Parents may want to communicate with their kids while the little ones are away, but they are wary about handing out cell phones. Moms and dads can heave a sigh of relief with Toymail, a WiFi connected toy that lets you talk remotely to your children using a smartphone app. Messages are delivered using the toy’s cartoonish voice, adding a layer of fun with your interaction.
Children can also answer back by hitting a button on the back of their Toymail, enabling them to reply to the last message received. The response is then delivered to the phone app for playback. Parental conctrols are present in these toys, wherein only the people who have been approved in the app can communicate with a particular Toymail so strangers would not be able to send random messages.
Parents can also opt for a Daily Toymailer subscription service, which sends a daily message to the toy, calling out your kid by name and sing songs or share inspiring information.
Toymail is being campaigned in Kickstarter for funding. As of this writing, it has garnered over $16,000 of its $60,000 goal with only 15 days to go. Interested backers can pledge at least $50 for their very own Toymail. Kids and parents can choose among five different characters called Mailman, each looking like a cross between a mailbox and an animal.
Meanwhile, the iOS app is free (Android version coming soon). However, using the Toymail has a price. Parents would have to purchase virtual books of stamps to send messages to the Mailmen. Each stamp equals one message, and a book of 50 stamps costs 99 cents. There is also an unlimited supply of stamps for $2.99 a month.
Source: TechCrunch
