By Towards the end of 2011 we previewed a few toddler tablets including the VINCI Tab. Here at CES 2012 VINCI stands out with their latest social learning. Not only have they added new applications to their learning curriculum but have a new more affordable tablet in the works.
Our last review had some great details on the overall specs and concept of what the VINCI Tab provides but now we have actual hands on video that really shows the backbone of what this product has to offer.
CURRENT
As most of us know the VINCI Tab comes with 7-inch 800 x 480 touchscreen display, 1GHz Cortex A8 processor, 512MB of RAM and Android 2.3 Gingerbread. One feature that is NOT included is WiFi but from the company standpoint, this is only to protect the children from what content they are viewing. In this context of a tablet and being a parent myself, I 100% agree with their decision.
FUTURE
The future of VINCI is sure to stay ahead of the competition. This year they have a new concept of helping children learn socially by adding their new line of social gaming for multiple children at once.
The simple idea is to connect multiple VINCI devices together on one network to allow each device to connect to the host device and provide access to the game which allows the game interaction.
One downfall at CES is poor WiFi and unfortunately we were hit with a clogged network and could not see the new social games (currently three offered by VINCI) working with multiple devices. Their new smaller device they will be offering is still in early pre-production and the unit you see in the video is just to demonstrate the social applications. We will be sure to get our hands on the actual devices and do a in-depth look at how the software works and interacts with children.
LOWER COST
As we stated in the video, the new VINCI device, right now known as the VINCI dBlock, is smaller but more affordable. I think this will be a huge impact on how many units ship in the upcoming months. The physical design will be almost exactly the same as in type of screen, number of ports, and processing power but will be half the size of the current. One other physical feature that has been modified in the design is the red handle that surrounds the device: the smaller unit that will be offered later this year will include the same red rubber-like safety feature but will have a bumper that is directly connected to the edge of the device and not a handle like the design of the current VINCI tab.
EDIT
As the current VINCI Tab does not have WiFi (stated in past press releases and in the current product specs), the new VINCI dBlock will include WiFi to allow for the social gaming connectivity. I stated I do like how they did not include this as a standard which is intended to protect what content is on the device but I do feel that VINCI will include a parental control option so parents can lock the device down. Having WiFi doesn’t necessarily mean the device will be connected to the internet either but we will have to wait and see how their final implementation of connectivity is integrated to each device.
Dr. Dan Yang stated that the larger 7 inch VINCI Tab will be able to connect with the new VINCI dBlock devices so I would suspect this will be an addition that will be added to update the current product line. We will keep a close eye on this as they release more information so please check back once we get our hands on actual production devices to test.
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OVERVIEW
Most of the VINCI’s complaints are price related. I feel the new smaller VINCI device with its under 200 dollar price range will not only increase the amount of units sold but will put a competitive edge on the toddler tablet market in general. I personally am very excited to get hands on with multiple devices to test out this new social way of learning.
Stay tuned for our next hands-on video once we receive test units of actual production hardware as we will cover the new specs and software and look into what third-parties are jumping on creating new social learning content.
Wait, why did you tell us about CES’s Wifi problems if this device does not include Wifi? Does it contain Wifi or not? It does sound like a nice children’s platform, anyway!
“One feature that is NOT included is WiFi but from the company standpoint, this is only to protect the children from what content they are viewing… One downfall at CES is poor WiFi and unfortunately we were hit with a clogged network and could not see the new social games (currently three offered by VINCI) working with multiple devices.”
Wow, yeah…I totally missed this IMPORTANT question. Dr. Dan Yang stated that they will connect using WiFi and that was how their current demo was at the show (the one that couldn’t get a connection). I know for a fact that the current does NOT feature WiFi so I will have to confirm which devices will support WiFi in the future or the Wireless standard they choose in their final production devices.
At any note, thanks for the heads up… read that comment and it made me question it myself ;) I added an edit to the post to address this… let me know if there is any other confusion I caused. Great catch!
Your quite welcome! Thanks for the explanation.
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Sent from my Android phone with K-9 Mail. Please excuse my brevity.
Sign me up! My twins will be just the right age when this thing drops in price. Although this effectively renders dumb VTech laptops we bought them recently useless.
..hmmmm.
Check out the Nabi. Much better children’s tablet. http://www.nabitablet.com. Check out their FB page also which can be accessed through their website. Their support/customer service is really top notch! My 7 year old got one for Christmas and loves it.
Future kids will connect white chickens with chicken that have an egg under then in real life. Thanks Vinci.
I can see some child care centers having these.
Hi thank you folks. Indeed VINCI will offer both non-WIFI and WIFI versions. WIFI version will support the connectivity among devices so children can play solo or in groups. Regardless the hardware, it’s the content that matters. VINCI is adjusting its curriculum to be smaller steps – monthly incremental themes rather than one major series per learning level. In addition, VINCI Kids Library will come compliment as unstructured play. Please let quality content providers and app developers know. Inquiries can be send to [email protected]
Concept is great but my 3year old Granddaughter plays with my Kindle fire which has everything the Vinci has but more for now she “reads” books by Ocean Media, excellent apps for children, and as she gets older she can easily graduate to real books. She can paint, draw and watch movies I don’t see the point of Vinci except the rubber bumper
Yeah…. Kids sure as hell are spoiled nowadays……..
I wouldn’t buy a tablet or phone for a toddler, but to each there own.
I bought an Acer a100 for $190 on thanksgiving that we gave our 3 kids (6, 3 and 2) for Christmas. They love it and it has plenty of interactive books games and access to the internet so my 6 year old can use the math practice websites they use at school. Not sure why this is necessary. I bought a $5 case off ebay, the thing is like a tank and they know if they break it they lost it. Maybe Vinci should focus on the software and leave the hardware to others.
Vinci is great! However, I always find my children grabbing my tablet. Check out http://famigo.com/sandbox – it locks my Android device so that they stay within their own apps…it’s also FREE!