This adorable phone is designed to get kids off screens and into the world
Sam Terris spent his childhood roaming the woods around Walden Pond. Growing up in Concord, Massachusetts, he and his friends would spend hours outdoors, away from their parents. “We were really bored kids, so we had to invent games and activities to keep ourselves stimulated,” he says. “I think that was a really important part of development in my generation.” Terris, a serial entrepreneur who…
Sam Terris, a serial entrepreneur, has designed a new phone called Freckle to help children develop independence and build relationships while staying safe. The $199 device, aimed at kids aged 7 to 13, lacks a web browser, app store, social media, or YouTube. Instead, it features a "Discovery Camera" that identifies bugs, birds, and plants, adding them to a digital sticker book.
Freckle also includes "quests" that encourage kids to explore the real world, such as finding specific bugs or photographs of famous paintings. Parents can track their child's location on a map or set up "safe zones" that alert them if the child leaves the designated area. The phone's hardware is designed to be soft, colorful, and easy to use, with tactile buttons and a small square touchscreen.
Terris believes that technology should facilitate outdoor experiences and social interaction, rather than isolating children indoors. This approach is part of a growing trend of screen-free phones for children, which aim to provide a more balanced digital experience compared to the addictive nature of traditional smartphones.
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