Children -- Engadget

children posts

Uruguay becomes first nation to provide a laptop for every primary school student

by Darren Murph posted Oct 18th 2009 at 12:29PM

Uruguay's been a huge fan of the One Laptop Per Child initiative for quite some time, and while we're still unsure if it's the entity's biggest customer, the aforesaid nation is certainly doing some serious business with Nicholas Negroponte and Company. After the first swath of youngsters received their green and white XOs back in May of 2007, the final smattering of kids have now joined the proud group of laptop-toting tots in the country's circuit of primary schools. You heard right -- every last pupil in Uruguay's primary school system now has a laptop and a growing love for Linux, and we're told that the whole thing cost the country less than five percent of its entire education budget. So, who's next?

[Via Digg, image courtesy of oso]

Dell's Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition oozing out now for $329

by Darren Murph posted Oct 2nd 2009 at 9:08AM

If you've ever had a yearning for a slime covered netbook, today's your lucky day. Dell's Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition -- which is absolutely SpongeBob-approved -- is now up for order starting at $329. As for specs, it's pretty much a standard Mini 10v underneath, with a 10.1-inch (1,024 x 600 resolution) display, Windows XP Home, 1GB of DDR2 RAM, a GMA950 graphics set, WiFi, 3-cell battery, 1.3 megapixel webcam and a totally played 1.6GHz Atom processor. Oh, and a slimed lid and palm rest, which are likely the one two aspects that truly matter here.

[Thanks, Simon]

Dell's slime-covered Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition primed for kids, nostalgic adults

by Ross Miller posted Aug 11th 2009 at 6:58PM

Because Disney and ASUS can't have all the fun -- sharing is caring, you know -- Dell and Nickelodeon have teamed up to make some kid-catering netbooks of their own. While exact specs aren't confirmed, the Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition is said to be based on Mini 10v, so following in the footsteps of virtually every other netbook on the market, it's more than likely got the Intel Atom N270 processor, 1GB RAM, and a 1.3 megapixel webcam. Software-wise, this baby's chockfull of parental control (courtesy of a 15 month trial version of McAfee), security, and educational applications to keep your loved ones on the right track in life -- along with exclusive early access to certain Nickelodeon episodes before they air. The slime motif is actually pretty nice and tame, but if you're wanting something more gaudy, designs based around SpongeBob SquarePants and iCarly are also in the works and sure to fit that bill. Look for this one to set up shop on Dell's website and in-store at Walmart sometime in October -- price is unknown, but we can't imagine it'll stray too far from the Mini 10v's $300 tag. Full press release after the break.

Gallery: Dell's slime-covered Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition primed for kids, nostalgic adults

Gallery: Dell Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition hands-on

Continue reading Dell's slime-covered Inspiron Mini Nickelodeon Edition primed for kids, nostalgic adults

HANNSpree debuts line of plush TVs for tasteless tots

by Joseph L. Flatley posted Jul 17th 2009 at 7:33AM

We all know how much children hate television, so sometimes it's necessary to be a little sneaky, especially when looking to give them their minimum daily requirement of the "Fair & Balanced" -- that's why we're lucky that HANNSpree is on the case. The company, known for it's particularly uglified and just plain bizarre display devices is debuting a line of plush animals (including an elephant, giraffe, panda, and polar bear) with televisions embedded in their sides -- just the thing for concerned parents who need to trick their kids into watching. With any luck, Junior will soon be rattling off the nine principles with the ease that you once let the names of the four Monkees roll off the tongue. Pretty sweet, right? It's time for you to get back to The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care -- but not before eyeballing that gallery below.

