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Parents are always looking for new ways to introduce their children to the world of computing, and another viable option has just hit the streets. It’s a tablet that goes by the name “MEEP!” and it’s an Android 4.0 tablet that will retail for just $150.
It’s a 7 inch device that has a camera for still photos and video, HDMI, internal and external storage options, and parental controls for parents to monitor and restrict their children’s usage. Parents can even control these settings remotely using a Parent Portal so they can make changes without needing to take the device from their children.
Other specs include a 1GHz Cortex-A8 processor, 512MB of RAM, and 4GB of internal storage. The Play Store won’t be enabled on the device, but there will be a MEEP! Store where parents can buy games, learning apps, and more for their children.
They can even buy MEEP! Coins for their children. MEEP! Coins is an allowance, of sorts. You can buy them however many coins you want and Children can redeem them in the MEEP! Store just like real cash.
A $5 per month allowance to buy apps and games would be like Christmas every month for some Children, I bet. This is a great way to enable your children to get what they want without the risk of maxing out your credit card.
MEEP! will also be compatible with many accessories, including things like piano keyboards, microphones, drum pads, joy sticks racing wheels, and more. While children’s tablets are nothing new, MEEP! seems like the first one that is going to have some serious support behind it. Read on for full press details, and check out a promo video for the tablet above. Visit Meeptablet.com for more info.
Oregon Scientific Introduces Innovative, Fully Loaded
MEEP! Tablet Designed Just for Kids
Accessories, Cloud-Based Parental Controls & Durability
Set MEEP! Apart from the Competition
Tualatin, OR – October 2, 2012 – Cutting edge technology, durability, interactive content, a design made just for kids and a full line of action-packed accessories. The MEEP! tablet from Oregon Scientific has it all. The new 7-inch, Android 4.0 (‘Ice Cream Sandwich’) tablet is Wi-Fi enabled and features the most rugged durability of any tablet on the market. With a protective and fun, bright orange silicon bumper, a recessed screen and a cutting-edge zForce® touch screen that won’t shatter when dropped, MEEP! withstands wear and tear from the backseat or the playground to the schoolyard or the couch. MEEP! ($149.99) is currently available at all major national retailers including Toys “R” Us, Target, Best Buy,RadioShack, Kmart, Meijer, Boscov’s, BJ’s, Amazon.com, Wal-Mart.com, Kohls.com and QVC.
Every aspect of MEEP! was designed for kids and the way they interact with electronics. From the rugged, horizontal design to the easy-to-use, uncluttered interface laid out to be controlled by kids’ thumbs, MEEP! is designed to be a pick-up and play device that kids can take with them anywhere they go. The innovative zForce touch screen powered by Neonode®Multisensing™ Technology makes it simple for kids to quickly access content with the lightest touch of their thumb, and a scrolling menu system makes apps, games, music, videos and more quickly accessible.
As much as MEEP! was designed for kids, the tablet also appeals to parents with customizable cloud-based settings that parents can control and adjust without having to take the tablet out of their child’s hands. By simply visiting the Parents Portal on MEEPTablet.com from any device with a web browser (computer, smart phone, tablet), parents can not only hand-pick (“whitelist”) which websites or keywords their kids have or don’t have access to, but they can add words to the tablet’s built-in “bad word” list so their child will not be able to search for those words or use them in the chat feature. Oregon Scientific also maintains a “blacklist” of inappropriate content that is updated by moderators on an ongoing basis which parents can add to. In addition, parents can actively monitor their child’s online activity, limit play time duration and provide a virtual allowance for purchasing apps via MEEP! coins without needing to access the physical tablet.
From the hottest pre-loaded content including Angry Birds, UNO, Toon Goggles, art and learning apps and more to the MEEP! Store, MEEP! provides the rich interactive experience that kids are clamoring for. Games, books, videos and apps available in the MEEP! store have all been cleared for kid-friendliness by Oregon Scientific and are either free or can be purchased with MEEP! coins. Additionally, Google Play can be accessed from the Parents Portal to purchase additional content, and applications are seamlessly downloaded to the tablet with parental permission. Music, movies and e-books that parents or kids have previously purchased on a PC or Mac can also be easily transferred to the MEEP! via the USB cable that is included in the package. The MEEP! tablet has 4GB of internal storage and a micro SD card slot to install additional memory. Kids can also capture favorite moments – still photos or videos – to share with friends and family via the tablet’s built-in, front-facing camera and can display content on the tablet to a television through HDMI.
