Wherify Wireless announced today it will launch its Wherify Family Locator Service and companion Wherifone GPS Locator Phone this October. The Wherifone is said to be the world’s first GSM/GPS phone designed for children and seniors. Parents can track and communicate with their young children or elderly relatives.
The Wherifone GPS Locator Phone will retail for $99.95. Their fixed-usage Family Locator Service plans, that include both voice and location services, start at $19.95 per month.
The Wherifone locator phone combines GSM voice technology with SiRFStarIII GPS and Wherify’s own Aided-GPS solution to provide location accuracy under difficult conditions, including inside many types of buildings, in vehicles, under foliage and in most urban canyons.
Three of the buttons on the front of the Wherifone can be programmed by parents to store the phone number of a close family member or friend for quick, one-touch dialing. Alternatively, one of these buttons can be programmed to send the child’s location when pressed. A fourth button provides access to a 20-number phone book, programmable only by parents, to store other commonly called numbers. A fifth button calls 9-1-1.
In related news, Casio unveiled the smallest GPS-enabled watch. The waterproof Casio GPR-100 (above), has GPS to analyze your exercise. It uses GPS to calculate the time, speed, distance, pace, and averages of your run, while keeping track of your route should you deviate from the beaten path.
You also get a “fully automatic” calendar, stopwatch and alarm. Unfortunately, Engadget reports the battery life is awful; the rechargeable LiOn apparently lasts just 2 hours in “normal operation,” with 4.3 hours in “low power mode.” And then there’s the price — $476.
