Highly, highly, highly recommend you enable 911 calls by default on all plans -- let parents disable it if they want. Cell phones do this, even without a SIM card. Don't gate safety for $9.99/mo.
Edit: "The FCC requires that providers of interconnected VoIP telephone services using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) meet Enhanced 911 (E911) obligations." https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/voip-and-911-service
Also "911 Services: Providers of "interconnected" VoIP services – which allow users generally to make calls to and receive calls from the regular telephone network – do have 911 service obligations" https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/voice-over-internet-pro...
This is really cool—love the branding, concept and even the price point.
My cynical side thinks there's probably unlimited money to be made taking items from Millennials' youth and marketing it to their kids on a subscription model (I realize there's a subscription-free way to use Tin Can).
It's a little bit hard to figure out from the marketing but...is this just a regular old VOIP phone for $75 + $10/month? The same that Vonage, Ooma, axvoice, voiply, and others offer? Sometimes your ISP will even give it to you free or very cheap (we have it free with ours but don't have a phone plugged in to it).
This just seems like another VOIP service wrapped in nostalgia. There are MANY cheaper and better options. I say this because I recently added a VOIP line for exactly this reason to give my kids a way to call their friends without a smart phone.
Make note of the privacy policy[1]. Some users may not like the data they collect.
> Information Collected from Children: As detailed in Section 3.C, we collect voice audio during calls, call log information, and utilize the Parent-provided contact list in relation to the Child's use of the Tin Can Device. We may also collect device identifiers and technical usage data related to the Service.
It's really frustrating now that for every product/service, we have to go through the privacy policy carefully, especially when they're being written in increasingly generic verbiage. We pay for the product/service upfront or as a subscription, then a subscription for additional features, and on top of all that, agree to sell all our data and souls too. And Tech does all this blindly while gaslighting itself that "it's making the world a better place."
I really like this idea, but I have 3 pieces of feedback:
1. I love the idea, but I do not love the pricing. $10 a month for something you can get for free with a Voip box is tough to justify.
2. It looks like they are refitting "antique" phones for their Flashback model. If they just sold the standalone Voip kit with their service wrapped around it, then we could find our our vintage hardware to use.
3. Realistically, 90% of the time my son would be on this would be to voice chat while playing Minecraft. So knowing that it has a decent speakerphone would be nice.
The local public elementary school blocked all chat programs on student chromebooks. The 3rd graders figured out that they could chat with another in a shared google doc. They had thousands of pages of chat before the teacher finally put an end to it. The teacher only found out because a kid shared that it was getting unruly during class. I share this because most kids have an ipad and are digital communication natives. This landline concept is like puting a lid back on a can of worms.
I am experiencing a strong sense of "why didn't I think of that" while also really hoping it isn't another strong, family friendly concept that gets quickly enshittified for profit.
Seriously, kudos, for a great concept, good website, and really, not that bad of pricing. Sure you can do it cheaper DIY... but where is the fun in putting an office-styled VOIP capable phone in a kid's bedroom? (though converting an old-phone to tunnel over VOIP sounds like a fun weekend project to do with my pre-teen)
But... dang, does it feel like yet another thing that will start great and get terrible over time or just dropped and be e-waste. Kid cell-phone plans that don't give me choice of provider, youth-focused budgeting/saving apps that are 4x more expensive than just a classic bank account and require an app to effectively use, and by far, worst of all, all the "kid" versions of tablets, youtube kids (which I can never get to not show ads even though I pay for premium!), that claim to give parents control... but really just seem like the minimum effort to make parents feel like they are putting in guardrails while still being designed to maximize the addiction early.
While I am really glad we are trying to build tech that helps kids have a better relationship each other while still using technology... it seems like most still fall to pressure of profit and either term into extremely over-priced offering that is hard to justify or can't make it and turn into junk with no re-use.
Once again, this product, right now, does not look to be that... but now having been bit a few times, I am much more cautious and either worry it will become e-waste or the price jacked up by 3x what it is today.
There's a cheaper alternative, if you don't mind some manual setup:
- buy an ethernet -> phone adapter (Grandstream, Cisco, and Poly sell these) and a cheap analog phone.
- get an inexpensive VoIP number[0] and set up the phone adapter to log into the service you set up.
- set up a Google Voice[1] number if you haven't already. When you want to make an outgoing call, use the Google Voice app to initiate a call to your VoIP number[2] -- that way you're technically receiving the call there, so it's cheaper or free, depending on your plan.
[0] CallCentric has a $3/month plan that gives you free incoming calls and e911 service: https://www.callcentric.com/faq/46/529. This works well if you initiate outgoing calls via the Google Voice app.
[1] As of 2023, Google Voice doesn't work directly with Obitalk VoIP service anymore, or with any other VoIP devices :(
[2] if you need to let kids make outgoing calls via Google Voice unattended, set up the Google Voice app on an old iOS device in Guided Access mode and plug it in next to the analog phone. (But make sure they know to make 911 calls using the phone itself, not the GVoice app. I suggest printing a "Emergency: call 911 on this phone" label and putting it on the back of the handset.
