Tablets and Smartphones for kids- the new trend?
Kid-safe tablets and smartphones are hitting the market, giving parents more control over how the mobile devices are used.
LAS VEGAS, January 8, 2014 (AFP) -
Hollywood studio DreamWorks has introduced its DreamTab at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, USA. They have made this tablet along with another company called Fuhu.
The new device will be up against competition -- many companies are now launching kid-safe tablets and smartphones. Among others present at the World's largest electronics show was French-based Kurio, which has its own tablets on display at the huge Las Vegas show, and is also introducing a kid-safe smartphone.
Fuhu already makes a tablet designed for kids called Nabi, but will expand its footprint with DreamWorks, teaming up with the animators behind films like Shrek, Kung Fu Panda and How to Train Your Dragon.
The tablet will include programs to teach kids how to draw their favorite characters.
It will comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA), a US law that limits how much data can be collected from young children.
DreamTab will be sold later this year in eight- and 12-inch versions, running the Android operating system with Fuhu's modifications.
Tablet owners will have a kid-friendly App Zone that allows parents and children to buy apps, games, music, movies, videos, e-books and other goods.
Like the DreamTab, Kurio's seven- and 10-inch tablets allow for parental filtering, and parents can set preset limits for the device or various applications.
"You can choose any of the apps and restrict them," said Kurio spokesman Eric Levin. "So you can decide your child can't use Facebook after 9 pm."
Kurio is also launching a smartphone based on the same technology, which will include "geo-fencing" to allow parents to know when the child leaves a designated area.
"You have younger and younger kids getting smartphones, and this allows parents to have some control," Levin said.
The phone is being sold unlocked in the US market, for $100.
