Verizon's first kiddie phone, the LG Migo VX1000, is designed to give parents peace of mind. The Migo (pronounced MEE-go) is a little, rounded green phone that looks a little like a bug. Two little stubby antennas stick out of the top: One is for Verizon's network and one is for forthcoming GPS services. It has five buttons—four speed dials and an "emergency" button—and a two-line text-only display. It's just the right size for a child's hand and, at 2.4 ounces, won't weigh anyone down.

The Migo is a safety device, meant to be clipped to your kid's bag so she can call you when she's staying late at soccer practice or if she gets lost in the local Mega-Lo-Mart. It doesn't handle text messages or play games—it just calls a few numbers that you preprogram into the phone (and receives calls from anyone.) Tweens won't like its lack of features, but this phone is aimed more at the 5- to 10-year-old age range, as well as people who prefer simplicity in their cell phone. And yes, it works with hearing aids.

The Migo can dial only five preprogrammed numbers and comes with three colorful wrist straps, three carabiner clips, and a bunch of anime-style stickers. Parents program in the phone's numbers using a tedious multitap process, but they have to do so only once. The phone prevents you from accidentally dialing numbers by requiring two key-presses for each call. To dial the emergency number, you must hold down the call button for several seconds. You go through the same process if you want to change any of the phone numbers you preprogram.

The phone gets decent, but not great, reception. We found that the reception meter typically overestimated the available signal, showing bars even when it couldn't connect calls. The earpiece is loud and clear, and the speakerphone is adequate for indoor use—but not, say, outdoor use on a noisy playground. Battery life was good for a Verizon phone, with more than four hours of talk time and an estimated nine days of standby. The phone comes with ten 32-chord polyphonic MIDI ringtones that sound rather like circus music, and a vibrate mode.

The Migo isn't waterproof, but it's durable enough. We bounced it on carpet, a playground's rubber surface, and hard concrete from about 4 feet without any discernable damage.

Unfortunately, the Migo isn't particularly secure. The phone's password is printed in the manual, and there's no way to restrict incoming calls. So your kid can run up her phone bill just by asking all of her friends to call her. We'd prefer more powerful, Web-based parental controls like the ones on the Enfora/Leapfrog TicTalk, as well as a prepaid option.

The Migo's main competition in the world of kiddie phones is the Firefly, on Cingular, and the TicTalk. The Firefly is almost as limited as the Migo, but isn't as cute. The Migo also beats the TicTalk on sound quality and has a much easier interface, but the TicTalk has educational games and a far better parental control system than either of the other two.

Since the Migo is for little kids, we looked at the phone's radiation emission rating as well. There's no proof that the radiation from cell phones has ever caused anyone harm, but some people just care to know. The Migo's SAR rating is 0.915 w/kg when held up to the head, considerably below the legal limit of 1.6 w/kg and also below the Firefly's level of 1.322 w/kg, but higher than the TicTalk's 0.285 w/kg. If you're really concerned about radiation, get your child a wired headset or tell her to use the speakerphone.

As a cute little communicator for kids, the Migo does a fine job. As part of a Verizon family plan, it's a good buy for folks who want to know where their little ones (or elderly parents) are at all times.

Benchmark Test Results
Continuous talk time: 4 hours 8 minutes

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