Mis-titled: correct summary is I got ripped off by a combination of an App that was deceptive about in game currency and forgot to turn off in-App purchasing (in fact still seem to have not done that).
And/or don't buy your kid a $300 phone with a $100/month plan. Maybe this just shows how 'old' I am at 27, but I didn't have a cellphone as a kid. In fact I didn't have one until I was 19 and was paying for it myself. My parents didn't have them, and they thought I was crazy for paying $35/month for a Sprint plan.
But I did accumulate a set of 'hidden fees' when I was younger to my parent's phone bill. I was within the monthly limit for our dialup provider, but we were using a 'local long distance' number to dialup, which we were unaware of. Large phone bill that month ensued and it wasn't a fun conversation then either.
The phone is $200. Adding an extra line to a FamilyTalk plan is $9.99/month along with a $15/month data plan, bringing the monthly total to $24.99/month. I'm not sure where you're getting your numbers, but they are grossly exaggerated. Furthermore, the article doesn't say anywhere that the author bought his step-child an iPhone.
True, it could be a touch or iPad. I'll give you that.
I remember looking at the plans when I first got my iPhone and there were no company or family discounts at all. They must have changed that. My bill hits around $100/month for my 3GS.
I don't think it matters if you didn't have a cell phone as a kid, anyways. In the past, kids didn't have access to malaria vaccines. Does this mean kids aren't better off now that they have it?
I feel that using these stories to conclude that we shouldn't let kids have access to valuable equipment to be counterproductive. I would say it's much better to reason with them (as the author seems to have done).
My father bought me a computer when I was really young and told me to play with it all I wanted. He also told me not worry if I broke it as long as I was not being reckless. Thanks to that, I am now a graduate student in Computer Science.
Since we got a whole board full of developers, the question is how do you build this kind of app without getting yourself in trouble with consumers (and I guess eventually after a lot of credit card reversals: Apple)? Or do you just do ads or charge for the initial app?
On a side note, I wish apple would allow the option of greater locking down of app deletions. My 16 month old daughter has a few apps on my phone she loves playing, but she also often accidentally deletes some of my apps.
