We've seen plenty of tablet computers designed for children; but that's normally defined as three-years-old and above. And as any parent will tell you, kids want to get their sticky little fingers all over your touchscreen well before their third birthday. VTech seems to agree and is launching a tablet aimed squarely at babies, the InnoTab 2 Baby.
The InnoTab 2 Baby is, as the name would suggest, a baby-friendly version of the InnoTab 2 which was released in August last year targeting the three-to-nine-year-old age bracket. While much of the device appears to be the same, VTech – which was recently showing it off at the New York Toy Fair – says it's made a number of key changes to make the device more suitable for babies.
To address the issue of protecting the InnoTab 2 Baby for when (not if) it gets dropped and most likely chewed, the device features a soft, removable gel bumper. There's also a baby-safe screw-on battery cover so you don't run the risk of finding little Johnny with an AA battery in his mouth. The tablet also features a customizable welcome screen where parents can add their baby's photo and a recorded greeting of their own voices.
Pre-loaded content has also been given a baby make-over, with the addition of a Baby Sign Language app, baby learning games and photo slideshows featuring a zoo, the sea and forest creatures. Other activities geared towards younger users include a Noah's Ark e-book, 12 sing-along nursery rhyme songs, drawing and coloring activities.
The InnoTab 2 Baby still features a 5-inch color screen with a 1.3 megapixel rotating camera and a built-in microphone. Apps such as the video recorder, music player, e-Book reader, video player and art studio are all still present, as is the option to add more apps by downloading them from the VTech Learning Lodge Navigator.
What differentiates the InnoTab 2 Baby from most other kids tablets is the baby-friendly design and content. However, if you wanted to, you could obviously add this type of content to any child-friendly tablet with access to an well-stocked app store, like the Android-powered Tabeo, FunTab Pro, Meep! or Polaroid Kids Tablet … or a standard tablet that's been suitably-protected.
According to VTech the InnoTab 2 Baby is suitable for ages from 12 months, right up to nine years. Though we're not too sure any tech toy is going to make it through the whole stretch.
