Gadgety News

Saw this and though WTF!

I know kids are rocking iPods and mobiles as soon as they’ve stopped bottle-feeding but c’mon!

Teachers have a hard enough time keeping the pupils focused and, while it scares me, stab-proof hoodies and kevlar school-bags serve a purpose but Marks and Spencer have gone and released a new line of school uniforms which have iPod/MP3 compatibility!

The new line of interactive clothing features blazers and winter coats with five function keypad controllers sewn into the inside the lapels.

This gives the school-goer complete remote access to their iPods without really drawing attention to themselves(!) or should I say pulling the unit out to fiddle with and have it confiscated by teachers during exams and other important studious pass-times!

They’ve missed the chance of supplying the little darlings with wireless earphones so they can be totally covert!

The jackets are made of 100% polyester, made from recycled materials, and come with both water and stain protection.

“Marks and Spencer’s 2008 Back to School collection is optimized for wear comfort as well as for the use of an iPod on the go: a strategically placed iPod pocket which doesn’t bulge, an iPod connector with a hidden circuit, concealed controls for operating the settings, lapel loops concealing the earphone wires.”

The blazers come in black only and will retail for about £25-£30 and coats range from £35-£40 from good ol’ Marks and Spencer.

I’ve just been sent a copy of the NTT DoCoMo press release. Oh joy - they’ve designed a mobile especially for the ankle-biters.

Before you start the rant they’re aiming it at the “child in an emergency” situation to help parents part with their hard-earned and quite convincingly I might add.  Have a read of this.

In an emergency, the child can quickly switch on the phone’s 100-decibel alarm, which produces two types of noise alternately. When the alarm is activated, the phone also emits a bright light (high-intensity LED) that is easily visible to people in the surrounding area.

The phone can be set to automatically notify loved ones when the alarm is activated, and provide the handset’s current location as well. Computer-generated phone calls can be placed to up to three registered numbers and messages can be sent to registered individuals who subscribe to the i-mode™ location service called imadoco search™. In addition, the child can discreetly message their location to a registered imadoco search user by simply pushing a button on the side of the phone

An amulet-style remote controller worn by the child can be used to make a misplaced phone beep if within a range of about 10 meters (may vary with usage environment). If the user moves even farther from the handset, the phone can automatically lock (requires presetting). If the handset remains out of the amulet’s range for more than five minutes, a message can be sent automatically to a registered DoCoMo phone.

I can’t knock these features really and, as with most Japanese devices, has been carefully designed not only to be ergonomic for the youngsters but the……..

…. soft-rectangle shape and round speaker grille enclosed by a ring-shape LED were conceived by renowned designer Kashiwa Sato to symbolize safety, peace of mind, creativity and the future.

Although I haven’t found a price, and the fact that it’s probably only available in Japan, I think this is the most credible kiddyphone that I’ve seen so far and it seems to have been quite well thought out, designed and executed.