Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids • Hacker News Board

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#111

Post by ForHackernews » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:32 AM UTC

choo-t wrote: post #109

M95D wrote: post #100

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not restricted. It's less capable. Entirely different thing. And they'll view it as a completely different device for different purpose (voice calls vs. doom scrolling).

Specifically designed to be less capable is the same as being restricted. It's purpose is explicitly to restrict the user communication to some predefined setting by a third party (the parent and company behind it) and the user is well aware of that, as this e-waste cost as much as a cheap or second hand smartphone.

The jukebox I got for my basement is not a restricted Spotify-enabled smart speaker. It's a different device that does something different.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#112

Post by [deleted] » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:37 AM UTC

mroche wrote: post #49

SoftTalker wrote: post #8

> Alarmingly, some Gen Zers don't say "hello" when they answer a phone call; they expect the caller to just start talking. I'm an older Gen-X and I've stopped doing this unless I recognize the caller. I'm not going to give a scammer anything to build a voice print on. I also use the stock greeting for voicemail instead of a personal one.

Y-Zer myself and I do the same thing. I never initiate the communication when called unless I am expecting it or I know who the caller is. Otherwise, they'll know when someone picked up because their side will stop ringing, and they'll only get awkward silence until they start talking. Often times it's an automated voice system that will not begin until prompted by the callee, so it hits a timeout and hangs up. The n…

[deleted]

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#113

Post by utopiah » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:37 AM UTC

Most of those "ideas" are basically :

- take a phone, remove features, package with bright colors, profit (or VC then profit, maybe).

Sadly a lot of those aren't recycling old gadgets, they are just making new ones and block features, lock down in their own "store", etc. I think it's actually quite terrible.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#114

Post by eloisant » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:46 AM UTC

light_hue_1 wrote: post #71

bit_logic wrote: post #68

Why does it seem like many parents are unaware that a hand me down iPhone can be heavily locked down with screen time settings? A list of things you can do: - allowed list of apps, can reduce it to just phone, imessage, and utilities like weather app - effectively permanent downtime, just set the end time less than start time such as 3:00 am to 2:59 am (technically 1 minute of non downtime). This blocks apps except f…

Parents are aware. This is a horrible solution. What's going to happen immediately is that kids with equivalent phones will compare, realize that one has a lot of restrictions and the other doesn't, and it becomes a nightmare. They know that all you need to do is unlock it for them. It's the same mental distinction between "For $200 we'll install rear seat warmers in your Tesla" and "For $200 we'll 'unlock' the alrea…

That's why I'm thinking of getting my kid (who doesn't have a phone yet) a Unihertz Jelly Star.

https://www.unihertz.com/fr-fr/products/jelly-star

- Because it's small, it doesn't look like a regular smartphone

- The small size would make it impractical for social media/scrolling/videos even if I were to unlock it

...but compared to a dumbphone, I can still allow Spotify and their school management software so they can access their schedule and homework

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#115

Post by eloisant » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:49 AM UTC

jrflowers wrote: post #74

bit_logic wrote: post #68

Why does it seem like many parents are unaware that a hand me down iPhone can be heavily locked down with screen time settings? A list of things you can do: - allowed list of apps, can reduce it to just phone, imessage, and utilities like weather app - effectively permanent downtime, just set the end time less than start time such as 3:00 am to 2:59 am (technically 1 minute of non downtime). This blocks apps except f…

I don’t think people are buying this fun novelty landline phone because they haven’t heard of parental controls

As another commenter said, the problem with parental controls on a smartphone is your kid constantly nagging you to approve installation of one more app, or extend their daily limit "just for today" (again).

With a device that's not a smartphone, you don't have this problem.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#116

Post by eloisant » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:51 AM UTC

utopiah wrote: post #113

Most of those "ideas" are basically : - take a phone, remove features, package with bright colors, profit (or VC then profit, maybe). Sadly a lot of those aren't recycling old gadgets, they are just making new ones and block features, lock down in their own "store", etc. I think it's actually quite terrible.

Yes, and dumbphones exist (again). You can buy a newer version of the Nokia 3210 that charges with USB-C and works on modern cell networks.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#117

Post by pqs » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 10:59 AM UTC

Why not using the actual land line? I still have one. My 13 year old son, who has no phone, uses it and it works. I'm just curious.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#118

Post by philips » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 11:03 AM UTC

0xbadcafebee wrote: post #34

For the nerdy who might want to set up their own similar system for their kids, and let their kids pick any landline phone they want, you can get an ATA (Analog Telephone Adapter) on eBay for cheap, then connect it to a Raspberry Pi with Asterisk, and any VOIP provider, to make your own PBX. ( https://www.littlebytesofpi.com/raspberrypihomephone/ )

It blows my mind that the current Cisco ATA is $150+.

For the service I am building (havenphone.com) I used Grandstream HT801 with success with voip.ms. I don't love how easy their cloud can take over the device though.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#119

Post by philips » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 11:04 AM UTC

pcblues wrote: post #88

This is a nice idea, because it physically limits the place the child can call from. Even a very under-powered phone sets them free. However, a new severely under-powered phone with no graphics or apps would probably meet the requirements of not being sucked into the grown-up world too early, and the kids can maintain their own contact lists. And they'll grow super-fast thumbs like we had to in order to text :) They…

Have you found a under powered phone that lets you lock down the Phone's incoming to an allow list?

That is the thing me (and most parent friends) want: freedom from spam calls and potential strangers.

Re: Tin Can, a 'landline' for kids

#120

Post by philips » Mon, Mar 23, 2026, 11:10 AM UTC

eloisant wrote: post #116

utopiah wrote: post #113

Most of those "ideas" are basically : - take a phone, remove features, package with bright colors, profit (or VC then profit, maybe). Sadly a lot of those aren't recycling old gadgets, they are just making new ones and block features, lock down in their own "store", etc. I think it's actually quite terrible.

Yes, and dumbphones exist (again). You can buy a newer version of the Nokia 3210 that charges with USB-C and works on modern cell networks.

The main feature I want for my kids is an explicit allow list to keep them from gettin spam or talking to randoms.

The manual I found doesn't seem to have this feature. Also the advertising page has "Cloud Apps for news, weather, and more" :( https://www.hmd.com/en_int/nokia-3210?sku=1GF025CPD4L02