A little piece put out by The New York Times the other day showcasing the accessibility of the iPhone for children, which can be extended to the Natural User Interface. The piece also looks at the guilt parents have with letting their kids play with such devices for extended periods of time. As I have said before in my reviews of iPad applications for kids; they must be accompanied by adult interaction with the child and the application, otherwise it's just useless/meaningless information with no context.

Worth the quick read.

"Apple, the iPhone’s designer and manufacturer, has built its success on machines so simple and intuitive that even technologically befuddled adults can figure out how to work them, so it makes sense that sophisticated children would follow. The most recent model is 4.5 inches tall, 2.31 inches wide and weighs 4.8 ounces: sleek, but not too small for those with developing motor skills. Tap a picture on the screen and something happens. What could be more fun?"

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/17/fashion/17TODDLERS.html?_r=1&pagewanted=all

Also you can view my reviews, journals, and presentations on the topic of the natural user interface for kids here:

http://posterous.nullintovoid.com/tag/interface

Perhaps I'm just a sick guy, but as I walked towards my car the other day I passed up a coworkers mint 2010 ride...

and I thought to myself

self, wouldn't it be great if I could take a pic of his car, add in an assortment of dents or scratches...to this mint ride

and send off the picture to him asking him what happened, implying the hit-and-run?

You could only use this app a few times (unless they are slow) before people caught on but man...it would be amusing, or not.

This little iPhone App was mentioned to me while eating lunch with my child. The waiter said his own son couldn't get enough of it, he would use it in restaurant emergency situations.

With this note I decided to give it a shot. What makes this app great is its simplicity, the child doesn't need to hit any buttons, all they need to do is talk and the little hamster squeaks you back immediately, to the amusement and joy of my kid. You can easily switch between different characters/squeaker types to keep the fun going. 

There are more advanced options, such as recording messages for later but for my 20 month old the immediate feedback is fun enough. The little hamster will make faces as he squeaks heightening the visual feedback.

This little $.99 app should be in the back-pocket of any parent as they head out with their kid. 

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/smacktalk/id306752436?mt=8

http://www.marcussatellite.com/SMACK_TALK/