Advertisement

Videophone lets kids call Grandma but not surf the web

Want to encourage your kids to stay in touch with family, but don't trust them with a smartphone? A product called the ILY family phone from startup Insensi may do the trick. It's designed to help young 'uns place video phone calls to anyone else who also has either an ILY or the iOS or Android app. Calling couldn't be simpler -- they just tap the recipient's picture on the main page of the color touchscreen. Video and voice calls can be made over the internet via your WiFi network, or you can place regular phone calls by plugging it into your landline.

Kids can even send pictures or create them with an included app, but there's no browser or other way to access the internet. And that simplicity is the point -- it's intended to give kids a way to call without exposing them to the dangers of the wider web. We don't have any specs yet, but if the $200 price tag doesn't give you pause, pre-orders are now open, with shipping expected by this fall.