Huh, I was just thinking about something sort of like this after camping with some friends and our kids this weekend -- we brought FRS walkie-talkies for all of them (cannot recommend this enough!) and on the drive home my four-year-old was asking if he could call his friends on the radio -- rather than getting him a Technician's I was thinking about finding or making some push-to-talk cell/wifi devices for them. It seems like a few of these things exist but they're marketed toward the enterprise (in at least some cases, with a family-style product unfortunately but unsurprisingly being discontinued: https://relaypro.com/families/ ), but it doesn't seem like it would be a hard build aside from making a durable/kid-friendly enclosure for it.
Can I get this for an elderly relative who has dementia? Scam calls were stressing her out (she doesn't have any ability to lose any assets, but the pressure they put on her stresses her out), so we took her phone. But we would love the ability to call her on a whim.
31 comments
[ 3.4 ms ] story [ 43.0 ms ] threadEdit: "The FCC requires that providers of interconnected VoIP telephone services using the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) meet Enhanced 911 (E911) obligations." https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/voip-and-911-service
Also "911 Services: Providers of "interconnected" VoIP services – which allow users generally to make calls to and receive calls from the regular telephone network – do have 911 service obligations" https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/voice-over-internet-pro...
My cynical side thinks there's probably unlimited money to be made taking items from Millennials' youth and marketing it to their kids on a subscription model (I realize there's a subscription-free way to use Tin Can).
To quote Dennis Duffy - The Beeper King - technology is cyclical!
https://youtu.be/bzm53FAo_q0?si=GNAiR_fgfL3xHNFX
There are so many real old school styles. [0]
[0] https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=vintage+phone&_sacat=0&...
[0] https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_nkw=scooby+phone&_sacat=0&_...
Your residential internet provider will probably already sell you VoIP that you can plug a real phone into.
Put that old hamburger phone to good use.
Here are many good options https://www.ooma.com/blog/home-phone/best-voip-service-for-h...
> Information Collected from Children: As detailed in Section 3.C, we collect voice audio during calls, call log information, and utilize the Parent-provided contact list in relation to the Child's use of the Tin Can Device. We may also collect device identifiers and technical usage data related to the Service.
[1]: https://tincan.kids/policies/privacy-policy
1. I love the idea, but I do not love the pricing. $10 a month for something you can get for free with a Voip box is tough to justify.
2. It looks like they are refitting "antique" phones for their Flashback model. If they just sold the standalone Voip kit with their service wrapped around it, then we could find our our vintage hardware to use.
3. Realistically, 90% of the time my son would be on this would be to voice chat while playing Minecraft. So knowing that it has a decent speakerphone would be nice.
Seriously, kudos, for a great concept, good website, and really, not that bad of pricing. Sure you can do it cheaper DIY... but where is the fun in putting an office-styled VOIP capable phone in a kid's bedroom? (though converting an old-phone to tunnel over VOIP sounds like a fun weekend project to do with my pre-teen)
But... dang, does it feel like yet another thing that will start great and get terrible over time or just dropped and be e-waste. Kid cell-phone plans that don't give me choice of provider, youth-focused budgeting/saving apps that are 4x more expensive than just a classic bank account and require an app to effectively use, and by far, worst of all, all the "kid" versions of tablets, youtube kids (which I can never get to not show ads even though I pay for premium!), that claim to give parents control... but really just seem like the minimum effort to make parents feel like they are putting in guardrails while still being designed to maximize the addiction early.
While I am really glad we are trying to build tech that helps kids have a better relationship each other while still using technology... it seems like most still fall to pressure of profit and either term into extremely over-priced offering that is hard to justify or can't make it and turn into junk with no re-use.
Once again, this product, right now, does not look to be that... but now having been bit a few times, I am much more cautious and either worry it will become e-waste or the price jacked up by 3x what it is today.
- buy an ethernet -> phone adapter (Grandstream, Cisco, and Poly sell these) and a cheap analog phone.
- get an inexpensive VoIP number[0] and set up the phone adapter to log into the service you set up.
- set up a Google Voice[1] number if you haven't already. When you want to make an outgoing call, use the Google Voice app to initiate a call to your VoIP number[2] -- that way you're technically receiving the call there, so it's cheaper or free, depending on your plan.
[0] CallCentric has a $3/month plan that gives you free incoming calls and e911 service: https://www.callcentric.com/faq/46/529. This works well if you initiate outgoing calls via the Google Voice app.
[1] As of 2023, Google Voice doesn't work directly with Obitalk VoIP service anymore, or with any other VoIP devices :(
[2] if you need to let kids make outgoing calls via Google Voice unattended, set up the Google Voice app on an old iOS device in Guided Access mode and plug it in next to the analog phone. (But make sure they know to make 911 calls using the phone itself, not the GVoice app. I suggest printing a "Emergency: call 911 on this phone" label and putting it on the back of the handset.
A plastic receiver retails for $10 or less. The exact one they are selling is $18 (https://telephones.att.com/pd/200/210M-Black-Trimline-Corded...). They want $75.
VoIP is ~free (Facetime, Google Meet, WhatsApp, Messenger and a hundred others).
Saying "but it's for kids!" is a business strategy, sure, but charging $75 for the device + a $10/mo subscription for no reason is a bit too far.
Kids Love Landline Phones - 70 comments - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43105961
Seems like someone decided to productize such an idea.