Disney Mobile Family phones
Disney puts together family friend mobile phone service
Leave it to Disney to create a family friendly mobile phone solution. Together with LG, Disney Mobile has put together a pretty compelling mobile phone offering targeted at families on the go. While the phone looks like a standard LG model, the services it offers are decidedly family oriented, like most things Disney. With cell phones the true “must have” item especially for teens and pre-teens, Disney Mobile has come up with a solution that makes it easy for parents to give their child a cell phone and monitor the usage, and monitor their whereabouts at the same time.
The Phone features
Regular features to the LG DM-L200 phone includes a 1.8-inch color screen, high-res color exterior display, 1.3 megapixel camera with flash (image resolutions of 1280×960, 640×480, 320×240), 176×144 video capture capabilities at 15 frames per second, Bluetooth, the capability to view caller ID, the date and time without flipping the phone open, speakerphone, 3.4 hour talk time with 14 days of standby power, and voice activated dialing.
In addition to the standard contacts, tools, and messaging menus found on most all cell phones, the LG DM-L200 features the Family Center and the Entertainment aspects, what essentially makes the Disney Mobile solutions unique in the sea of cell phones on the market. Family Center includes the Family Locator, Family Monitor, Family Alert, Call Control, and Shop Family. Family Locator uses GPS to locate where your family member’s phone is. This works fairly well, and the accuracy of the locate is detailed in yards. Family Locator gives you the option to view the location on a map with four levels of zoom, ranging from a citywide view to a city block view to a more specific street view. You can also use the NAV key to move about the general area of the location.
Family Monitor enables you to determine how many times your child can access the various services offered, such as downloads, voice minutes, text messaging, and picture messaging. Essentially, you no longer have to scream over the $60 text messaging or picture messaging bill, as you can set the limits, and even view the usage for each of the specific categories. Family Alert enables you to send a priority pop up message to family members instantly. So if you have several children doing various things across town and you need them back home for dinner, you can send all of them the message with just one initial message.
Call Control enables you to determine what phone numbers your child can call as well as what phone numbers are prohibited. This is accessed via the Internet. Shop Family enables you to buy upgrades and other items from Disney Mobile. The Entertainment window offers ring tones, images, games, theme it, which enables you to theme your screensaver based on the still images, as well as a Shop Menu feature which gives you access to limited information from Consumer Reports, a mobile movies feature ($2.95 monthly), which enables you to get movie information from local theaters or via zip code, Weather Bug, which gives you weather information for the city you input; as well as a plethora of ring tones, images, themes, and games for purchase. There is also web access via Openwave browser.
The Plans
Beyond the $35 activation fee and $175 early termination fee, Disney Mobile offers several plans that families can consider when purchasing a Disney Mobile phone solution. The Kid Starter plan, for individuals is $24.99 per month, and includes 200 daytime minutes and is the cheapest solution. For excessive talkers, the $169.99 individual plan offers 3500 daytime minutes. The entry Family Plan solution offers two lines of service and is priced at $59.99 for 450 daytime minutes. The high end solution is $249.99 for 4500 daytime minutes. There are varying pricing structures in between, with additional lines added for $9.99 a month. Both individual and family plans include Disney Mobile’s Family Center, which includes unlimited use of Family monitor, Family Alert, and Call Control features, and five free Family Locator requests per account ($.49 for each additional Locate) each month. Also included are unlimited night and weekend minutes, unlimited nationwide long distance and mobile to mobile family calling (in Disney Mobile Service areas), select Disney content at no charge, and voicemail, caller ID, and Call Waiting.
First Impressions
Most phone plans targeted at families offer lots of minutes and that is about it. These are relatively inexpensive but then get more costly as teens and preteens text message, download ring tones, and exploit all the features of their handsets. Families who are looking for a mobile solution should definitely check out the offerings from Disney Mobile. Not only can features such as text messaging be limited to ensure there is no shock when the monthly bill comes back twice or thrice the amount of what was agreed upon during signup, there are some unique features that make the service standout.
The capability to set a spending allowance and track text message, picture message, content downloads, and voice minute usage enables parents to set parameters on the use of the phones, as well as restrict the time the phones can be used, are some of the coolest features to the Disney Mobile offering, in addition to the uber cool GPS locating capabilities. This way you can track where your child is via their phone. In usage, the GPS locator was accurate within 90ft in most instances. The overall clarity of the phone is superb (Disney piggybacks on the Sprint PCS Network), and there is plenty of functionality to keep kids and teens happy. Highly Recommended. For more information, visit www.disneymobile.com