As the new millennium dawned on January 1, 2000, I remember the novelty of using a mobile to exchange greetings with family. My Nokia 3210, unveiled the previous year, was state of the art. Competitively priced, lightweight (we thought) … there were even different coloured covers!
Fast-forward 18 years and my daughter Alice – 12, new to phone ownership and not easily impressed – is examining this piece of communication history. In her first year of secondary school, with her interests and independence growing fast, Alice uses a smartphone to communicate with friends, organise activities, listen to music and take photos, as well as to contact and be contacted by us.
In recent years, parents of communication-hungry tweens faced a predicament: offer their child a smartphone with unfettered access to the world wide web (and everything that comes with it) or pick up an older phone, with limitations imposed by more primitive technology. Now, thankfully, there’s a third way.
Alice will be comparing the Nokia with the Verve IMO S2 with monqi – a new phone exclusive to Tesco Mobile, and designed specifically for children and young teenagers easing into mobile technology. How will it and the classic Nokia shape up in her fickle fingers?
First up, the Nokia 3210.
“It’s really heavy,” she exclaims. “The screen is tiny. It looks old.” She is examining the handset with the sort of sceptical curiosity she might extend towards a fax machine, or acarrier pigeon.
“I guess you could call people and text them,” shesays. “Very slowly,” she adds, noticing the three-letters-per-key setup. No emojis. That’s not good. Her face briefly brightens as she spots the hash key. “Wait. What did you actually use that for back then?”
The lack of a camera bothers her even more than the no internet access, presumably because the latter is available via our home computer. Not being able to listen to music is another shortcoming.
With her reaction so far fairly scathing, it is time to reveal the phone’s killer feature: Snake! This, initially at least, is a hit. “That’s quite good!” she decides, setting about the game. Her initial enthusiasm proves short-lived. “Actually, it’s pretty boring.”
Asked when the phone might have been designed, Alice hazards a guess at 1990. At almost triple her lifetime ago, that is ancient history for her.
Does the 3210 have “old skool” appeal perhaps? “No,” she says firmly. “Retro is good in clothes, but not in phones.”
Case closed. On to the IMO S2 with monqi
This, it would seem, is more like it. “It looks nice. It feels smooth to hold and use and it has a good-size screen – not too big or too small,” says Alice, back in her comfort zone.
First of all she checks out the photo options, pulling a series of silly selfie faces. There are two cameras, I tell her, peering at the manual. “Of course there are, front and back,” she says, raising an eyebrow at my ignorance.
“It’s really easy to work out,” she says, connecting to the wifi and starting to browse the website of a clothing brand she covets. As well as online window shopping, Alice uses her phone to watch clips from favourite films and musicals, to research and help with homework (foreign language dictionaries for example), and to stream music and contact friends via – parent approved – social media.
She makes the odd phone call too, mainly to me, often to ask if she can go to a friend’s, and frequently followed by a call to request a lift home.
Taking photos is a favourite pastime, and Alice likes the editing features on the IMO S2. She quickly starts to play around with tints and effects, writing captions and adding characters to her pictures.
Intrinsic to the IMO S2 is the monqi operating system, which enables parents – having installed the parent app on their own phones – to monitor and shape how the child’s phone is used.
Functions include: setting time limits on usage (remote shut down at homework or dinner time, for instance), blocking unsuitable internet content (monqi’s bespoke browser has built-in filters), monitoring internet and phone usage in real time, and checking on whereabouts. There is also a family chat option – a controlled alternative to third-party messenger apps.
“Parental controls are a good idea, especially for younger children when you definitely want to know they are only seeing appropriate things,” says Alice, as she scrolls through the monqi functions.
She admits that time limits make sense too. “Especially at first it’s good to make sure it isn’t being used all the time. I do lots of other activities, which keep me busy, but it can sometimes be tempting to have my phone on too long, especially if lots of group conversations are going on.”
Having a smartphone has been helpful for settling into secondary school, she says – facilitating new friendships and enabling her to keep in touch with old classmates too.
“A smartphone makes it easy to swap numbers and send a message or join a chat with your school friends,” says Alice. “With an old-style phone you would have to call someone direct, and that would feel more daunting,” she adds.
The monqi system ensures this is all done safely; new contacts are approved through the parent app, so mums and dads get a chance to check they are legitimate and appropriate.
The IMO S2 meets with Alice’s approval. “Your parents look after you, and this setup is another way of them doing that. I’d be very happy to have this phone,” she says.
Although used to tales of her parents’ seemingly prehistoric analogue childhoods, her foray into early mobile phones has given her a new sense of how technology has changed. “It has made me really appreciate how much we can do now.”
Not having today’s smartphone technology would make her life more complicated, she says. “I think we are very lucky today. Maybe those early phones were ok for someone older,” she says in a placatory tone, looking straight at me.
I think we have a winner.
Visit Tesco Mobile to find out more about the IMO S2 with monqi
