones exclusively for talk, or used the internet more than talking or texting.

While mobile devices do seem to be used for much more than just talking, this may not necessarily be good news.

Social and medical research studies are consistently saying that the increase in the use of smartphones for texting, surfing the web, checking email, tweeting, posting on Facebook, and taking pictures, as opposed to actually speaking with friends, family, and businesses, has its drawbacks. This body of evidence is continuing to grow and is suggesting that there are a number of social and communication disadvantages linked with a reduction in spoken communication instead of text based discussions.

There are a large number of benefits that are associated with talking with another person over a smartphone instead of sending a text. They include:

• Aside from dropping a quick line to which a response is not necessary, a verbal conversation is nearly always faster than one held over text, even among those who can type on a smartphone faster than the eye can see.
• Talking will almost always communicate a clearer message than texting. Ambiguity is considerably lower when tone of voice is taken into consideration.
• Chatting is far more personal and friendly than a texting, which is usually task-focused.
• Talking doesn’t require your eyes to have to stare at yet another screen.
• Conversations with depth. When you’re sending texts, you won’t receive half of the details and depth that you’d enjoy in a friendly chit-chat.

Of course, even with all of these advantages set aside, possibly one of the best advantages that talk has over text on mobile devices is the fact that auto-correct can keep its bizarre contributions to itself!