Goo-goo… gaa-gaa… Porsche… Yes, that could be your baby’s first proper word, if a Chinese app developer has anything to do with it. The BabyTouch app for iOS is designed for kids aged from zero to three, and encourages them to learn visually and aurally as they tap on recognizable animals, foods, fruits, and… er, car logos.
We’ll put that down to a quirk of the startup’s developer – Joooy – which has made this BabyTouch app for iPhone and iPad for China’s growing ranks of middle-/high-income parents who want to let their kids learn from apps as well as from cloth books. Actually, the app works in both English and Chinese, and the language can be changed inside the app – I suppose that’s a bonus for local parents who get the English-learning aspect thrown in for free.
This cutesy app is simple enough for the tiny tots to use by themselves, and starts with a nice touch: a cartoony lock-screen. (That’ll sure help the kids learn how to access your phone at anytime they want). Thereafter there’s not too much for little fingers to do except pick a category of picture-cards – there are eight in all – and then listen to the voice-over say what the image shows. The child can then tap on the screen for the next image, or just ‘scribble’ across the screen to make an adorable trail of smiley faces, stars or hearts.
The free app gives you one category for free, with all others available as in-app purchases for 99 cents – or 6 RMB – each. The paid app gives you them all at a discount.
Of course, there are other Chinese developers and startups focusing on early learning as well, especially on Apple’s (NASDAQ:AAPL) iOS platform. In the web browser, meanwhile, there are some more entertaining options, such as the cartoon-streaming service LeKan.
Find the app via the Joooy homepage.