A Roundup of the Top New Kid-Friendly Wearables - A few months ago I covered a slew of interesting wearables made with younger users in mind, from the LG GizmoPal wristband to the LeapFrog LeapBand activity tracker.
While many could make the argument that this sort of tech isn't really necessary, these devices do offer the ability for parents to monitor their children, or to teach your little ones new things.
As is known to happen in the world of tech, lots of new kid-friendly wearables have been released since I wrote my last post on the subject.
Below, you'll find the newest gadgets that caught my eye — with options for both newborns and elementary schoolers.
Owlet Baby Monitor ($250)
"Smart baby sock" sounds pretty adorable, right? While the Owlet is cute, it's also a product with a serious mission. It's a sensor-embedded sock that monitors a baby's heart rate and oxygen levels while he or she sleeps.
In other words, there's some serious functionality here in addition to the cute factor.
The $250 price may seem steep for a sock, but to be fair you're getting more than just a little piece of cloth. There's also a base station, which connects to the sock via Bluetooth and then uploads a baby's vital stats to the cloud. You also get access to the Owlet app, which keeps you up to date on all the data. Finally, since babies are known to, well, grow, you can buy additional socks in a variety of sizes.
Tencent QQ Watch
Made by Chinese company Tencent, this device has yet to land stateside, and pricing remains TBA, but according to Engadget it will be available to purchase before the end of the year.
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There are quite a few kiddie smartwatches on the market, but this option stands out for offering an especially generous set of features. It sports at 1.12-inch OLED screen, an SOS call button for emergencies and a 2G radio. Plus, it pinpoints the wearer using GPS, Wi-Fi and cellular to deliver more accurate location tracking.
The QQ Watch also has a 0.3-megapixel camera. That's a lot of functionality, and almost all of it is designed to put parents' minds at ease.
UNICEF Kid Power Band ($40)
Yes, you read that correctly. The next child-friendly wearable I'm highlighting comes courtesy of United Nations Children's Fund. And indeed, this is not your average smartband or activity tracker.
And while the two previous products in this post are mainly about protecting a child's safety, this one aims to educate and promote exercise. The Kid Power Band is made to encourage children to move around and get active, while also instilling in them the importance of helping others.
Basically, kids go on "missions" that involve physical activity, and children's families are encouraged to help them learn about different cultures through the app. The missions include appearances by athletes, who highlight malnutrition across the globe.
Upon completing "missions," kids earn points toward food that will go toward malnourished children around the world. As of writing time, the Kid Power Band was available for pre-order from Target, with four different color options.