The e-Reader market has been heating up and all along there has been one user group that has been consistently ignored. That is probably because these users are still drinking from their sippy cups — I am talking about the kindergartners of course. Educations toys have always been great teaching aids for children but these toys are not really keeping up with the rapidly evolving personal technology space. To fill in that gap, at least when it comes to e-Readers, a company called V.Tech has made something called the V.Reader.
Initially called the FLiP, this is a $60 eReader that is targeted at children who are just learning to speak. Focusing on children between ages 3 to 7, this eBook reader offers a small touchscreen display with a membrane QWERTY keyboard and big colorful controls. Warren of NYT tried out the eReader and reports being disappointed by the sheer lack of performance. In his experience, the animation was choppy and the page turns way too slow to keep up with the usually hyper-excited kids. Also, for the $60 that the device costs, it does not come with an SD card, which is required for downloading online content. He also mentions the lack of batteries but it is common enough for such toys to not include the batteries required to run them.
The stories are narrated to the children in a clear manner and the content is changed in sync like a slideshow. The child can touch a word and hear it spoked out clear and loud, which is a great feature for such a thing to have. You can put in a cartridge for the content or you can download it on your computer and use it via the SD card. There are two stories available right now — Shreak’s Vacation and What’s That Noise. Extra titles will cost you $20 each to download, which might seem expensive till you realize that these have to be individually developed by the company for the reader. They include animation and hidden hotpspots on the slides that children an touch and discover — adding to the whole experience. In the meantime, more titles will be available in August this year with popular stories like “The Little Engine That Could” and “Shrek”. The company clearly has a Disney tie up and has more Disney content.
The device itself looks sturdy enough to withstand the abuse that a toy can go through at the hands of kids of that age. But it lacks the finesse of certain other devices in the market. Namely, the iPad. Even though people don’t exactly think of their kids when they see a $500 10″ glass and steel tablet, the iPad has become quite a sensation with kids. There’s video evidence of it everywhere on YouTube and the age seems to get younger as you search.
They seem to like the speed and touch accuracy on the device and possibilities of interactivity level are almost infinite. Apple has only shown a little of what can be done with stock books like the Dr. Seuss and Winne The Pooh. But the longevity factor is where most people would be scared to hand it over to their kids. After all, one look somewhere else and your iPad might be smashed to smithereens by your super excited 6-year old.
Of course, the price of the two devices make them almost incomparable. The V.Reader does have a long way to go to become responsive enough to keep up with the children. In the meantime, enjoy watching kids figuring out the iPad.
[via]
