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WEEKLY NEWS 2: Kid-monitoring Cell Phones

For the worrisome parent, Motorola has a new plan.

On August 23, 2005, communications company Motorola Incorporated announced plans to develop cell phones that would allow parents the opportunity to monitor their children’s whereabouts.

The new phones, whose launch time has yet to be determined, would also censor obscene content, but company executives said there would also be features to attract the younger audience. Such marketing possibilities include releasing the phones with iTunes.

“Mobile phones today are more like television when I was a kid,” Motorola Chairman and CEO Edward Zander told the Associated Press. “There is a way to keep it secure.”

Motorola is the third largest mobile home manufacturer. The company had worldwide revenues of $31.3 billion last year and employs 2,900 engineers in India.

Other companies have adopted this wireless trend. Firefly of Lincolnshire, Illinois, released a pay-as-you-go phone to Target stores in February that was priced at $100. California-based Wherify will launch a new phone line this fall in Wal-mart stores. Both of these products feature built-in parent controls.

A service provider in Canada introduced a service that also allows parents to keep tabs on their children.

--Written by Leah Williams

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