Demand for more cautious communication is growing. And it is driving constant innovation in the world of mobile communication device technology.
In this article, we are excited to introduce you to the Gabb Wireless Suite, a suite of devices aimed at children and teens. Rather than being controlled by technology, these devices promise to provide families and individual users with the ability to control their devices.
We will summarize and review Gabb’s lineup and offer what we feel are some pros and cons of utilizing their products and services.
As always, we want our readers to be empowered to make choices that help them think well, retain focus, and unplug.
(One side note: We believe that very few children in the youngest age category would need a phone, but since many parents buy phones for very young children, the presence of a safe phone in this category is valuable.)
About Gabb Wireless, Inc.
Gabb’s mission as stated on their website is to protect children, connect families, and empower parents, so that we can all “live beyond the screen” (with less screen time).[i]
The underlying idea is that most of us want to connect as families without allowing our children to connect freely with the outside world. To achieve this, Gabb offers three uniquely designed devices targeting different age groups, and sell their own wireless plans through the Verizon network.
They also offer various upgrade services and accessories to enhance and complement each device.
Three Devices for Children and Teens
Gabb’s device menu consists of a watch-phone aimed at ages 5-12, a somewhat “smart” phone for ages 9-13, and a significantly “smarter” phone for ages 14-18. Full details about each device are available on their beautiful website so we won’t cover everything here, except to introduce them and share what we like or dislike about each one.
Gabb Watch 3
Gabb Watch 3. Source: Gabb
The trademarked Gabb Watch 3 tagline is “The safe phone kids wear.”[ii] It is billed as a wearable phone which makes keeping track of kids and staying in touch with them easier. There is no camera, social media, dangerous apps, or internet browser, and the features of the device are limited to calling, texting, tracking, and a little bit of playing.
Calling
Gabb Wireless uses the Verizon network which some believe has the best overall coverage. No separate phone is required as is the case with Apple Watch, for example. The plan includes unlimited talk and parents are in control of the contact list via the MyGabb app. An SOS button is provided which calls the child’s SOS contact. The phone will not call 911 emergency services. Through the MyGabb app, parents can “remotely enable Quiet Times, which mutes the watch and locks all applications, calls, and messages.”
Texting
Texting on the watch is very flexible and feature-rich with speech-to-text built in so the user can dictate, use audio messaging, and employ a range of keyboard options including a 9-key keypad if desired, regular alphabet and numbers, emojis, and more.
Tracking
Built-in GPS tracking allows parents to track their child using the MyGabb app. It also allows the designation of Safe Zones and will alert parents if the child travels outside of them.
Source: Gabb
Playing
The watch does come with a few limited apps such as Gabb Go which allows the user to care for a virtual pet, earning coins which unlock more pet care features. Gabb Move tracks fitness activity like steps, and can record activities like walking, biking, or dancing. The Mimic by Gabb app is a memory game that allows the user to test their memory by pushing buttons to repeat patterns much like the famous Simon® game popular in the 1980s.
Price and Other features
The price for Gabb Watch 3e at the time of publishing this article is $149.99 + a cellular plan. (A current holiday special offers the watch at 50% off with purchase of a Gabb plan). Plans are $17.99 per month with no contract, $14.99 per month with a 1-year contract, and $12.99 per month with a 2-year contract.
The watch runs on Gabb OS for watches. The device itself is advertised as having “playground ready” durability with Gorilla® Glass 3, dust protection, and water resistance rated to IP68. It features wireless charging, and is Wifi & Bluetooth compatible which means headphones and speakers can be used. Built-in software tools include a calculator, alarm, timer, and stopwatch. A recent free system update turns the Gabb Watch 3 into a 3e which offers improvements to GPS tracking, battery life, and the user interface.
Pros and Cons
As with any device, there are sure to be strengths and weaknesses, and these are admittedly quite subjective in nature as some prefer certain features over others. In our review of this product, we found a lot to like and a few things we wish were different.
Pros
One of our favorite things about the watch is the form factor. For a child in this age group, an “attached” product like this is more practical than a more fragile, unattached device. Most parents will testify that younger children can tend to lose things, and expensive electronics are no exception.
Another thing we really appreciate is contact control. With parent-approved contacts, not only can they not call someone that’s not approved, but unapproved parties cannot call them either. This is a welcome feature as children in this age group are not equipped to deal with modern scammers and the like.
Finally, who can question the value of parental GPS tracking capability? Without this feature, this device would be interesting but way less valuable, in our opinion.
Cons
One thing we wish was different was the ability to use wired headphones. The lack of a 3.5mm jack means bluetooth headphones are the only option, and many parents are understandably concerned about potential unknown side effects of using RF transmitters so close to the brain. Nevertheless, we understand a small form factor like this can’t provide all the ports and connections larger phone can. And headphone jacks are inherently hard to protect against water intrusion.
Another thing we could wish for is the ability to call 911 in case the SOS contact can’t be reached. We think we understand why this feature is missing for a device targeted at this age level. But perhaps it could be included and made a little more complicated to prevent unwanted dialing.
Finally, it doesn’t come with its own charger, only the cable. But most users are going to have one of these already, so this is certainly not a deal breaker.
Gabb Phone 4
Gabb Phone 4 claims to be “The perfect first phone for kids,” is billed as “kid-safe by design,” thus not needing “complicated parental controls.” It has no social media or internet access, but does have smart message filtration, and GPS tracking. “It’s the phone that keeps your kids connected, not addicted.” The comparison page says, “It is a phone with only the essential apps kids need and nothing they don’t. It has no app store access.”
Gabb Phone 4. Source: Gabb
Gabb Phone 4 is a regular smartphone form factor device with a 6.1-inch display made of durable Corning Gorilla® Glass Victus 2. This device includes a camera, front and back, a 3.5mm headphone jack, USB C charging and has 3GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. It also includes a fingerprint sensor for security. As with the other devices, there is no internet browser or social media apps.
