Sprint to bring parental locks to Android phones to prevent use while driving 

In honor of next month’s spotlight on distracted driving awareness, Sprint CEO Dan Hesse announced to attendees at CTIA, that it will offer Sprint® Drive FirstTM later this year – the wireless carrier’s first safe-driving solution to help wireless consumers safely manage their mobile devices and focus on driving while they’re behind the wheel.

Created by Location Labs, Drive First will be available in the third quarter of 2011 on AndroidTM mobile phones for Sprint customers and will require a $2-per-month charge (excluding surcharges and taxes) for each device that utilizes its features.

The solution is designed to do the following when driving is detected:



* Lock the driver’s cell phone screen and redirect calls to voice mail.
* Block text-message alerts and auto-respond to the message sender that the driver is currently unavailable.
* Allow access to three key contacts and three mobile applications, such as GPS navigation.
* Give parents and business administrators Web portal access to configure Drive First for their teens’ or employees’ mobile devices.