Google today announced that it is releasing a kid’s mode for Android tablets called “Kids Space”. This feature will first debut in the new Lenovo tablet M10 HD Gen 2, and according to Google, will be a “tablet experience with content to help kids discover, create, and grow.” Kids space is meant for kids under 9.
Kids space will take everything that a child needs on an android device and bundle it together to provide the perfect experience for your kid. To use Kids space, parents will have to create a Google account for their children, where they will be able to access books, videos, and apps specifically selected for children to learn and grow from. Moreover, children will also be able to customize their own characters, which is always nice.
This comes at a time when technology has become more entrenched in our lives than ever before, with video conferencing becoming the only real mode of learning in the COVID 19 era. Google is trying to cash in on the growing demand of technology for kids and provide a more ‘kid friendly’ environment for children online.
It has a bright and colorful animated interface with a daily “picked for you” page which will show up on the home screen with five tabs: Home, Play, Read, Watch, and Make.
“Kid space” will combine learning and games and will help make education more fun and interesting for children. The platform will include books, videos, music, and games. Google has apparently consulted with education experts and children specialists to handpick children-friendly apps, to make sure that your child is not missing out on anything while still not being exposed to anything he/she shouldn’t be. However, if you’d rather trust your own judgement, parents will also be able to download more content from Google Play apart from these “teacher-approved” apps.
Kids space will use YouTube Kids for videos to ensure that all the videos are safe and child friendly. According to Google, there are more than 400 free books for the kids to read.
This definitely not the first children-specific feature or device. For example, the Amazon’s Fire HD for Kids is a device made especially for children. Another such feature is the Amazon free time, which is a subscription that gives kids access to child-friendly books, videos, apps, etc. However, the reason Google’s “Kids Space” is more appealing is that it will be programmed into a number of devices – for free!
Kids space will “soon” be coming to “other” unspecified devices as well.
