When a baby who’s barely a year old starts swiping magazine pages instead of flipping, you know kids these days have one touchscreen too many. That said, maybe it is unwise to hand them an iPod, let alone a smartphone, if you want them to enjoy music or listen to audio books. This is where Jooki Jukebox For Kids by MuuseLabs fits in. Designed to look fun (and it is; just look at it!), Jooki is a modern day jukebox with no touchscreen; it uses figurines and tokens (think Disney Infinity) called Jooki Stars for controls. All junior has to do is to place the desire figurine or token to start playing a playlist which may include song, story, album, or even Internet radio station.
But that is not to say that your little ones are left to their own devices; they are not. You are in control. With smartphone based parental controls, you can dictate what your kids can and cannot access to, thus giving you a peace of mind that they will not be exposed materials that they are not ready for. Most importantly, it makes the entire process of enjoying music fun and at the same, it lets them have a sense of control and thereby cultivating independence. The playlist is stored in a 4GB onboard storage and each playlist is linked to a Jooki Stars which you can managed through your smartphone. You prep the stars and junior spins it at his or her own pace.
Parents too can enjoy Jooki. With wireless streaming, you can playback your favorite tunes when the little ones aren’t using it and because it has a built-in battery that offers up to 8 hours of usage, Jooki is for everywhere, so little Ben or Mary can spin her own tunes while on the way to grandma’s. The brainchild behind Jooki Jukebox for Kids is Belgium-based MuuseLabs (note: not a typo) and the startup has taken Jooki to Kickstarter where you, the community, can help to make it a reality. The campaign is on its last leg and it super close to being funded.
So, if you think Jooki is something for your kid (or kids), do show them some love. As for the pricing, a pledge of 149 euros or more (roughly US$166) will secured yourself an unit if the project meets its funding goal. But there’s a downside though; you won’t be seeing it until June 2017 (again, only if it is funded). Your call.
Images courtesy of MuuseLabs.
submitted via TIP US page.
