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An App a Day Keeps Boredom Away iPhone Apps Broaden Market for Kidult Toys and Entertainment
It's not a high-powered exec, though. It's a toddler.  Children are becoming a prime demographic for the burgeoning market of portable electronic entertainment. There are fun and engaging apps for adults, after all, so why not kids?COMPANIES APPLY APPS TO KIDS “We definitely believe that iPhone apps for kids are an emerging industry,” Caroline Hu Flexer, co-founder of Duck Duck Moose, told TDmonthly Magazine. “Apple has also recognized this demographic with its promotion of apps for young children in their TV commercials and on the AppStore.”  Duck Duck Moose has created Wheels on the Bus and Itsy Bitsy Spider, interactive versions of the classic songs that play on the iPhone. These apps are dubbed “musical books” on the company's website. “Wheels on the Bus is currently the No. 2 educational app on the AppStore, and was the No. 1 or 2 educational app for more than seven months,” Flexer said. “Breaking into the top 100 of apps on the App Store typically requires about 1,000 downloads per day.” The creator of Toddler Flashcards, who requested anonymity, also feels a new industry dawning for iPhone games for kids. “I'd estimate that apps for kids is already a $5 million to $10 million industry, and I think it will be a $100 million industry over the next few years,” he told TDmonthly. He created the app as a side job, which indicates it doesn't take megacorporations churning out games — only parents finding a need and filling it. “I built Toddler Flashcards because it's something I personally wanted and needed, and now it's one of a dozen iPhone apps that my 2-year-old plays with daily,” he said. “For any parent that has an iPhone or iPod Touch, it's much cheaper and more convenient to buy your kid toddler flashcards, educational games, toy-games or multimedia books [on iPhone] than it is to buy these as separate books or toys. Besides, the experience on the iPhone is better. The flashcards have sounds. The toys are more dynamic. The books are multimedia.” IPODS FOR PRESCHOOLERS  John Meegan, a computer technician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital, and parent to Sophie, 6, and Lucy, 5, doesn’t mind “buying my kids technology that will help them in the future,” he told TDmonthly.He is cognizant, though, of what they can handle at such a young age. “[Lucy] is really into the whole music scene and would like to get an iPod to listen to her music. I am a little hesitant to buy her an iPod only because the other day I was watching them on the playground and I saw a kid who was about 4 swinging the iPod by the earbud cord and thought, 'There goes somebody's $120, and it is being used as an aboriginal bullroarer,'” he said. But could it be worth the investment for books or other educational materials? TODDLER APPS INTERACT AND EDUCATE  StoryBoy from SkyVu Pictures has a growing library of iPhone App children’s books with interactive features, using digital animation in a pop-up book format. A child can, for example, touch a flower to see it blossom. Some tales, like “The Three Little Pigs,” are classics; others are new.According to a press release from the company, iPhones and iPod Touch devices will number more than 50 million by 2010. With the upsurge of the e-book market — sales are predicted to hit $550 million in 2011 — and the growth of kids as a key user demographic, children's books on handheld devices will be a financial breakthrough. Even companies with established children’s content for physical purchase are now adapting it for the iPhone generation. Pal Toys’ Bright and Beyond Activity Cards sets, which retail for $4.99 each at the App Store, are one such example. In line with the exploding trend, mass retailers such as Target are gearing up for an onslaught of holiday purchases centered on portable entertainment. “We expect popular kidult items to be iPods, cell phones, lap tops and handheld games (such as Yahtzee),” Target spokeswoman Jana O'Leary told TDmonthly. On Friday, Nov. 20, Amazon.com’s list of best-selling electronics for kids was dominated by Cepia’s Zhu Zhu Pets — undoubtedly the hottest Christmas toy this year. Eight of the top 20 sellers were related to these furry little hamsters, in fact. Other notable purchases included the LeapFrog Scribble & Write, Mattel’s Ucreate Music, the LeapFrog Text & Learn, and the LeapFrog Leapster 2 Learning Game System. CHILDREN PRACTICE ADULTHOOD Fisher-Price’s Kid-Tough Digital Camera, which was introduced in 2006, has also been on the list in recent months. Its success, however, depends on the child. Once Sophie, a gadget kid, figured out the camera, she moved on. Lucy, however, “took pictures of things like birds and her friends' dance moves. … She captures objects and puts a spin on them that I would normally miss,” Meegan said. Kids can also practice adulthood with products from LeapFrog, VTech and Disney. “The Text & Learn lets kids enjoy pretending to be ‘busy grown-ups,’ while sparing their parents’ PDAs,” Nancy MacIntyre, executive vice president of product, innovation and marketing for LeapFrog, told TDmonthly. Disney’s Netpal is a Web-capable laptop, with activities to appeal to kids and parental controls and durability to appeal to adults. The Disney Mix Lights is an MP3 player that blinks along to the beat of downloaded music or videos. The Nintendo DSi is a game machine with a touch screen and game controls, as well as dual cameras and a microphone. “Our kids love Nintendo DS and the Wii — not so much the Apple toys yet,” Meegan added, noting that the kids want to switch up to the Nintendo DSi so they can use the camera feature and play the games that they want. He compares the purchases he makes for his daughters to a computer his parents bought for him when he was 12. “The things I buy for my kids are considered tools in our family to grow a tech-savvy and knowledgeable child that will function proficiently as an adult. I maintain the content that they are exposed to,” he said. “I teach my kids that technology is not just about the Internet and gaming but about economics, infrastructure, information and society.” See more information on some of the products below:
 Writer's Bio: Chris Lundy is a freelance writer and game designer who covered municipal news for several New Jersey newspapers. He's also written comic books and short screenplays. Read more articles by this author |
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