Gallery: HANNSpree debuts line of plush toy TVs for tasteless tots

LeapFrog Scribble & Write, Chat & Count hands-on

by Laura June posted Jun 10th 2009 at 6:19PM

LeapFrog's Text and Learn QWERTY BlackBerry-styled educational toy for the little ones left such an impression on us that we went back to check out its latest offerings. Two things caught our eye -- up first, the Scribble and Write, which is a Text and Learn-style device applied to writing skills. Designed for children about the age of three, it teaches basic letter-writing skills, making use of a roughly 3-inch LCD and attached "pen" to trace over the letters. This one is actually available now, and runs $21.99. The second item we checked out is called the Chat & Count -- and it looks incredibly similar to a candybar style mobile phone. The one we checked out was actually a prototype, and not the final product, but it's aimed at children starting at 18 months old, and teaches basic phone skills (believe us, the kids need those), numbers and counting. It's also got plenty of ringtones and custom noises built in, which start out super cute but would likely be... grating over time. The Chat & Count will be hitting shelves sometime around December of this year, and will run you $14.99. Both of these products join Leapfrog's Learning Path offerings (which also includes products like the Tag Junior we've previously seen).

Gallery: LeapFrog hands-on

Snoozy the Sloth is a breathing, napping toy after our own hearts

by Laura June posted May 20th 2009 at 12:45PM

You know what would have been awesome to have as a toy when we were growing up? Not a baby to swaddle and feed, or a Barbie doll to dress up and imagine careers for, or a fake pet to worry about neglecting. No, we'd have preferred Snoozy the Sloth, who merely breathes and take naps with you when you cuddle him. The sloth's epic simplicity -- a plush toy with Arduino guts and a 2 DC motor diaphragm to pump the air in his "lungs" -- makes him a perfect companion for our downtime. Created by Justin Blinder for a toy-making class at Parsons The New School for Design, Snoozy is merely a prototype, but we really hope the toy industry is watching: they could learn a lot, in our sleepy, sleepy opinion. There's a video of him napping after the break (and hit the read link for a shorter one of his innards). Yawn.

[Via Gizmodo, thanks, Jesse]

Continue reading Snoozy the Sloth is a breathing, napping toy after our own hearts

The terrifying Probo in pictures and video

by Joshua Topolsky posted Apr 23rd 2009 at 1:22AM

Have you ever dreamed that you stared into the ineffable face of the abyss... and the abyss stared back? Well dream no more, friends, and witness the gallery of photos and video below of Probo, the Belgian, Bill Gates-backed, huggable, robotic Alf wannabe. We saw a bit of the little guy earlier today, but now we've found a treasure-trove of media and wanted to share. One thing that's been bugging us: he's supposed to help kids who've been through traumatic experiences, and, you know... cheer people up -- but doesn't this bot look profoundly unhappy? Take a peek and judge for yourself.

Gallery: The terrifying Probo in pictures and video

Gallery: Probo expressions

Continue reading The terrifying Probo in pictures and video

Yuruppy virtual pet ready to make you feel guilty for not taking good enough care of it

by Laura June posted Mar 6th 2009 at 9:07AM

Takara Tomy's taking the virtual pet territory most famously inhabited by Bandai's Tamgotchis to the next level with Yuruppy. Yuruppy's just like any other fake pet -- you need to slave away to keep it alive for seemingly little reward other than the knowledge that it will "live" to "see" another day. This one's got a touchscreen however, so that you can actually pet your needy little buddy, on top of training and feeding. Fun! Sure, it seems insane to pile fake responsibilities on top of all the actual ones we humans have to deal with... insanely awesome. Regardless, the Yuruppy also comes in kitten and chicken varieties (yeah, we don't know), and it'll be $21 when it's available in Asia, and a deluxe version with a larger screen will run $38.

[Via CNET]

Jakks Pacific unveils EyeClops mini projector for the little ones

by Laura June posted Feb 11th 2009 at 6:05PM

We see a ton of tiny little projectors these days around here. This one, by toymaker Jakks Pacific, is still pretty eye-catching, anyway. Expected to be on hand next week at the Toy Industry Association's annual International Toy Fair in New York, the EyeClops is obviously designed with children in mind, with a build similar to adult picos. We don't have full specs on this one yet, but it's capable of projecting a 70-inch images via its LED, and can be hooked up to all your child's favorite gadgets -- DVD players, digital cameras, and gaming consoles. The real kicker here is that the EyeClops is expected to sell for under $100 -- much less than most projectors for oldies.

