Carphone Warehouse launches locating service
Carphone Warehouse mapAmobile locating service
to give parents peace of mind
1 July 2003
All parents worry, often needlessly, about their
kids as they grow up and become more independent. Now, peace of
mind can be achieved with an innovative new mobile phone service,
which allows mums and dads to locate their kids literally at the
touch of a button.
The Carphone Warehouse today launches mapAmobile,
a service that locates mobile phones to give parents details of
their child’s whereabouts at their request, within seconds
and without bothering the child. With mobile phone usage reaching
epic proportions, especially amongst teenagers, the service is
sure to be welcomed by parents.
The application has wider appeal too, not just between
friends and partners, but in the business arena, where it is a
more affordable option than GPS-based systems. For example, being
so discreet it can benefit everyone from the PA trying to keep
track of her high-flying executive to fleet management companies
wanting to keep track of drivers.
mapAmobile uses mobile base stations to determine
the location of a pre-selected mobile phone, and then gives the
seeker its whereabouts in seconds. As well as receiving text messages,
parents can log on to the internet and see a map of the vicinity
their child is in, or even make a quick call to a dedicated call
centre from either a landline or mobile phone.
The mapAmobile service, which is provided to The
Carphone Warehouse by software and solutions provider MI International,
is designed with security and privacy in mind. Customers’
details are verified before they receive a personal security code,
password and identification number.
The owner of the handset to be located will receive
a text message asking for their consent before the service commences
and regular text reminders that they can be located, ensuring
total awareness by all parties.
The service is available 24 hours a day on Vodafone,
Orange and O2. It doesn’t require any extra mobile phone
kit, and can even be used from abroad to locate a mobile phone
in the UK, without actually disturbing its user.
Andrew Harrison, The Carphone Warehouse’s
UK Chief Executive, said:
“We are responding to a real consumer need and bringing
to market a reliable, affordable, and effective way for people
to locate each other without disturbing them. It’s perfect
for parents in particular because we know that the mobile phone
is a life accessory that people are buying into at an increasingly
early age, and parents can use them to stay in touch with their
kids.”
MapAmobile is available exclusively from The
Carphone Warehouse. It can be purchased from, from the Carphone
Warehouse website or at their shops in the UK or at mapAmobile.
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