If you remember running home after school to grab the family landline and call your best friend before dinner, a new Grinder Their goal is to reboot that experience for a new generation.
The kid-focused technology company on Tuesday announced the launch of Pinwheel Home, a modern take on the classic home phone designed to let kids stay connected without the distractions of a smartphone.
Pinwheel is positioning the phone as an introduction to phones for kids ages 5 to 10 before they’re ready for a smartphone. The company already sells kid-friendly smartphones and launched a smartwatch last year.
Instead of texting or scrolling through social media, Pinwheel Home is designed solely for voice calls. The company says the phone encourages more meaningful one-on-one conversations while giving kids the independence to call friends and family and practice basic phone skills without having to borrow a parent’s device.
The launch comes as more parents look for ways to reduce their children’s screen time amid growing concerns about the impact of technology on their development. Studies have linked excessive screen time to emotional, behavioral, and social challenges. Further, recent research from the University of Georgia found that children who spend more time on social media tend to show weaker vocabulary development over time, including greater difficulty recognizing and pronouncing words.
Notably, while the Pinwheel Home looks like a traditional landline, it works over Wi-Fi, eliminating the need for a phone jack. It comes in two models. The Spark starts at $68 and comes in white, black, blue, and purple. The Classic costs $79 and includes a retro-style phone and customizable stickers, with pink, black, and white color options.
For safety, parents control the device through Pinwheel’s Caregiver Portal, where they can approve contacts, block unknown calls, spam, and robocalls, and set calling schedules and time limits. Speed dialing and voicemail are also available.
The company notes that future updates will introduce three-way calling and allow Pinwheel Home to integrate with its watches and smartphones, allowing kids to use the same phone number across devices while limiting screen time at home.
Countries Countries such as Australia have restricted children’s access to social media and the United Kingdom has announced plans to adopt similar measures.
The device also joins other screen-free communication products for children, which compete with cana $100 landline phone with Wi-Fi that allows parents to manage approved contacts through a companion app.
Calls between Pinwheel Home devices are free through the company’s Pinwheel Circle service. Families who want to call standard phone numbers can choose plans starting at $6.99 per month for up to five approved contacts or $9.99 per month for unlimited calling. (For comparison, calls between Tin Can devices are also free, while their friends and family plan costs $9.99 per month.)
Home Windlass It’s available now through the company’s website and is expected to launch on Amazon this fall.
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