The World's First Smartphone for Pets Lets Your Dog Call You
A company called uCloudLink just launched the PetPhone. It's a wearable device that lets pets call their owners. And owners can call their pets back.
The device costs $90 plus a monthly data plan running around $10. It’s available in pink and green and weighs 37 grams. It works for pets over roughly 8 pounds. Battery lasts five days per charge with an IP67 rating against moisture and dirt.
The front has a small speaker and a light that illuminates when someone's calling. Owners can manually turn on the light to locate their pet in the dark. The device can also generate audio to help find pets.
How Pets Make Calls
Humans can call their pets anytime through the PetPhone companion app. But what if the pet wants to call the owner?
Dogs need to jump up and down three times in a row within six seconds. That initiates the call. So owners will need to train their dogs to perform this specific action.
Cats have it easier. They just need to jump from the floor onto a surface roughly three feet or taller. That triggers a call to their owner.
Owners can also set up the PetPhone to play their pet's favorite music remotely. Assuming your pet has “favorite” music.
Tracking and Monitoring Features
The PetPhone offers global real-time location tracking using GPS, WiFi, and cellular. Owners can set up geofenced locations and receive notifications if their pet leaves the designated area.
The device also monitors activity. It logs how much time pets spend moving around, whether walking, playing, or roaming. It even tracks calories burned and distance covered.
The PetPhone monitors daily movement for the first six weeks to establish a baseline of routine and activity levels. If sudden drops in exercise get detected, owners receive an alert.
Community Features
There's a community aspect that allows pets to befriend other PetPhone-wearing cats and dogs. With permission from both owners, of course.
Befriending unlocks two-way communication from dog-to-dog or cat-to-cat. It also sends alerts when friends are nearby. This feature is still in development and not yet available to the public.
PetCam Coming Soon
UCloudLink also sells the PetCam, a wearable or mountable action camera and activity monitor. Users can pair their PetPhone and PetCam together for complete audio and video communication with their pets.
The PetCam isn't available yet but should launch in late March or April. Expect the cost to be around the same as the PetPhone or slightly higher.
The Reality
A smartphone for pets exists now. Dogs can call their owners by jumping three times. Cats can call by jumping onto elevated surfaces. Owners can call back through an app.
The device tracks location, monitors activity, and will eventually let pets video chat with each other. All for $90 plus a monthly data plan.
Whether pets actually want to call their owners or if this solves a problem that doesn't exist remains to be seen. Training a dog to jump three times in six seconds to trigger a phone call sounds like a lot of work. And do cats really want to call anyone?
But the technology exists. Pet owners who travel frequently or work long hours can now receive calls from their dogs and cats. They can call back to check in. They can track location and activity. They can play music remotely for their pets.
The PetPhone launches now for $90. The PetCam follows in March or April for around the same price or slightly higher. Whether enough pet owners will pay $90 plus monthly data fees to talk to their pets will determine if this product succeeds or becomes another weird tech experiment that fades away.
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