While the phone is pre-configured for child safety, thus requiring no additional parental controls, it does come pre-loaded with some essential, basic apps, and offers seven optional apps that parents can enable or disable. The essential apps are the filtered Gab Messenger, Phone, Camera app, Sound Recorder, Photos app, Calculator, Clock, Weather, Calendar, Notes, Contacts, and Voicemail. The seven optional apps include Chabad.org Daily Torah Study, Bible App by Olive Tree, Quran, Gospel Library (LDS), Chess by Gabb, Sora, and Gabb Maps.
Gabb Phone 4 also comes with the user’s choice of 3 different wireless plans: Starter, Standard, or Advanced. The Starter plan is limited to the basic apps with unlimited talk and text, using only essential apps. The Standard plan includes enhanced texting (with groups and images available), and Gabb Music, a streaming, radio-style music service that boasts a curated, child-safe (meaning non-explicit) library of songs.
The Advanced plan includes Gabb Music+ which is the Gabb Music app plus the ability to search for songs and create a personal music library. It also includes mobile data. Parents can also choose to install the Gabb Guard app which prevents scammers and spammers from calling or texting, and the Gabb Cloud app to automatically back up the phone.
Price and other Features
At the time of publishing, the price of the Gabb Phone 4 is $149.99 + the user’s choice of wireless plan. (A current holiday special offers a free phone with purchase of a Gabb plan, even the no-contract option). The Starter plan is $24.99 per month, Standard is $29.99, and Advanced is $34.99. Discounts are available when you choose a 1- or 2-year contract, but it is not required. An optional Gabb Warranty is also available for $4.99 per month which protects the device from drops and spills. As with the other Gabb devices, many typical phone accessories are available for purchase as well.
Parents can also choose to enable Safe Video Calling on this phone. Similar to FaceTime® by Apple, users can video call while being protected by a built-in nudity detection and blocking system.
Pros and Cons
We were glad to see a 3.5mm headphones jack on this device so users can avoid Bluetooth headphone RF radiation if they want to. However, this may be partly why this device is unfortunately not specified as being water resistant, which would naturally be a welcome feature on a phone aimed at young people.
We also noticed that the Gabb Music app, while offering technically non-explicit music streaming, still apparently includes music from popular artists who promote adult themes and questionable subject matter in their music. Parents beware before trusting this media source. There are plenty of artists whose songs have already been made technically radio-friendly while still containing objectionable lyrics or subject matter.
Finally, we feel the price is right for the phone and plans. Parents will spend way less overall on this device with a Gabb plan than they would on one of the most popular full-featured phones.
Gabb Phone 4 Pro
The Gabb Phone 4 Pro tagline is “The safe phone built for teens.” It is an upgraded, premium phone from a hardware perspective, and also adds parental controls that allows parents to give teens “the freedom you feel they’re ready for.”
Gabb Phone 4 Pro. Source: Gabb
As Gabb’s premium offering, this phone is upgraded in every way. The camera is 50MP front/13MP selfie vs. 13MP/5MP for the regular phone It’s a little larger overall and has a 6.5” Super AMOLED display (vs. 6.1”), and 128GB of storage (vs. the regular phone’s 32GB).[iii] Like the Gabb Phone 4, it has no social media apps or internet browsers available, and includes all the same apps and features.
The main difference with this phone is the addition of the parent-enabled third-party App store[iv] which allows parents to make hundreds of third-party apps available at their discretion. These apps are Gabb-reviewed and are constantly being added to and updated. Parents can even request additional apps, and Gabb will review them for possible inclusion.
Price and Other Features
At the time of publishing, the price of the Gabb Phone 4 Pro is $199.99 + the user’s choice of wireless plan. (A current holiday special offers a 50% discount with purchase of a Gabb plan, even the no-contract option). The wireless plan options are the same as the regular phone. However, the Advanced plan includes the parent-controlled app store when purchasing the Gabb Phone 4 Pro. As with the regular phone, discounts are available when you choose a 1- or 2-year contract, and the warranty and accessories are available as well (same price).
Pros and Cons
The same Pros and Cons as Gabb Phone 4 apply here: there is a headphone jack but no water resistance, the Music app may not be quite as child-friendly as advertised depending on your family’s standards in this area, and the price is right, especially when using one of the many additional discounts that are frequently available.
Beyond this, the main user complaints that are showing up online tend to center around app availability. The takeaway here is that if there is a certain app, or specific apps you want your teens to be able to install on this phone, check ahead of time for availability or if there is potential for it to be added. It seems clear that social media apps and internet browsers will never be considered for inclusion in the app store, so if that’s what you are looking for, this isn’t the phone for you.
Conclusion
The Gabb lineup and ecosystem appears to us to offer the function and connectivity many families are looking for, without too many added distractions. The attractive pricing also makes this a more sensible solution than starting with full function, full price devices and then limiting them some other way, in our opinion. We recommend choosing the Advanced plan and getting the warranty to get the most of this system.
It’s Your Turn!
Share YOUR comments and thoughts on the tech products that you have found helpful in the Comment section below!
And check out more Helpful Tech blog posts for living your Ideal Digital Life today!
An Exploration of the Ghost Phone Pro
3 Pros and 3 Cons of The Light Phone III
Smart vs. Wise – A Preview of the Wisephone II From Techless
[i] See https://gabb.com/our-mission/.
[ii] See https://gabb.com/gabb-watch/.
[iii] Some have noted that the Samsung logo is visible on the phone in marketing materials and that it appears to possibly be a Galaxy A14.
[iv] Requires a subscription to the Advanced wireless plan.
