ALKHOBAR, 26 September 2006 — Tech is being used more and more to satisfy the needs and desires of the younger generation — in innovative ways.
Disney is expanding its popular consumer electronics line for kids with the introduction of the new Disney Mix Max personal digital media player. Digital video players are a hot technology item this year, but most products on the market are priced beyond a kid’s reach. The Disney Mix Max plays movies on Disney Max Clips — tiny plug and play memory cards containing full-length movies from Buena Vista Home Entertainment, that retail for $19.99. In addition to movies, the Mix Max plays Disney Mix Clip music cards featuring full-length hit albums from Walt Disney Records and Hollywood Records, that retail for $14.99.
Available in several colorful styles and priced at less than $100, the Disney Mix Max also plays digital music, TV shows and digital photos. Add-on accessories are available separately such as the Disney Jam Stand Max stereo speakers/recharger, stereo ear clip headphones and carrying cases to hold a Mix Max player.
The Disney Mix Max offers easy-to-use navigation for video and audio playback. It features a 2.2-inch color LCD display and 512MB of internal memory, which holds up to 240 songs or more than five hours of video. Its memory is easily expandable with up to 2GB add-on SD cards. The Disney Mix Max plays video at a smooth 30 frames per second — the standard rate for TV shows. It plays video (WMV), audio (MP3/WMA) and picture (JPEG) files and features a built-in, rechargeable battery.
The device also supports Windows Media DRM 10 so that content can be downloaded from popular music services such as Yahoo Music! A typical charge provides up to two hours of video playback and up to eight hours while listening to music. The package includes a 3.5mm. stereo headphone jack, USB2.0 port for connectivity (Mac and PC compatible) and a Windows Media software CD. The Mix Max also features Disney’s “MixIt!” technology that creates playlists with the push of a button. For more information see www.disneyconsumerproducts.com.
Another company expanding its tech offerings for the younger bunch is Mattel. Last fall, the company launched Pixel Chix, which has become one of the hottest electronic toys of 2006. Now the Pixel Chix virtual world expands with the new Pixel Chix “Love 2 Shop Mall.” Pixel Chix pal now works and shops in a mall, allowing girls to interact with Pixel Chix in a new way — a “2-D girl shopping in a 3-D world.”
With the Pixel Chix Love 2 Shop Mall, girls can interact with their virtual pal and her sassy personality with seven different input/command buttons — including work, money, break-time, shop and game/activity buttons. Additionally, Pixel Chix Love 2 Shop Mall features an LCD screen that flips from setting to setting, allowing the Pixel Chix gal to travel back-and-forth between two stores within the mall — either a boutique and food court or a salon and pet shop.
There are more than 20 games in each mall and the more the Pixel Chix gal works, the more money she earns and can spend on all the cool things in the mall, including a new pet, new clothes and pampering spa services. The Pixel Chix Love 2 Shop Mall closes up to a handbag-shaped carrying case, so girls can take it on-the-go. The Love 2 Shop Mall will retail at $34.99.
By connecting up to 10 Pixel Chix environments — including the new Pixel Chix Two-Story House, the Pixel Chix Road Trippin Car or original Pixel Chix House — girls can create a virtual world, allowing their Pixel Chix pal to transition from one “house” to the next and visit with other Pixel Chix pals. Pixel Chix has “set up shop” at www.pixelchix.com, where girls can experience more fun and games and also download a Pixel Chix pal onto their desktop.
Once kids play a bit after school, then they’ll be receptive to some extracurricular education. BrainPOP Jr. (www.brainpopjr.com) is a new learning program specifically geared for children between five and eight years old. Topics are carefully chosen to correlate with standard classroom learning for this age group and are written in fun and understandable language for children.
The newly-created movies on BrainPOP Jr. range in topic from the food pyramid and allergies to animal hibernation and telling time. The audio-assisted, kid-friendly navigation allows young children to easily move through various sections, including science, health, reading, writing, social studies and math. Each entertaining, animated movie is also supplemented with quizzes that are read aloud, as well as games and innovative features to assist teachers and parents.
Developed to be used by families at home and as part of lesson plans at school, BrainPOP Jr. allows users to customize the pacing of the movies and to give children the chance to answer questions independently or make predictions before proceeding. For a limited time, BrainPOP Jr. is offering a free subscription to view and experience its content, which includes five-minute movies and a unique notebook feature corresponding to the content. The web-based product will be updated continuously.
And for older students, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) is organizing an essay contest on the topic, “Sustainable Development in Asia and the Pacific.” The competition, organized by ADB and ROAD, a network of Japanese university students concerned about development issues, is part of an event that will precede ADB’s 40th Annual Meeting, to be held in Kyoto, Japan, in May 2007.
“Young people in Asia and the Pacific need to be fully engaged in order to effectively address the long-term development challenges confronting the region,” said Bindu N. Lohani, director general of ADB’s Regional and Sustainable Development Department. “The competition provides an opportunity to publicize the vision of today’s youth for the future world in which they will live, work and govern.”
English-language essays of up to 2,000 words are invited from university students aged 18-29 years who are citizens of ADB’s developing member countries. Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, the Philippines and Sri Lanka are all ADB member nations. For the complete list, see http://www.adb.org/Countries/. The essays, written from a country or regional perspective, should address one of three specific topics: 1) economic growth and environmental conservation; 2) human resource development and institutions; or 3) industry and infrastructure.
Fifteen winners will be selected from across ADB’s five regional departments — Central and West Asia, East Asia, the Pacific, South Asia and Southeast Asia. An additional 10 winners will be chosen from among students at Japanese universities, including seven from developing member country students and three Japanese citizens.
All 25 winners will be invited to actively participate in the weeklong Asian and Pacific Youth Forum on Sustainable Development in Kyoto in March 2007. The forum will provide them the chance to deliberate on sustainable development issues. The event will conclude with adoption of a Youth Statement on Sustainable Development, which will be presented at ADB’s 40th Annual Meeting. In addition, the winning essays will be assembled and published in a book.
Essays must be submitted online. Deadline for entries is Oct. 31, 2006. For further details click to: http://www.adb.org/AnnualMeeting/2007/Essay-Competition/default.asp.