[Via About Projectors]

ITOI children's interactive toilet concept is terrifying

by Nilay Patel posted Feb 5th 2009 at 4:42PM

We're not so sure you should be teaching your children to shake hands afterwards.

[Thanks, Adam]

Nine-year old writes iPhone app, hates vegetables

by Laura June posted Feb 5th 2009 at 11:01AM

We've seen plenty of remarkable kids -- the world is just bursting with them -- and Lim Ding Wen, a nine-year-old from Singapore is no exception. Like his father, Wen enjoys writing iPhone apps in his spare time. His application, called Doodle Kids, is a drawing application for children that he wrote for his two younger sisters, who enjoy drawing, and it's already been downloaded over 4,000 times (we just checked in the App Store and it does indeed appear to be quite popular) since its release on February 1st. Wen, who is fluent in six programming languages and enjoys reading books about -- you guessed it -- computer programming, is already hard at work on his next app, a game called "Invader Wars." We can't wait to see that one!

LeapFrog announces educational, interactive Zippity

by Laura June posted Feb 3rd 2009 at 11:47PM

LeapFrog's just announced a new educational toy that's designed to get your wee one moving in front of the television. The Zippity (not to be confused with the Grippity) is for pre-school-aged (three to five years old) kiddies, with an interactive mat that incorporates running, jumping and dancing, plus a huge joystick for leaning (and learning left, right, back and front). The system's got 8 different on-board features which help children learn math, problem-solving, music and phonics. Designed with Disney, Zippity features animations of Winnie the Pooh, Mickey Mouse, and Handy Manny, amongst others. The Zippity is going on sale this summer for $79.99, plus $24.99 for the software. Check the video of it in action after the break. (Note that the demo model in the video is adult-sized!)

Continue reading LeapFrog announces educational, interactive Zippity

LeapFrog intros "smartphone" for your little one (or you)

by Laura June posted Jan 28th 2009 at 8:09PM

LeapFrog's been very busy of late -- they recently added Tag Junior to their line of edutainment products for the wee ones --and now there's this. The Text and Learn children's "PDA" hasn't been officially announced yet, but details are slipping out from the U.K. Toy Fair, so here's what we know about the must-have device of the year: boasting a full QWERTY keyboard, the Text and Learn has a calendar (for learning dates), phonics functions (for learning... phonics) on the keyboard, and games to teach spelling and basic computer skills, as well. There's also some "texting" -- the child can interact with their onscreen buddy / guide, Scout. The Text and Learn is set to launch in August for about $30. Man -- armed with this and our totally sick laptop, we're going to be the talk of the town.

LeapFrog intros Tag Junior reading companion for children

by Laura June posted Jan 27th 2009 at 6:37PM

LeapFrog's really into this learning stuff, apparently. Their latest offering, Tag Junior, is for the two- to four-year old age range, and it builds on the company's previous Tag Reading System tech. The toy "reads" aloud (via downloadable MP3s) using an infrared camera that can recognize letters and words on the page, and can store up to five books' worth of material at a time. The custom-made books for the device include such august characters as Winnie the Pooh and Dora the Explorer. Tag Junior will be available this summer for $34.99, with each book running $10.99. Anything that keeps them off the video games for a few hours a day is probably pretty cool.

Video: Internet dog feeder feeds your dog... via the internet

by Laura June posted Jan 26th 2009 at 4:33PM

A young man named Tyler's built a little gadget that will feed his dog even when he's not around. Using an ioBridge IO-204 module and a continuously rotating servo in the feeder, he's able to dispense some kibble via a web page he's built which monitors the action via a webcam. Check the video -- the dog sure seems to think it's rad.

[Via Make]

Continue reading Video: Internet dog feeder feeds your dog... via the internet