A full suite of accessories is available for MEEP!, allowing kids to rock ‘n roll with a portable piano, drum pad, headphones and microphone or master gaming skills with a joystick, steering wheel or dualplay Game-Pro Case. For added customization, additional silicon bumpers are available in Meepadelic Purple and Meepto Pink.
“We wanted to design a tablet that had all of the features and technology that tablets geared toward adults had without being ‘dumbed-down’ for 6-12 year olds. The challenge was providing them with content they would enjoy and that parents would feel confident was safe,” said Bill Fleckner, Vice President of Sales for Oregon Scientific, Inc. “We achieved that and more with MEEP! and are thrilled at the overwhelming response we’ve had so far from our retailers and content partners alike.”
“Oregon Scientific has a long history in creating innovative consumer technology and we’ve had tremendous success in the electronic learning products category,” said David Riley, Product and Marketing Director for Oregon Scientific, Inc. “We are excited to leverage that experience with a natural extension into the kids tablet category.”
MEEP! will be supported by dedicated marketing and public relations campaigns that include national TV advertising, parent and kid-directed online ads, a Radio Disney campaign and promotional support of the Ryan Seacrest Foundation featuring Selena Gomez. The national TV advertising plan includes :15 and :30 spots on the Disney Channel, Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, Disney XD and The Hub.
The MEEP! tablet is geared for kids 6 and up and is currently available at mass market retailers and online stores for a suggested retail price of $149.99. Accessories are each sold separately. MEEP! comes complete with a charger, USB cable and a quick start guide. For more information visit www.MeepTablet.com or like MEEP! on Facebook.
About Oregon Scientific
Founded in 1989, Oregon Scientific is headquartered in Tualatin; a quaint suburb of beautiful Portland, Oregon. Oregon Scientific offers six families of products, ranging from youth & learning to sports & fitness. Built from its hallmark of timing and weather devices, Oregon Scientific is expanding to meet the diverse needs of its customers to enhance the way we live, work and play. Consider Oregon Scientific’s products to be Innovating the Everyday.
Oregon Scientific is a division of one of the world’s premier electronics manufacturers, Integrated Display Technology, Ltd. (IDT), based in Hong Kong. IDT was founded in 1977 and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange as IDT Technology. Oregon Scientific’s full line of product offerings can be found at: us.oregonscientific.com.
Junk. For another $49 I can get my kid a N7 or an Acer A110.
Or a Nabi 2 if you need the kid-safe features…or a Kindle Fire HD. Or a Kobo Arc.
There are a lot of options that would be better than this, actually.
But the meep comes with a charger! No more changing batteries! Can your tablet do that?
Did the ad people think the competition was a Palm III?
i know right for 50 bucks more you can go from a 1ghz single core A8 to a 1.2ghz Quad core A9, with a better screen and camera not to mention double the ram and access to the Android market.
The guy said it comes with 512mb of memory and an sd card slot for if you need more storage. Lol someone screwed up. Can’t believe the company behind it didn’t have that corrected
Of course it won’t have access to the Play Store! Wonder how many free apps are on the MEEP! Store. Likely not many.
I’ll just continue to let my kids use a Nexus 7. They’ll at least learn to use good technology. Besides, a parental control app is not a solution to bad parenting. Be a good parent and actually monitor their usage yourself and teach then what is OK and what is not OK and you’ll have not worries.
Lame! for $150 + 50 get a Nexus 7 and get full access to the Play Store
Limited storage and no SD for Nexus 7 makes it a deal breaker for me.
perfect for my 3 year grandson; i gave my nook to him when I got the nexus 7. He’d enjoy this.
Id just get a nabi 2 49 dollars more and is so much more powerful
if this was 99 bucks Id get one for my kiddo but as I said in an earlier post 150 dollars is just to close to a nabi 2 which is better then it in every category
Kids growing up Android. Awesome concept.
“zForce touch screen powered by Neonode®Multisensing™ Technology ”
Isn’t this the same IR touch tech they use for ereaders?
Call me crazy, but I bought my (now) 5 and 7 year olds 32Gig TouchPads during the “fire sale” last year. Still fantastic devices for $150 running CM9 and being used/abused EVERY day. And they have long forgotten about ever wanting a NDS :)
They’ll still sell these just because they are “made for kids”. Especially when you consider that those (cheesy in comparison) LeapPad type units sell for over $80 – and require a $20 cartridge for each game.
And…OMG….a charger is included! Winning!