Kid Cell Phones

Looking for a straight-up, sturdy kid-tracker? LG’s $79 (and $5/month) GizmoPal(tm) is pretty much the best on the market for kids ages 4 years old and up (kid-approved ages 5 to 7). Kids can make and receive calls easily by pressing a button and following voice prompts, and you can track their relative location easily through the GizmoPal app on your smartphone.

The GizmoPal comes in two styles: pink with stars and blue with cars and trucks. It’s integrated with the band with nine size settings to accommodate a growing kiddo. Let your kid to try one on if possible before purchasing though to make sure it will be a good fit for their wrist, and that the style of the band isn’t irritating to them so they’ll keep it on. The band snaps securely (unlike your activity tracker!). Just keep in mind that while the phone is described as “water resistant” this does not mean it is waterproof, so make sure your child knows how to remove it before getting wet.

The LG GizmoPal is a Verizon device and can be connected to a maximum of two smartphones—one of those must be subscribed to Verizon. This works well if you have a Verizon plan and want to add a tracker to keep in touch with your kid through the day, and you have a backup caretaker also using a smartphone (Android/iOS) of their choice. If you want to include more people in the network though, you will want to opt for another kid-tracker.

The GizmoPal app lets you call the tracker, track its location via GPS (it does have about 100 feet range in location rather than an exact spot), and check its battery level. It doesn’t offer geofencing or complex alerts, however you can set it to have periodic locate alerts, which may be just what you are looking for in a tracker. Additionally, while the tracker has a standard phone number, it only accepts calls from the two designated phone accounts set up with it.

The GizmoPal works on Verizon’s 3G network and coverage is excellent. While you might be concerned the tracker might not provide an exact GPS location—much like when you are trying to find your phone and notice that it’s listed at the house across the street or next door—the greater benefit of a kid-tracker is that you are easily able to contact your child through the device, and your child, you, through the easy interface.

The button on the tracker works like this: your kid presses it once to contact caregiver 1, twice for caregiver 2, and holds it down to hear the time. This one button feature means you don’t have to worry about them working with a fussy display they might break or a menu they have trouble reading or maneuvering.

The device’s speakerphone has a fixed volume which works well for short check-ins, while the microphone is very good for picking up responses. While there is no battery indicator on the tracker, you can check it from the app on your phone. Its battery life is about 4 days between charges.