Comprehensive usage controls, Chaperone 2.0 coming to Verizon on July 23

by Chris Ziegler, posted Jul 17th 2008 at 10:52AM

Though it already offers content filtering, Verizon's about to get a whole lot more comprehensive with its tools for helping parents keep their kids' cells on lockdown. Positioned to compete head-to-head with AT&T's Smart Limits, Verizon's Usage Controls with run $4.99 when it goes live on July 23 and will offer billable minute thresholds (which provide text alerts to you and your tyke, but not a hard stop on usage), messaging limits, time restrictions, blocked number lists, and trusted number lists. Launching simultaneously will be Chaperone 2.0, a refresh of Verizon's tracking service. BlackBerrys and push-to-talk devices won't be eligible for the new controls, but let's be honest: if your 8 year old's sporting a Curve, there might be more important issues to deal with there.

[Thanks, HTCKid]

Filed under: Verizon Wireless

Tags: usage controls, UsageControls, verizon, verizon wireless, VerizonWireless, vzw

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Neutral

maxxwizard @ Jul 17th 2008 12:24PM

hooray for VZW

Neutral

Dave @ Jul 17th 2008 12:34PM

What happened to the good old days of going through your kid's phone and seeing who they called? haha

Neutral

tra la la @ Jul 17th 2008 3:04PM

I agree. I think this is a good IDEA, but the REALITY is that parents need to control their kids. Even people withouth kids need to take responsibility for their own lives, and not rely on other people to keep them in check.

Neutral

Squid7085 @ Jul 17th 2008 5:46PM

Or the day before kids had phones. Granted, I am only 19, and got my first cell phone at 14, but I work at a kids party place "Pump it Up" and I have seen 7-8 year old kids get cell phones. I just would like to see the providers not charge for these services, they should be expected and included services with any family plan.

Neutral

tra la la @ Jul 18th 2008 2:25AM

or maybe, just maybe, people should be responsible for their own lives instead of relying/requesting/demanding/expecting others to do it for them.

just a thought. then again, what would I know? it's not like I live on my own, own my car, work full time, pay all my bills on time, monitor my cell usage, clean up after myself.... oh, hell. the list goes on and on. My parents stopped doing that for me YEARS ago.

Neutral

mlokubo @ Jul 18th 2008 10:14AM

funny how the article mentions a child having a Blackberry curve would be a greater issue, only because RIM created Blackberry Unite! that allows you to do all of this but for free on up to 5 Blackberrys in a single family/group.

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