Gabb Phone Plus software review: Almost too simple - XDA Developers

Kids and teens privation smartphones. While teens mightiness person a amended thought of why they privation a telephone and what they would usage it for, the dangers are inactive determination careless of age. That's wherefore it's important to usage a smartphone designed for kids from a trustworthy source. Gabb Wireless is simply a U.S.-based marque that provides some devices and customized bundle to assistance parents consciousness much assured handing implicit smartphones to their kids.

My 10-year-old lad has been helping maine trial the Gabb Phone Plus for a fewer months, which is simply a Samsung Galaxy A10e with a customized bundle furniture connected apical of Android 10, and it's a large enactment for parents to see erstwhile looking for a telephone for their child. However, the telephone itself, portion an important portion of the puzzle, isn't the superior selling constituent for Gabb Wireless — it's the software.

As portion of the Gabb Phone Plus program, users get entree to much third-party apps and further features that a modular Gabb Phone doesn't. I reviewed the Gabb Phone earlier my clip astatine XDA, and the Gabb Phone Plus is everything the regular exemplary is but with a fewer extras, making it a much costly work to usage for kids that are acceptable for a spot much from their phone. Is it perfect? No, but it tin beryllium a large enactment for your household if you determine you request the other features.

Gabb Phone Plus: Pricing and availability

• Gabb Phone Plus is lone disposable done Gabb Wireless
• The Galaxy A10e launched connected the level astatine $199.99

Gabb Wireless launched the Phone Plus level successful June 2022. The level launched with the Samsung Galaxy A10e for $199.99 astatine afloat retail price. When purchasing the phone, you tin take a two-year declaration to get the telephone for free, a one-year declaration to get the telephone half-off, oregon skip the declaration and wage for the telephone outright. Regardless of the enactment you choose, the monthly work for Gabb Phone Plus is $29.99/month positive taxes. The telephone and work are lone disposable done Gabb Wireless.

Features: What you get from the platform

• No entree to apps for games, societal media, oregon the net
• Parents tin acceptable up geofencing and unrecorded tracking for the telephone
• Gabb Music allows entree to kid-appropriate euphony

As a parent, I indispensable beryllium perpetually alert of the magnitude of clip my children walk successful beforehand of a surface and the imaginable threats they could beryllium exposed to erstwhile utilizing devices. So earlier my woman and I let them access, the tech needs to beryllium secure, and we request power implicit what's available. This is what's truthful appealing astir Gabb Wireless. It created an ecosystem of devices and bundle that enactment unneurotic to effort and springiness families a harmless mode to enactment connected.

The Gabb Phone Plus is simply a mode to springiness kids who privation much than the basics of the regular Gabb Phone. Even with the further features the much precocious level offers, ultimately, parents person the last accidental successful what the instrumentality tin access. The quality betwixt utilizing the Gabb Phone Plus and the modular Gabb Phone is successful the further apps and bundle features. Both platforms are managed by Gabb Wireless and let parents to find their child's instrumentality from the MyGabb companion app.

When it comes to utilizing their phone, kids volition spot an interface akin to galore of the best Android phones grown-ups use. But arsenic for the remainder of that experience, it's overmuch much locked down. There are nary games, societal media, oregon adjacent entree to the Google Play Store. The Samsung Galaxy A10e that my lad and I tested came preloaded with 14 basal apps, including a calculator, calendar, contacts, phone, and more. Of those 14 apps, 3 are Gabb apps. One is for pairing the telephone to the MyGabb companion app, different is for a kid Gabb ID, and lastly is the Gabb Messenger app to nonstop instant messages to the MyGabb app and different Gabb devices. See? Pretty basic.

I'll springiness a speedy spot of info connected the Samsung Galaxy A10e that Gabb Wireless is presently offering with the Phone Plus platform. Overall, the telephone is fine. It is apt going to beryllium plentifulness almighty for kids done mediate school. The telephone has a azygous rear 8MP camera that takes decent photos successful bully lighting but understandably suffers successful low-light situations. There is simply a flash to springiness the camera a boost successful those situations. On the front, the telephone comes with a 5MP sensor for the all-important selfie. The 5.8-inch LCD sheet is colorful and responsive, and this is the overarching acquisition of utilizing the phone. Because of the customized bundle it uses, determination is small to bog the strategy down, which besides means large artillery life.

But due to the fact that this is simply a Gabb Plus device, parents tin log into their Gabb relationship done a web browser to spot not lone their subscription presumption and billing but besides negociate third-party apps and different Gabb services. The database of disposable third-party apps is precise short, with lone 7 options, of which 4 person a spiritual theme. The others are for weather, audio listening, and an app called Sora that links up with participating schools, truthful your kid tin cheque retired books, magazines, and audiobooks from their phone.

My son's favourite app is Gabb Music. This is an in-house work that Gabb launched alongside the Gabb Phone Plus level backmost successful June 2022, and I recovered it to beryllium bully astatine filtering retired euphony with inappropriate themes and language. Gabb partnered with galore of the world's largest euphony labels successful summation to utilizing its ain AI strategy to connection a work that kids volition bask and parents tin consciousness harmless letting their kids use. Unfortunately, it isn't free; it's an add-on work that volition tally you an further $4.99 per month.

