A smartphone for children which “gives parents the tools to promote mobile manners and prevent their kids from being addicted to tech” launched in the UK.

Called Monqi, the device is targeted at children aged 7 to 12 years old. It is controlled by the parents via an app which “prompts them to introduce screen-free time for their kids”. As well as enabling scheduled usage time, all contacts and app downloads are pre-approved by the parents, and it offers location features.

The company noted the parental controls are part of the phone’s operating system and cannot be deleted or turned off: only the parental app allows the phone to be remotely controlled.

It also offers a child-focused app catalogue called Jungle Store.

Monqi is available exclusively from retailer Carphone Warehouse, priced £149.99 SIM-free.

It features a 5-inch HD screen, 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras, 1.5GHz quadcore processor, 1GB of RAM and 8GB of storage (with expansion slot).