AT&T and Verizon kick kid phones to the curb

In an announcement sure to make tweens scream and parents sigh, both AT&T and Verizon Wireless have seemingly simultaneously decided to stop featuring their respective kid-centric handsets. Folks interested in Verizon's Migo will now be shown LG's 3450L flip-phone instead, as the company claims that its texting abilities and Chaperone capability will lend itself to being an effective youth-oriented option. As for AT&T, its Firefly mobile will now be sold solely online, but there was no mention of what the carrier planned on offering when paranoid parents showed up looking for a highly controllable device in-store. Of course, both of these phones should remain available in other mass market channels for those still interested, but we're sure your nine-year old kid will be lobbying for something a bit more sophisticated in a few months anyway.

[Via PhoneScoop]

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 13th 2007 4:33PM]

Best phones available for teens and under. There is zero reason to allow a teen/child to make calls to any number (4 programmed numbers seem fine - mom, dad, home, 911) and certainly no reason to ever allow texting. My kids will be lucky to even have cell phones, let alone a phone I would let them receive or make calls on.

[(Unverified) Posted Apr 14th 2007 1:32PM]

There are several Verizon phones that can be restricted to only allow outbound calls to be made to phone numbers that are in the phonebook. The phonebook on these phones can be password protected so that contacts cannot be added or deleted without the password. Some of these phones include the LG-VX3450, Motorola V325 & 325i, Motorola KRZR, and the G'zOne. This basically eliminated the need for the Migo.