Right now, Gabb Music works similar the escaped mentation of Spotify oregon YouTube Music, wherever you're constricted to the fig of skips you get. However, dissimilar different services' escaped tiers, determination aren't ads connected Gabb Music. Kids get to research their philharmonic tastes by picking from a wide scope of curated playlists and mixes. There is simply a Gabb Music Plus connected the mode for $9.99 per period that volition region the skip bounds and let for customized playlists and offline listing. But astatine the clip of publication, determination isn't a motorboat date. Gabb besides offers a truly bully Bluetooth talker and wireless earbuds, letting kids tin stock their enactment jams oregon perceive unsocial truthful that parents tin flight their kid's playlist preferences.

But what is simply a kid's telephone without immoderate information features? Aside from restricting the apps allowed connected the device, parents tin besides make geofences, oregon harmless zones, to get alerts erstwhile their kid arrives astatine a determination and/or leaves it. For example, I get an alert erstwhile my lad gets wrong 500 meters of a school, truthful I cognize erstwhile helium arrives and erstwhile helium leaves. I tin besides cheque the unrecorded determination of the instrumentality astatine immoderate constituent arsenic well, which is large erstwhile helium goes connected tract trips. Managing the determination features is casual to bash from the MyGabb companion app.

While I can't entree the device's determination from my web account, I tin spot a telephone and substance log. I tin spot the fig a telephone came from, however agelong it lasted, and erstwhile it was made. Texting is precise similar, wherever you tin spot if it was an MMS connection oregon not, the time and clip it was sent, and the fig it went to oregon came from. The enactment of seeing the connection contents would beryllium nice, not to invade privateness but arsenic a protective measurement to guarantee determination isn't inappropriate oregon unsafe happening successful the messages.

Gabb Phone Plus: The level needs more

• The database of third-party apps is precise constricted and missing immoderate fashionable options
• Parents can't negociate contacts
• Can't usage conscionable immoderate cellular bearer work

Gabb Wireless has a precise bully merchandise successful the Gabb Phone Plus platform. But determination are a mates of areas that could improve, including 1 that needs to beryllium addressed sooner than later. Starting off, I'd similar to spot much options successful the third-party app catalog. Other platforms, similar Pinwheel, connection a wide catalog of curated apps that parents tin take to instal connected their child's device. Each app is breached down into categories, fixed a rating, and an mentation for the rating. Most 10-year-olds don't request a clump of apps, but determination are immoderate missing pieces from what Gabb does offer.

I'm not the biggest instrumentality of Facebook oregon its messaging platform. But the information remains that it has a monolithic idiosyncratic basal and is accessible implicit Wi-Fi. Facebook Messenger Kids is simply a "safer" mode for kids to entree the powerfulness of the grown-up mentation but with restrictions and parental oversight. Many of my son's friends person entree to the work and person asked if they could chat with him connected it, but due to the fact that the app isn't disposable connected his Gabb Phone Plus, helium can't connection them utilizing his phone.

Depending connected the child's age, they astir apt don't request galore apps. But the Gabb Phone Plus catalog is truthful tiny that it is missing what could beryllium considered cardinal options — adjacent for kids.

The country I consciousness needs attraction close distant is interaction management. As it stands now, adding a interaction to the telephone works conscionable similar it would connected regular phones. Open the contacts app, pat connected the positive sign, and adhd it. While that's good successful astir situations, arsenic a parent, I privation to cognize who my kid communicates with connected their phone. I tin adhd contacts from the MyGabb app, but I can't spot the contacts added from the telephone and americium not notified erstwhile 1 is added.

Not having entree and power implicit this relation worries maine arsenic a parent. My lad is 10 years old, truthful my anxiousness is debased for now, but not gone entirely, and it'll lone turn arsenic my kid gets older. His contacts aren't thing I request oregon privation to ticker astatine each times, but I privation that bid of caput to spot who is talking to my child.

While not a large issue, if you privation to usage the Gabb Phone Plus, you'll person to usage Gabb Wireless arsenic its carrier. The $29.99 per period outgo isn't overly expensive, and depending connected your existent bearer plan, you mightiness beryllium capable to prevention immoderate wealth by conscionable adding a enactment to it. Gabb Wireless operates arsenic an MVNO utilizing Verizon's web arsenic the backbone. I tried putting my T-Mobile SIM into the telephone and got an mistake and nary service. So, this is thing to support successful caput if you unrecorded successful an country with mediocre Verizon coverage.

Gabb Phone Plus: Should you bargain it?

You should bargain this if:

• This is your child's archetypal smartphone
• You don't privation your kid to person entree to games, societal media, oregon the net connected their telephone
• You person bully Verizon sum
• You privation to way your child's telephone easy

You shouldn't bargain this if:

• You privation a wide catalog of apps to take from
• You request entree to the connection contented and interaction absorption
• You privation to adhd the telephone to your existent bearer program

The Gabb Phone Plus is simply a large level for kids and parents — that is, if you temper your expectations. Gabb Wireless has cultivated a elemental interface with protections to support kids from being distracted from societal media, games, and the internet. But if you person an older kid mature capable to grip those things, you're retired of luck. The aforesaid goes for however you'll request to spot your kid capable to beryllium OK with not seeing their contacts oregon what is being said successful messages. But arsenic with thing successful a parent/child relationship, the spot successful utilizing an internet-connected instrumentality volition necessitate regular two-way communication.

Gabb Phone Plus offers a elemental and easy-to-use telephone and companion app. The bid of caput for parents that comes successful knowing you tin cheque the artillery level and determination of their child's telephone is worthy a lot. Creating harmless zones that fto you cognize erstwhile your kid has arrived oregon near a circumstantial country is wonderful. So, portion it isn't perfect, the Gabb Phone Plus tin beryllium a fantastic archetypal telephone for galore kids.