Sanyo's SA800i Child Phone for Japan Reports Location, Has Alarm

Sanyo SA800i

Sanyo SA800i

Sanyo SA800i

The Sanyo booth at CeBIT is always one of my personal highlights of the show each year. The handsets on display are rarely available outside of Japan, but the people working the booth are always knowledgeable and friendly, and the phones are always somehow unique. This year was no exception.

This little number, the SA800i, is a child specific handset that is offered on NTT DoCoMo's FOMA network. Unlike kids' phones we've seen in the US, like the LG Migo and Firefly Mobile Firefly, the SA800i looks like a normal handset. What makes it a kid's phone is the special functions that it has inside, not so much the look or simplicity of its design.

For example, the SA800i has a GPS system that continually reports the phone's (and presumably the child's) location back to a central server. Parents can then find out where their child is by accessing a website. The phone has special features that can keep the child's location known even if they have been apprehended by somebody. To start with, the battery can not be easily removed from the phone. When the SA800i is turned off, it immediately reports its position to the server. Not only that, it can be configured to continually report its location every ever quarter, half, or full hour even when turned off. It wakes from the off mode, reports its location, then turns back off again without hinting to observers that it is doing anything at all.

Another cool feature is the 100 decibel emergency alarm. When the child pulls on on the SA800i's emergency cord, the alarm screams out to alert anybody nearby that something is going on. Trust me, it is plenty loud and obnoxious. Few would be able to ignore it for long. On top of that, the phone immediately alerts the emergency contact numbers linked to the phone so that they know that the alert cord has been pulled, and know where the child is located.

The phone itself is pretty good looking in my personal opinion, and I was told by the Sanyo rep that it was designed by a famous Japanese designer - one who was completely unknown to me, of course.

You'll find more photos of the Sanyo SA800i on the following page.

Sanyo SA800i

Sanyo SA800i

Sanyo SA800i

 

Featured products from the MobileBurn store