ouip! kids

Ouip! is the latest project from the industrial design company think/thing and it addresses kids' gravitation toward and intense interest in electronic handheld devices. I think every parent can relate to their kids wanting to touch/see/play with their cell phones, ipods, cameras and laptops, and as parents, we know that kids aren't fooled by toy imitations of devices.

Ouip! is a handheld device that is powered by motion -shaking or swinging the toy will change images and prompt sounds, some of which are included as libraries, but parents will be able to upload their own images as well via wireless transfer. It's buttonless which is intriguing since kids love to push buttons, but what's cool about this toy, which still seems to be in prototype stage, is that the more the toy is shaken, the more it charges the battery (motion actually powers the electro-magnetic generators). It's also built to be robust and shatterproof and the casing is constructed with sustainable materials.

No word on when it will be available. I'm pretty curious about it though since both my kids love anything electronic.