Software
Google's Kids Room aims to make Android tablets more child-friendly.
Google has announced Kids Room, a new mode for Android tablets that includes child-friendly features and content, and parental controls. It's making its debut with Lenovo 's latest Tab M10 HD Gen 2, also released today. Google says more devices are coming in the future.
There are a range of tablets out there that provide children-specific content, such as the Amazon Fire HD Kids Edition series. There are also a range of third-party parental control applications that families can use. Kids Room stands out because it will be integrated into a range of Android tablets — not only children's tablets.
According to Lenovo, this is a crucial distinction in the emerging tablet industry.
According to the company's study, tablets frequently act as sharing devices between household members, and many children begin to prefer adult-looking items at a relatively young age. A representative told me that Lenovo didn't want a children's tablet that looked like a toy. Instead, it's promoting the Tab M10 HD Gen 2 as a family-friendly device. Users build different profiles with their own settings — so that children can use Kids Space and parents can search as usual.
Children can access the library inside Kids Room, including applications, games , videos, and books. Google claims that it has partnered with children and parents to curate the content through the child development prism.
The products, the company notes, are enriching, high-quality and trustworthy. They are intended for children under the age of 9.
The gui is colorful and cool, and it looks easy to use. Kids can arrange content by subject — animals, princesses, cooking, cars, homework aid, etc.—and can toggle between "Make," "Play," "Read" and "Watch" tabs in addition to the home screen. They can also create an avatar for themselves, customizing different features, including suits and backpacks. Parents can add additional applications via the Google Play store, which could be beneficial as school gets underway.
Kids Space is a follow-up to Google's Family Connect, a parental control app for all Android devices that allows parents to build and track their children's Google accounts. You can set the rules on screen time, choose which applications they can use, remotely lock their computers, and keep track on their operation. Parents will be able to use Family Connection controls to manage the use of Kids Room for their children. Parents can expand their experience and tailor it even more for themselves, Google told me. Google doesn't use any data from children's accounts to target advertising (and Lenovo claims it doesn't collect any).
Follow us on our journey as we strive to develop positive and safe opportunities for children who respond to the changing environment and the needs of your family, Google says in its press release.
