Recall the days when there was a staunch divide between classic toys and digital devices?
In a classic “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” quandary, major toy makers are now adapting many enduring childhood favourite games for the digital age. Mattel is introducing a line of games called Apptivity for their classic brands including Hot Wheels, Fisher Price and Barbie. Following suit, Hasbro has released zAPPed editions of The Game of Life and Scrabble.
In a recent article by The New York Times, Mattel senior vice president for marketing Chuck Scothon said, “We know kids are going to play with technology, with iPhones and iPads and Android devices, our job is not necessarily to avoid that, but if you can fix it, feature it.” Read more...
A question for the iPad and other tablet-owning families
A new Neilson survey finds that in tablet-owning households, 70 percent of kids get to play with the tablet device. Not only do the kids get to use it, parents are relying on the tablet to keeps the kids occupied when traveling or sitting in a restaurant. Here’s how tablet usage breaks down:
How does your family use your tablet (if you have one)? We sort of expected more communication usage, but we guess games really do dominate on our iPad too. That and hockey-related YouTube clips.
Photo by Paul Mayne via Flickr, chart via Neilson.
1. At 1 p.m. EST, Apple will make some sort of iPad annoucement. Here’s the Washington Post‘s most recent speculations on what we can expect from this second generation iPad.
4. Red Neck Mommy is on the attack. And she’s after people who say things like, “That’s so retarded.” Read her essay about trying to educate her extended family on not using the R-word and why it’s so hurtful to the mother of a kid with extreme disabilities. Read more...
We found the cake, and now to celebrate the iPad’s first year we decided to make a list of our favourite apps so you can have the birthday party at your house.
Founder, mom, and composer Belinda Takahashi blends her own original music with fun characters and flashcards to encourage kids to let out their inner pop star.
A talking colouring book with a winter theme. When it’s too cold to go outside and play, why not stay inside and colour your snowman purple out of spite.
Not just for the kids, this app allows you to choose between different levels of difficulty allowing both parents and kids a chance to compete at making the little monster happy before the clock runs out.
