Nowadays there are a lot of suppositions that the mobile devices market will soon be satiated. One of the solutions of the problem offered by several IT companies is the development of electronics for children.
The situation in children mobile industry is rather complicated. On the one hand Public Health Organizations warn parents about harmful effect of mobile devices, on the other hand the detrimental effect of the emanation was not proved yet. The leading companies do not hurry with developing child models though some companies are already working on it. In majority of cases such devices are intended to provide safety and control over small subscribers. So the Taiwanese company I-Care Telecom offers a phone in a form of a teddy bear for children aged 4-10.
The teddy bear has four buttons (one on each paw) which are speed dials to the numbers parents program beforehand. So a child can call for instance to his mother, father, teacher and best friend. There are also two emergency buttons. It should be noted that the company lowered the radiation level (as far as it is possible). I-Care Telecom hopes to dell about 1000 hundred of such phones in Europe though it is quite possible that the company will face some difficulties.
In January 2005 there was an attempt to put on market cell phones for children (the notorious BabyMo). The furious children rights defenders protested against such phones and these devices disappeared from shops.
Besides the phones TV-sets for children are going to appear in the nearest future. The next month the Taiwanese company Hannspree starts selling them in Europe. As the manufacturer claims the child will really have television of his/her own. The display of moderate size will be integrated in the body of a toy giraffe, elephant or lion, especially for boys the models in a form of a fire-engine or a helicopter will be available. I whole the model line will consist of twelve different TV-sets. The price will be in the range of 360-480USD. Hannspree also designs TV-sets for grown-ups in the form of a basketball or a plant. The company hopes to sell about 500 thousand such TV-sets.
One more attempt to tempt parents was made by NEC company. The company demonstrated its robot nurse Papero Childcare at CeBIT. The bright electronic nurse about 40 cm high has a friendly look and is smiling all the time. The robot is programmed for playing with a child, moreover the nurse can take care of several children simultaneously. With the help of the robot mother and child can communicate even on distance. Calling Papero from a cell phone the parent can talk to a child through robot. Besides the nurse transmits the child’s image from its integrated camera.
The manufacturers only have to explain to parents that these things are really needed by children and where the development of children high-tech will take us.
