DokiWatch lets kids make video calls and share their location
Parents can literally keep an eye on their children with this smartwatch.
A cellular watch that can make video calls? You won't find many of them because smartphones are so much better at doing that, but we've probably all longed for this seemingly futuristic concept when we were young (just as our own James Trew confessed in his Neptune Pine review). Thanks to the folks over at Doki Technologies, kids these days will get to realize this dream.
The DokiWatch is a rugged Android smartwatch with a 1.22-inch touchscreen, and it packs all the essentials for keeping an eye on a child: It comes with 3G radio (1900/2100 MHz; works on AT&T and T-Mobile) plus a Micro SIM slot, as well as location tracking (using GPS, WiFi and cellular signal), an SOS button and a 2-megapixel front-facing camera -- the part which makes it stand out from the other kids smartwatches.
Other specs include a 1.3GHz dual-Cortex-A7 processor from MediaTek (MT6627), 512MB of RAM, 4GB of storage, IP67 rating for dustproofing and waterproofing, and a 600 mAh battery which should require daily charging. Oh, and it runs on Android 4.4 and will receive firmware updates in the future.
The watch itself is only a part of the whole package. Parents will need to install the Doki app for Android and iOS, in order to track their kids and stay in touch -- be it by video, voice or text. You can even set virtual fences here so that the app can notify you when your children enter or leave specified areas, such as home or school. When trouble arises and the SOS button is pressed, the app will send the kid's location plus background noise to all preset contacts right away.
Of course, the DokiWatch can only serve its purpose if the kids keep it on their wrists, which is why it comes with some fun elements. For one, you get a virtual pet that thrives on the amount of walking, plus there are stickers and badges as rewards, so it's basically a fitness tracking app in disguise. If a kid comes across another DokiWatch user, they can add each other as friends on the watch (via Bluetooth) and the parents will receive a notification about this -- they can manage the friends list in the mobile app as well.
The DokiWatch is being crowdfunded on Kickstarter and is currently going for as low as $129 a pop, with a color choice of either yellow, red, blue or grey. The campaign has already reached its funding goal, so if all goes well, the device will be shipped in May.
