The Wherifone is the world's first GSM/GPS phone designed for children and seniors, and gives on-the-go parents the peace of mind of being able to quickly locate and communicate with their young children and elderly relatives at any time from anywhere, while also controlling who they can call and how much it will cost.

"Wherify delivers a competitively priced family locator service with no confusing rate plans, no hidden costs, an easy-to-use, age-appropriate GPS cell phone, and anytime, anywhere calling and location tracking that gives families a straight forward communications and safety service. We will achieve all of this without forcing people to switch from their current mobile service carriers and plans," said Timothy Neher, CEO and Founder of Wherify Wireless.

"It's ideal for families looking for extra security as their children become more mobile and wanting to empower their kids to start to exploring the world in a safer way than before, and for seniors who wish to maintain their independence and lifestyle while staying in touch with their families and their health providers."

The Wherifone GPS Locator Phone will retail for $99.95, and fixed-usage Wherify Family Locator Service plans that include both voice and location services start at just $19.95 per month. The competitively priced, all-inclusive service plans are straightforward and easy to understand, and there are no hidden costs for additional required services, so parents always know exactly what to expect.

A Rate Protection Plan is also available to help save money when actual usage exceeds the current service plan's limit. Under the Rate Protection Plan, when a subscriber goes over their basic monthly limit their plan automatically adjusts itself to the most cost-effective service plan rather than blindly racking up overage charges. Their service plan then automatically resets back to the basic plan at the beginning of each month.

Call, Find, and Get Peace of Mind with the Wherifone

Whether used as a "first phone" for pre-teens (ages 8 to 11) or as a "companion phone" for seniors or special-needs family members, the Wherifone locator phone combines GSM voice technology with industry-leading SiRFStarIII GPS technology and Wherify's own Aided-GPS solution to provide quality voice communications and superior location accuracy even under difficult conditions, including inside many types of buildings, in vehicles, under foliage and in most urban canyons.

The 24-by-7 Wherify location service lets parents quickly locate their family members on maps or aerial photographs using a web browser, as well as allowing them to locate a Wherifone through text messaging from their existing cell phone service or by calling the Wherify service center.

"We congratulate Wherify on the launch of their exciting new Wherifone GPS phone and family locator service, and look forward to continuing our working relationship with them to help develop innovative new location-based service platforms in the future," said Kanwar Chadha, founder and vice president of marketing for SiRF.

"SiRF is committed to bringing the power of location to a broad spectrum of mainstream consumer applications, and to working with partners like Wherify to make this happen."

Parents Are in Control With the Wherifone

"Our research tells us that most parents don't want their young children to have a fully featured cell phone at their disposal, yet parents are also looking for extra peace of mind and easy connectivity to call or locate their children and know they are safe," said Neher.

"They don't want the surprise of a huge phone bill from downloading ringtones or accessing the Internet, and they want to be able to control who their young children can call. Couple these needs with a parent's desire to know where their children are, and you have the design objectives of the Wherifone service."

Three of the buttons on the front of the Wherifone can be programmed by parents to store the phone number of a close family member or friend for quick, one-touch dialing. Alternatively, one of these buttons can be programmed to send the child's location when pressed.

A fourth button provides access to a 20-number phone book, programmable only by parents, to store other commonly called numbers. A fifth button calls 9-1-1. All of the programmable buttons can be changed at any time by the parents through a secure website. A parent just fills out a simple web form, and an SMS message is sent to the Wherifone to program the buttons and the phonebook.

Great for Kids

The light, compact design of the Wherifone GPS Locator Phone -- weighs about 2.5 ounces and is about the size of a business card -- is a perfect fit for kids and comes in a variety of colors. Kids can feel safer knowing their parents are just one button away, and they can also access any of the up to 20 phone numbers their parents have stored in the phone book, so kids always have the numbers they need handy.

Parents can also schedule periodic GPS location checks to provide continuous updates on a child's route. When programmed by a parent, one of the buttons can provide one-touch "here I am" location notification, making it easy for children to quickly notify their parents when they arrive at an expected destination, for example. An icon-driven menu system and headset jack round out the Wherifone's features.

Great for Seniors

The Wherifone GPS Locator Phone makes an ideal companion phone for seniors on the go or with special needs. With simple one-touch dialing through the programmable one-touch buttons and phone book, seniors can easily stay in touch with friends and family while having the ability to call for help at the push of a button.

Not only can seniors use the Wherifone themselves to summon aid right to their location, but loved ones and care givers can contact the Wherify Global Location Service Center, or use the secure Wherify web site, to identify the senior's location at any time of day or night.

Great for Small Business

While designed primarily for children and seniors, the Wherifone also makes a perfect mobile "work phone" for small businesses. They can use the Wherifone to manage and communicate with mobile workers, to manage the location of small fleets of trucks or delivery vehicles and to coordinate dispatch destinations with drivers.

The Wherifone helps small business owners manage communications expenses by controlling callable numbers. The absence of a traditional dial pad prevents workers from using the Wherifone for personal calls and incurring unauthorized expenses, while the programmable, one-touch dialing buttons and phone book ensure workers can easily call who they need to.

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