Kids' Firefly Phone- LIDL €19.99

chasm

Ok they might not have all the apps etc kids want, but they are handy all the same.

http://www.lidl.ie/IE/home.nsf/pages/c.o.20101011.p.Kids_Firefly_Phone


* Very easy to use, designed to help you stay connected
* Stores up to 20 numbers (22 including Mum and Dad).
* Allows guardian/parent the option to limit incoming and outgoing calls
* PIN protection
* 12 ringtones

muppetkiller

Actually this would be perfect for my mum...blind as a bat and couldn't plug in a TV lol

Svetti Arss

How does this work. Would I need to purchase a sim card or sign a contract?

redsteveireland

you could get a free sim here for O2 for example
http://sim1.o2online-media.ie/
I'm sure other networks do the same

djdunny

muppetkiller wrote: »

Actually this would be perfect for my mum...blind as a bat and couldn't plug in a TV lol

just a word of warning muppetkiller, the actual screen on this is tiny. if your mum is blind as a bat then there's no way she'll be able to read the screen.

NellyMcD

djdunny wrote: »

just a word of warning muppetkiller, the actual screen on this is tiny. if your mum is blind as a bat then there's no way she'll be able to read the screen.

Agreed. Great idea, great price, but they should have designed the display bigger.

bbabyblue

Does anyone know which network the sim is in this firefly phone??
And could you change sim card in it or is it locked?
Thanks

Dcully

Would like to get one of these for my 8 year old, any definite info on compatible networks etc?

chasm

I think they are sim-free. Usually when lidl do phones they are.

thesandeman

There is a sim and 5euro credit in it though. Dont know which network but definitely not Tesco Mobile lol. Its strange that the mobile company dont get themselves a bit of cheap advertising in Lidls flyer.

PETERDGRIFFIN

The Sim with €5 credit is O2. The phone is not sim locked.

Oracle

Free Tesco Mobile SIM card: http://www.tescomobile.ie/international/index.aspx

MackQ

Anyone get this and have trouble with it?

I got one and it wouldn't switch on. Got it exchanged for another and same problem. The literature says the screen should display "CHARGING" when plugged in but the ones I got didn't although they did light up.

MackQ

Kevin!

Oracle wrote: »

Free Tesco Mobile SIM card: http://www.tescomobile.ie/international/index.aspx

Get this error when trying to avail of a free sim card -

We are sorry, but following products are either missing or are not available in the amount selected:

Product: 3G SIM Card, available amount is -3

Oracle

Kevin! wrote: »

Get this error when trying to avail of a free sim card -

Yeah, they must be out of them. Never mind you can pick one up free, when you buy a €10 Tesco Mobile top-up, at most Tescos. The SIM card costs €2.50, but when you buy a €10 Tesco Mobile top-up at the till and a SIM card, they deduct the €2.50

gollem_1975

NellyMcD wrote: »

Agreed. Great idea, great price, but they should have designed the display bigger.

it is a great price. and with no SMS there is no possibility of the user getting hooked by premium service cowboys such as Zamano.

The firefly is targeted towards the parents of children.

the kids themselves won't want to use them because they're not cool ( and will probably throw them away/lose them )

older people as you said yourself will not use them as the buttons are too small , the screen is too small and the sound quality in this phone is probably not great either.

firefly phones were launched a few years ago and they never really took off . someone else must have bought the licence/patent etc.

they will sell like hot cakes in Lidl at that price ( yes I know Lidl don't sell hot cakes )

sdanseo

Dcully wrote: »

Would like to get one of these for my 8 year old, any definite info on compatible networks etc?

Your 8-year old will hate you for life. Get a 2330 from O2 for nothing when you buy €70 credit, free phone and it'll at least not get him laughed at.

I might come across as gadgety person who just doesnt appreciate a phoen but I'm serious, kids get slagged over a lot less than having as silly a phone as this. Yeah, it's a bit safer but not enough to warrant anyone actually buying them. The danger of bullying (or worse) posed by having a mobile phone even at 8 is minute/negligible, and it's possible to disable data communication on handsets these days so that internet cannot be used; only calls or texts. These things are next to useless.

I sell mobile phones for a living, have done for a while, take my advice and steer clear. If you choose to ignore me, they take any normal SIM card from any of the major networks and from LIDL will presumably come network unlocked out of the box.

wmpdd3

MackQ wrote: »

Anyone get this and have trouble with it?

I got one and it wouldn't switch on. Got it exchanged for another and same problem. The literature says the screen should display "CHARGING" when plugged in but the ones I got didn't although they did light up.

MackQ

If the battery is not supplied with any charge in it it could take 24hrs for the unit to switch on, but there should still be some indication that the battery is charging such as a light etc.

Looks like a big saving compared to:

https://store.meteor.ie/phones/firefly_firefly_blue/?gclid=CPTFmJ2BzqQCFQz-2AodMG2ZFQ#what-you-get-tab

http://www.fireflymobile.ie/original-firefly.aspx

http://www.o2online.ie/wps/wcm/connect/O2/Home/Shop/Phones/Firefly+for+kids/

biebiebie

sdonn wrote: »

Your 8-year old will hate you for life. Get a 2330 from O2 for nothing when you buy €70 credit, free phone and it'll at least not get him laughed at!

That's exactly what I believe would happen too. Good idea, but it'll attract the wrong type of attention as it can do diddly squat. It's just too "uncool". I wouldn't let my kids "suffer" it anyhow. A cheap Nokia with FM Radio would be a safer bet. IMHO of course

Oracle

Looks like the free Tesco Mobile SIM cards are back in stock : http://www.tescomobile.ie/international/index.aspx

P.S. About the coolness or otherwise of the Firefly, I always thought these were for younger kids, say 4-8 year olds. Purely as a sort of emergency thing. It looks babyish to me. I think it'd be too babyish for 9+ years.

f115

My wife picked up one of these yesterday for our daughter and we are having the same problem we left it charging overnight and it still won't turn on