The RADAR system is designed to let parents keep an eye on their kids’ cellphone activity. You start by installing their software on the phone (it supports most of the major platforms  and more are on the way) and signing up for an account on the website www.mymobilewatchdog.com. Once you’ve done that, the phone sends a copy of every text or photo sent and received to your (i.e. the parent’s) cell, plus you get a record of phone calls made and received.

The system as demonstrated seemed to work pretty well and the website gives you lots of options to whitelist/blacklist contacts so you don’t get bothered every time the child contacts a known/trusted friend.

To assuage privacy fears the software puts a screensaver up every 24 hours that has to be acknowledged, to let the user know that their phone is being monitored ("Protected by RADAR").

I’m in two minds about this one. The system seems reasonably priced at $9.95/month and does what it says on the tin, but I think it’s a sad world that considers it necessary.