Updated
Updated · Tom's Guide · Jul 19
Tin Can Phone’s $10 Monthly Plan Loses Appeal After 1 Month
Updated
Updated · Tom's Guide · Jul 19

Tin Can Phone’s $10 Monthly Plan Loses Appeal After 1 Month

1 articles · Updated · Tom's Guide · Jul 19

Summary

  • A month-long test with a 7-year-old found the Tin Can phone’s early excitement faded fast, with only a couple of calls to grandparents and almost none to friends.
  • That drop-off led Michael A. Prospero to cancel the optional $10-a-month calling plan during the free trial, leaving the $100 child-focused device as a short-lived novelty rather than a lasting habit.
  • Call quality was generally clear and parents liked the supervised setup, quiet-time controls and conversation-building effect, though voicemails were sometimes crackly and the cord and ringer drew complaints.
  • Tin Can also faces practical limits: it works best only if other families buy into the same ecosystem, while rivals Ring Ring and Pinwheel offer lower-priced hardware or cheaper plans.

Insights

With kids' tech graveyards growing, what will make a safe phone engaging enough to outlast its novelty?
As Big Tech pays millions for youth harm, are 'kid phones' a real solution or a costly parental patch?