LeapFrog Introduces PDA for Kids.

PDA's of all sorts are more common today than ever before. Whether it's a palm pilot or a smartphone, increasing numbers of people are finding a need for the on-the-go computing and storage capabilities that a PDA offers. LeapFrog, an educational product developer, realized that where there are fancy new gadgets, there are children just dying to play with them.

They commissioned a study from Harris Interactive called "Save Your PDA", which interviewed parents about how their children acted around their PDA devices. The results were as fascinating as they were hilarious; 32% of parents reported children changing their settings, and 23% reported them smearing the keypad or screen with food. 51% reported their children placing calls (16% of them to 911), and 9% said that their children dropped their phones in the garbage at least once.

LeapFrog looked at the results of the study and saw that children were fascinated with personal digital devices. In response, they have released the Text & Learn kid's PDA. The Text & Learn looks a little like a BlackBerry and it has a full QWERTY keyboard so children can learn how to type and identify their alphabet on it. The Text & Learn will be loaded with educational games to teach children the basics of PDA usage, as well as typing and letter identification skills. The LeapFrog Text & Learn is available now, for $21.99 from Toys "R" Us.

This is a very good idea from LeapFrog. Building tech skills early is crucial nowadays, and a toy like this will help to get kids used to the 'digital age' before they can even pronounce it. My favorite piece of data from LeapFrog's study was the fact that 12% of parents discovered new features on their devices as a result of their kid's screwing around with them. Children have a thirst to learn about these things; they like cool gadgets as much as we do. If LeapFrog can find a way to use that love to teach kids how to read and write, than more power to them.

What Others Say about This

All Hot Gadgets Awaits at MWC 2012

Bangalore: The Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2012 in Barcelona is just few weeks away and the major tech companies are gathering in the annual trade show to introduce their new innovative products such as smartphones, tablets and other devices. Here are so ...
Full article at: Silicon India  More like this  2 days ago, 5:54pm CST

Incoming Sony CEO: Hot gadgets aren't enough anymore

Sony’s new CEO says the company needs to move on from its hardware roots. From its inception, the company has defined itself through its brightly named gadget lines—Walkman, Vaio, Cyber-shot, PlayStation—but incoming CEO Kazuo Hirai says Sony must now fo ...
Full article at: Macworld  More like this  2 days ago, 3:38pm CST

New Sony CEO: Hot gadgets aren't enough anymore

IDG News Service - Sony's new CEO says the company needs to move on from its hardware roots. From its inception, the company has defined itself through its brightly named gadget lines -- Walkman, Vaio, Cyber-shot, PlayStation -- but incoming CEO Kazuo Hi ...
Full article at: ComputerWorld  More like this  2 days ago, 3:37pm CST

• More Hot Gadgets Stories
• I4U News Homepage