N started Grade One in August this year, and I originally planned to get him a Lego watch for school, but when we received the myFirst Fone from Oaxis for review, I knew that the myFirst Fone would win hands down. I mean, a watch that allows the child to make calls, send messages, and take selfies? I think it’s a dream come true for most young kids who aren’t allowed to have their own phones!
I’m not that great with techy stuff, so I thought I would need some time to figure out how to use the myFirst Fone, but it was easier than I expected.
myFirst Fone
Specs
The myFirst Fone requires a 3G nano SIM card, and I happened to have a spare one in Singapore when we were back, so I was able to test it out. Installing the SIM card was really easy, and setting up the myFirst Fone was done relatively quickly after I downloaded the myFirst Fone app on my iPhone. I also got C to download the app, so that N could contact either of us whenever he wanted. (I had a bit of trouble switching to an Indonesian number when we got back to Jakarta, but managed to get it sorted out after some trial and error. I highly recommend choosing a number and sticking to it, instead of trying to switch back and forth.)
Putting in the nano SIM Card
What the myFirst Fone app looks like
Settings
Once I got it set up, I told N that I had a surprise for him, and as I expected, he was SUPER excited to receive the myFirst Fone. Just look at his happy face!
Thrilled to have a super cool watch
What I really like about the myFirst Fone is that it is safe for young children. N’s contact list on his watch consists only of me and C, which means we are the only two people whom he can communicate with via the watch. No one else can call or message him, even if they have his phone number because of how the watch is programmed.
Apart from the normal voice calls, we can also have video calls with N, or send him messages. We can type messages via the app, send him voice messages or emoticons from the options available. N can send us photos taken on the watch, voice messages and emoticons, and he did it really often when he first started using the myFirst Fone, but the novelty factor has worn off a little after erm, two months.
Using the messaging function
Another safety feature of the myFirst Fone is the SOS function, which is activated by N pressing and holding the red button on his watch. Once activated, both C and I will receive a notification of where the SOS button was pressed, followed by a 30-second sound clip of N’s surroundings, so that we can hear if he is in any kind of trouble. N has activated the SOS function on quite a few occasions, and I panicked the first time I got the notification. After listening to the sound clip, I could tell that he was playing with his friends, so I figured it was an accident. If you have extra cause for worry, you can actually track your child regularly by setting up the tracking function, but I wouldn’t recommend doing it, because it consumes quite a bit of battery. You can also set up safe zones via the app, but I don’t, because we often have to take alternative routes to get to our destinations in Jakarta.
Example of the SOS notification
Example of tracking function
N likes taking photos with his watch and sending us messages, so when he started school, I had to activate the “Class Time” function. This prevents him from using his watch during school hours, but I programmed it such that he can contact me during his lunch time if necessary, since he had to buy his own meals, and I was afraid he would have problems doing so. I sent him voice messages on the first few days to ask him what he was eating, but he missed some of them because he was too busy chatting with his new friends. He no longer calls or messages me on school days, except when he was dismissed a bit earlier from his after school activity and couldn’t find me (I was stuck in a jam and hadn’t gotten to school yet).
Class Time
Unhappy because Class Time was still on despite it being a public holiday
I was curious about how much walking/running N did each day, so I checked the pedometer function on the app. Honestly, it doesn’t seem very accurate, because there was a day that he took more than 10,000 steps, even though he didn’t even go out to play.
Pedometer
Everything looks and sounds great, doesn’t it? Well, it does suit our needs, since it allows N to be contactable, without actually owning a mobile phone. This is very important to us, especially now that N has started elementary school here in Jakarta, where traffic is extremely unpredictable, and safety cannot be taken for granted. However, I do find that the battery life of the watch is quite short, and I have to charge it every night, even though it’s supposed to have a battery life of up to two days. I guess it’s not exactly wrong, since one day is also “up to two days”, but I’ve never been able to go two days before having to charge it. Also, N isn’t exactly a very careful person, and like most kids I know, he drops things quite often. His watch has been dropped umpteen times, and as a result, the bottom part of the screen has two “dead” areas. Fortunately, it doesn’t really affect how he uses the watch’s functions, just that it doesn’t look as pristine as it did. Apart from these two areas, I have absolutely no other complaints, and we are really pleased with the myFirst Fone.
TL;DR: The Oaxis myFirst Fone is great for those who want to have the convenience of being able to contact their young children without actually buying them a mobile phone. I also like the tracking capabilities, which gives me a bit more peace of mind, and allows me to “hover” without physically doing so. I think it’s the the perfect first watch for N, and I’m sure he agrees!
Happy shopping!
Buy the Oaxis myFirst Fone
myFirst Fone is currently available in black or pink on Amazon, the Oaxis website, Challenger, and other stores in Europe and America.
Disclaimer: We received the Oaxis myFirst Fone for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are, as always, our own. N has been using the watch for almost three months now, and I figured that three months was long enough to test the watch out properly, as I wanted the review to be as accurate and honest as possible.
******* GIVEAWAY TIME!
We have one Oaxis myFirst Fone in black to give away! Pop over to our Instagram account to participate.
