MyFirst Fone S3 review: A child-friendly watch that mimics a smartphone but is not cheap at €170
MyFirst Fone S3
Price
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€170
Website
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Where To Buy
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DID
I've tried out a lot of smartwatches over the years, from the ones that promise a lot and deliver little to the ones that mimic a traditional timepiece while collecting lots of data in the background.
But the latest smartwatch I'm wearing isn't my usual style. The functionality may be similar – it tracks my location, it allows me to make and take calls, and I can post updates from the device for family and friends. It even has a music player.
But in this case I'm not the target audience. This is the MyFirst Fone S3. It is durable, it is child friendly and it serves an important purpose: to stave off the inevitable smartphone for your kids.
It looks like many child-friendly smartwatches on the market: a colourful plastic case and silicone strap, with a decent-sized display for your child to read messages and otherwise interact with the watch.
READ MORE
Accompanying it is the MyFirst Circle app, which controls everything from the access to the watch and the contacts your child can use to geofencing safe zones.
It has a heart-rate monitor and a step counter so you can keep an eye on your child's activity.
But it will need a sim card, which is an ongoing expense. It comes with a preinstalled MyFirst sim, which includes a free month, but you can swap it for your own. In this case, a GoMo sim card did the job, keeping the costs down, but the watch will support a 4G nano sim, so the choice of network provider is up to you.
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What's the right age for my daughter to get a smartphone? I asked her older siblings
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Setting up the Circle app is key to getting the best out of this device. You can add in select contacts and send them an invitation to join the app. After that, they can contact the watch owner, receive voice and video calls with the 2-megapixel camera, exchange messages or view posts on the Circle feed, which functions as a sort of social media interface for the limited family circle. Your child can post photos and updates, and have them seen by the wider family group.
You can also share the watch's location among select contacts – family members, friends – if needed.
The watch is aimed at children aged three to 12, but the younger end of that age group will need to be trusted not to take the watch off and leave it behind. The buckle doesn't take a genius to undo, and at €170, it is not cheap the replace.
However, it can take a lot of abuse. The watch was handed to the hardest-wearing member of the family, and came back with barely a scuff and in full working order.
There are also specific child-friendly features. The chat messages are done via emoji or photos, rather than text, which suits the age group better. You can also add voice notes to chats.
Class Mode will lock out the watch for a set period of time – a school day, an afterschool club, a weekend activity. You can set up multiple class modes for various times of the day, too, rather than a single school session. If needed, the SOS function will still work, alerting parents to a situation if their child needs help during school hours.
The buttons are big enough for small fingers to get to grips with, and the S3 keeps things simple with two buttons on the right side of the case to control access to the menus, power and putting the screen to sleep.
Good
This watch is a good alternative to a smartphone for parents who feel that is a step they don't want to take just yet. It protects children from access to third-party apps such as games and social media, and from strangers.
The MyFirst Circle app is a must, allowing you to keep an eye on the watch and notifications such as video calls and voice notes.
Bad
This watch may fall foul of smart-device rules in schools – it has a camera and a microphone, both of which may go against the spirit of smartphone ban. School mode helps, but it requires parents to enable it.
The watch can't be customised in the same way as other kid-focused smartwatches. The pastel colours are nice, but it would be better if the cases could be customised in the same way as the Xplora X6 Play, for example.
Everything else
The watch itself is decently powered. It has a quad-core processor and 8GB of capacity. The storage can be used to hold songs for your child – more than 1,000, which should cover all the current hits and then some.
Verdict
A child-friendly watch that will bridge the gap before a smartphone.
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