Some projects are full of good technical ideas, but don't follow through with the user experience necessary to make them work.
That's the problem with the KidsConnect KC2 ($129.95).
As a 4G LTE, restricted dialing phone and kids tracker with texting, I think it solves problems parents of tweens really have.
Unfortunately, using it is so cumbersome that we simply can't recommend it highly.
Design and Phone Plans
According to the FCC, the KC2's hardware is a rebranded GK310 GPS tracker from Concox, a Chinese device maker.
It's a small, flat rectangle that comes in shiny black plastic or a more appealing matte silver.
It looks like an old-school iPod.
At 3.98 by 2.44 by 0.43 inches (HWD) and 2.86 ounces, it's slim and light.
It can easily slip into a child's pocket, but it also has a loop for a standard string lanyard.
For smaller kids, I'd tie it to the inside of a backpack pocket.
I didn't actively try to break it, but the build quality and materials don't give me great faith—the plastic feels relatively weak and inexpensive.
The KC2 has a 1.54-inch, 240-by-240 touch screen and four buttons: three speed dials, and a power/SOS button.
There is no volume rocker; volume is set by software in settings.
The back is removable, but the 1,000mAh battery is not.
We got about a day and a half of moderate use on the battery.
The phone runs an unidentifiable operating system on a 1.3GHz Mediatek MT6737 chipset, according to Concox.
It supports dual-band 2G GSM, tri-band 3G UMTS, and LTE bands 2/4/12/17.
The specs promise decent coverage, but we got poor 4G reception on this device compared with other smartphones.
The KC2 works on the T-Mobile 4G LTE network.
You don't connect it with a T-Mobile SIM card, though.
KidsConnect sells its own plans, because it makes many of its safety features happen at the network level.
Plans start at $13/month for 50 minutes and 100 text messages, and go up to $45/month for unlimited talk and text.
Performance and User Interface
I need to take a moment to talk about how amateurish KidsConnect's entire software and UI experience feels, starting with the included "manual," which is a strip of paper with a hodgepodge of font sizes.
The company's site looks like it was designed in 1998.
The device UI is exactly the same as in a Concox promotional video, not customized or polished further.
And the tracking site...we'll get to that.
The phone's basic home screen shows the time, date, battery percentage, and signal.
Swipe left, and you see recent calls.
Swipe right from the home screen, and you get the menu: phone, texting, alarms, stopwatch, and settings.
Texting is a particularly great thing to have here.
You can receive texts and reply with either pre-programmed responses or by typing on what is seriously the smallest on-screen keyboard I've ever seen.
The ridiculous tininess of a full keyboard on a 1.5-inch screen is a perfect example of KidsConnect's focus on features rather than usability.
That said, when I gave it to an 11-year-old boy, he was able to text somewhat fluently with it.
The device can only send and receive texts to and from approved contacts; they appear in the receiving phones' standard texting apps.
Using the tracker site, you can set a phone book of up to 15 numbers and three speed dials.
The phone can only call or text, or be called or texted, by those numbers; any other inbound caller gets a message that the call cannot be connected.
To call the speed-dial numbers, you have to hold down the numbered buttons for several seconds, and then let go.
Just tapping them doesn't work.
Call quality is below average.
Sound through the earpiece is harsh, but loud enough.
The speaker, on the other hand, is too quiet, maxing out at 72dB at six inches, a good 4dB quieter than most smartphones.
Transmissions through the speakerphone also have no noise cancellation, and the amount of background noise can be distracting.
As with most kids' phones of this kind, this is only good for short calls.
Needs Improvement
The KC2 has the poorest tracking/monitoring interface I've ever seen for a device like this.
The company seems to be using an off-the-shelf copy of an open-source program, Traccar, designed for tracking corporate vehicle fleets, and didn't bother to simplify it for this device.
As of this writing, there's no app.
You can only track the KidsConnect through a website.
You can certainly open the site on a phone, but that's clumsier than an app.
The company said the app is still pending app store approval.
The interface has no documentation and is covered in unexplained icons.
To add a phone for tracking, you click on a plus sign next to Devices and enter the phone's IMEI.
That's not too bad.
But, say, to fill in the phone book, you have to click a button that looks like an up arrow and which is called Command, and then pop down what appears to be a blank drop-down menu to "set phonebook" or "set family numbers." The speed dials, by the way, are the latter, not the former.
Why do all the drop-downs default to blank rather than to a default value? What is "computed attributes?" Why is there a list of "drivers?" Why is there a "calendars" option that only lets you upload files—and why are you uploading files there? Why can you set geofences, but they don't do anything? What is a "saved command" and why can't you enter one?
The deeper you go into this thing, the weirder and more confusing it gets.
Traccar is full of functions that just don't work on this device, even if they should, like geofences.
The whole interface looks and feels like it was designed by an IT guy for him to use by himself, and not to retail to any normal consumers.
I ended up discussing this with KidsConnect's founder at the CE Week trade show.
He said that as long as you follow the step-by-step instructions on the company's site, you won't be confused by Traccar.
I have higher standards for user interfaces: I really feel like how to work something should be self-evident.
This may be solved once the app comes out, but I haven't seen the app, so I can't judge.
Comparisons and Conclusions
I like the ideas here, but the implementation is a bit of a mess.
The KidsConnect is a restricted-dialing kids phone with texting and GPS tracking, for an affordable monthly fee.
There aren't any others out there we've reviewed in this form factor—the closest you can get would be the LG GizmoGadget and the Dokiwatch S, which are wearables, and which some kids don't want to wear.
But the KC2 has lackluster reception, the tracking site's interface is flat-out bad, and the whole operation just feels amateurish.
I want to recommend this, but I can't.
If you don't want a wearable and just want tracking, the Jiobit is slick and powerful.
If you want limited voice calling purely with a parent, look at the Republic Wireless Relay, a walkie-talkie than can call a parent's smartphone app.
Cons
The Bottom Line
The KidsConnect KC2 phone for children has a lot of great ideas, but is held back by software and a user interface that just aren't up to the task.
