Firefly flyPhone

Unlike the popular Firefly glowPhone, the flyPhone, aimed at a slightly older crowd, is routinely panned by professional reviewers for its poor call quality and mediocre camera. While professional reviewers and users admit the phone does have some cool features, many recommend going with Kajeet, which uses adult phones from Sprint, such as the Sanyo Katana II (Discontinued). Another option is to purchase a simple cell phone, such as the Pantech Breeze (Discontinued) (AT&T), and make use of the carrier's parental controls. The flyPhone is an unlocked phone that will work with not just Firefly Mobile but also with AT&T or T-Mobile. (You'll have to purchase a SIM card from them directly.) Like the glowPhone, it has built-in parental controls.

The Firefly flyPhone differs from the glowPhone in that it has a 1.4-inch color screen (128 pixels by 128 pixels), built-in camera, music player and video player. It also comes bundled with games and ringtones and has two-way texting capability. (The glowPhone can only receive text messages.) CNET finds the camera to be "dismal," the music player "serviceable" and the video player impractical, especially considering the phone's small screen. User reviews report problems with texting and complain about poor customer service.

One of the flyPhone's cooler features is a "morphing" keyboard, which uses backlighting to switch between numbered keys for calls and directional arrows and an "OK" button for navigating the menu system. However, reviewers find the keypad hard to see in daylight -- harder to read even than the LCD. CNET's German finds the screen's graphics to be sharp and appreciates that you can adjust the backlighting time and the brightness. PCMag.com's Segan notes that because this is an unlocked device, it has some unique features. It comes bundled with FlyKicks software, and with it, you can create customized ringtones, upload contacts and optimize video for the phone.