14 DAY TRIAL // If your kid is not that keen on spending time with others his age, or if he just has too much time on his hands, a gadget to keep him or her occupied could be just what is needed.
Genius kept this in mind when it made the Kids Designer II tablet, but it also thought about how it could encourage intellectual development.
Children learn things mostly through games, since their attention spans aren't really reliable when they aren't doing something they like.
Even then, they are bound to start on something and leave it half-way finished before switching to something else.
Genius' Kids Designers II is mainly meant to let children draw, but it also has 15 learning games preloaded onto it, as well as various other programs.
There is an application for everything from drawing to testing responsiveness, acquiring general knowledge (math, geography, shapes) and exercising the memory / logic.
Hardware-wise, the usable screen area measures 5 x 8 inches, but the physical package is quite a bit larger, which is strange because the whole product is supposedly capable of behaving like a mouse for PC programs.
And here is the catch: the Designer II isn't capable of working on its own. It is more of an accessory that plugs via an USB port into any system running Windows XP, Vista or 7.
“Simply install the software, plug Genius' Kids Designer II into your computer via USB, and watch your kids' minds take-off while they express themselves, learn valuable skills, and get a head-start on mastering technological innovations of tomorrow,” the company says.
The Genius Kids Designer II ships with a cordless pen, the Kids Designer II game software CD and a multi-language user manual. You can get one in the US and Canada for $64.99, assuming your local retailers have it in stock, in case you have a 3 to 8 year-old child.