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The cell phone was special designed for kids [Photo: baidu.com]
However, the handsets and services named "Kare" has been met with a mixed response from local parents and skepticism from educators.
Introduced by Shanghai MTI LBS Services Corporation, a local telecom operator, the Kare handsets are colorful and use cartoon designs tailored to students aged 7 to 15.
The phones are equipped with global positioning system software and a database of all the streets in the city.
Parents can send an SMS to the company's information center, requesting the location of their children at any time.
The location will arrive by SMS within several seconds, the company said.
Students can also use the phones to report their whereabouts to their parents through SMS by pressing a button on the handset.
Parents can also set up a list on numbers their children are allowed to call or send short messages to. "Kids using Kare are entitled to the same modern communication facilities as adults, but in a much safer way with the authorization of their parents," said Jia Guoqing, the Kare program director.
He added that the company was trying to recommend the cell phone and service to schools in three local districts as pilot program. He didn't say how much the phones or service package will cost.
"It does no good and will only distract my child from study at school," said Ren Xiaomei, mother of a 10-year-old boy.
As cell phones are by no means necessary for children, it will also create some difficulties for schools, said Hu Zhengfang, the headmaster of a local primary school.
Source: eastday.com/photo: baidu.com
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Producer:Duan
Lei 
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