IM-ME: Wireless Texting for the Tween Girl Set
Device gives kids the chance to chat with friends, no cell phone required.
— -- Pity the poor younger sister. She just wants to text her friends like her older siblings, but she's not yet old enough for her own cell phone or unrestricted IM access on the family computer.
Now Mattel, the company known for Barbie dolls, is offering up IM-Me from its Girl Tech line of gadgets. It's a wireless text-messaging device designed for young girls that lets them chat like the big kids, but only to friends chosen by Mom and Dad, and on a proprietary network.
Parents will like it because it keeps kids safe from stranger danger, it doesn't tie up the family computer and it doesn't require any monthly fees. Girls will like it because it looks cool, and it's password-protected so they can keep their buddy chats private and away from the prying eyes of snooping siblings.
The stylish pink device has a full QUERTY keyboard with squishy keys for pudgy fingers, and a large, easy-to-read screen.
Start-up is simple. Launch the program by logging into the Web site. Then pick a name and password and share it with your friends so they can add you to their IM-ME address book, and you're ready to chat. Like other IM programs, kids can IM one friend directly, or they can create a group of friends; type one message and it goes to everyone.
There are a few downsides to the IM-ME. One is the range of use. Because it works off the home computer's Internet connection, kids need to be home in order to chat. The device comes with an antenna that plugs into a USB port on the family computer.
The other is the closed IM network. To ensure safety, kids can only chat with other IM-ME users, which means your daughter's friends need to have a device as well. That seems nice and safe, but at a retail price of $64.99, you might not be able to talk all of their parents into springing for one for their kids.
In theory though, it's a great idea, so you might want to put one under the tree of your kid's best friend and let them chat away.
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