Smart offers new product for children aged 5-12 yrs

Smart Communications Inc. has added another innovation in its arsenal of services with a new offering called Smart Kid, a service that will help parents keep in touch with their children.

"This is the first of its kind in the country, a modified ‘Call Home’ service for children who need to have the means to communicate with family members at all times," according to Smart personal communications and mobile services head Anastasio Martirez.

Smart Kid, which has been designed with children aged five to 12 years in mind, is similar to a Smart post-paid extension available to children, secured with Family Finder – a lock-in call hunting feature restricting Smart Kid outgoing calls to five numbers designated by the parent.

By just dialing "11" on the cellphone with a Smart Kid SIM, the pre-programmed five numbers are dialed automatically in sequence if each preceding number is engaged or unavailable. The Smart Kid SIM can only call these pre-defined numbers so no one else can use the child’s phone to make other calls. If, for example, the first call to Dad is busy, then the second call to Mom is initiated. If all numbers are unavailable, then a text message will be sent to a predefined number through Text Alert with a sample message saying: "I cannot reach you. Please call me now."

For added security, parents also have the option to register their child’s Smart Kid cellphone number to the Smart Kid Finder. This feature allows parents to know where their child is at all times, wherever they may be.

"This service is another example of the creative and beneficial use of technology. Smart already has the network and the technological tools. Using these tools to create innovative services requires imagination and being in touch with the needs of the market," Martirez explained.

He added that the company has always employed an aggressive stance in attacking all market segments with products and services that are affordable and efficient.

"Smart Kid is designed through the eyes of a child, and the heart of a Mom, to keep parents in touch with their children. It is a perfect example of a Smart idea to come to fruition," Martinez said.

Joaquin L. San Agustin, Smart’s postpaid head, said more and more people are realizing the importance of the cellular phone for very young people.

"Smart Kid brings unparalleled innovative services that keep you constantly connected to your child. A number of schools have already recognized the importance of allowing children to carry a cellphone as long as they are used within school policy," he said.

With Planet Kid, the child also has access to a host of fun and educational services, exclusive to Smart Kid. Through a click-and-browse platform, the child has instant access to a dictionary, encyclopedia, fun facts, trivia, emergency hotline numbers, math and science games, and listings of places to go and things to do. Planet Kid has been designed to nurture the busy minds of children, no matter where they are.

Smart Kid offers consumable plans to tailor fit the limited use of a child’s cellphone, with low airtime rates and free text messages. As an added benefit, Smart Kid billing charges will be added to a parent’s monthly postpaid billing statement. In addition, new phone kit packages with safe, child-friendly, and durable handsets at discounted prices are available. Smart Kid can eventually be upgraded to any other Smart postpaid service when the child grows up. Applying for Smart Kid will require presenting the child’s latest school ID as a processing requirement.

Last year, Smart reaped the fruits of its innovations to post significant increases in revenues and number of subscribers. For the first three months of 2004, Smart continued to benefit from these innovations and was able to take in 14.4 million subscribers together with Talk ’N Text, commanding a 58 percent market share. Its earlier innovations included its award-winning e-load services, Smart Load and PasaLoad.