A Phone of Their Own

FOR PARENTS STAVING OFF their children's incessant pleas for a smartphone, the Tin Can phone ($100)-a deceptively sophisticated landline designed to keep kids social yet screen free-can't come soon enough.

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The first two preorders sold out thanks to steady buzz from Jonathan Haidt groupies, and it'll be December before most kids can get their hands on it. The Tin Can looks like something D.J. Tanner might have had in her bedroom (complete with a twirly cord), but it's Wi-Fi-enabled and connects to an app; parents can monitor who's called. There's an incentive to persuade friend groups to get Tin Cans (it's free to talk to anyone else who has one), and springing for a "Party Line" ($10 a month) opens the plan to outside calling-cheaper than most landlines.

But will kids actually like it? Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio's daughters, 7 and 10, got their hands on one and have been using it "mostly to talk to grandparents," says Trolio. "They're dying for more friends to get them because they love the novelty and freedom of making calls, even if they don't really know what to talk about."

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