????蘋果的iPad已經(jīng)賣出了2,500多萬臺(tái),，它不僅吸引了成年消費(fèi)者,，也吸引了他們的孩子。小家伙們也學(xué)著父母的樣子,，用手指在平滑的用戶界面上進(jìn)行敲擊，掃動(dòng)等手勢(shì)操作,，學(xué)得比他們的父母還快。他們到底應(yīng)不應(yīng)該小小年紀(jì)就學(xué)著用iPad,，這還是一個(gè)值得爭(zhēng)論的話題，不過位于加州圣莫尼卡市的玩具公司Vinci的創(chuàng)始人楊丹（音譯——譯注）博士卻認(rèn)為這無可厚非,。
????2009年的時(shí)候,，楊丹發(fā)現(xiàn)自己的女兒在家里玩智能手機(jī),，于是她就自己出資創(chuàng)立了Vinci公司。這家初創(chuàng)公司有40多名員工,，Vinci這個(gè)名字取自大畫家,、發(fā)明家達(dá)?芬奇的姓。現(xiàn)在該公司打算推出了一款Vinci平板電腦,，專門面向0到4歲的兒童。
????楊丹表示,，Vinci平板并不打算取代現(xiàn)有的兒童早期智力開發(fā)工具,，而是要作為他們的補(bǔ)充。她說：“我想做的是研究不同的文化,，把它們各自的優(yōu)勢(shì)結(jié)合在一起,，找出一套更好的早教方案?！彼J(rèn)為東方文化更重視認(rèn)知,，而西方文化更強(qiáng)調(diào)創(chuàng)造力、溝通和獨(dú)立,。（她舉例說,，在中國，一個(gè)三歲的孩子就能從１數(shù)到２０,，而美國孩子一般到了五歲才能數(shù)到２０,。）
????Vinci平板采用了一塊７英寸的顯示屏，外圍鑲以醫(yī)用級(jí)材質(zhì)制造的紅色橡膠把手,，外觀時(shí)尚,。它搭載了安卓２.３操作系統(tǒng)，一顆主頻為１GHz的處理器,，５１２MB內(nèi)存和３００萬相素的攝相頭,。在硬件方面甚至跟蘋果和三星等大廠家的平板有一拼。不過由于擔(dān)心幅射會(huì)對(duì)兒童造成作害,，因此它沒有搭載WiFi和３G上網(wǎng)功能,。此外，針對(duì)不同年齡段的兒童,，它還搭載了游戲,、音樂視頻和故事書，旨在全面培養(yǎng)孩子的動(dòng)作、語言,、認(rèn)知和感知技能,。
????楊丹認(rèn)為，目前針對(duì)兒童的應(yīng)用程序還不夠全面,，無法充分滿足早教的需求,。“應(yīng)用開發(fā)者們甚至不知道孩子的發(fā)育標(biāo)志意味著什么,。他們以為只需要隨便拼湊出個(gè)東西,，然后把它放在（蘋果的應(yīng)用商店里）就可以賺錢了。而我們?cè)O(shè)計(jì)內(nèi)容的時(shí)候,，還要考慮到兒童的年齡段,，考慮到發(fā)育期兒童的方方面面?！?/p>
????Vinci平板在本周三正式上市,。此次Vinci共推出兩款平板，價(jià)格分別為３８９美元和４７９美元,。后者有８GB的儲(chǔ)存空間,，是前者的一倍。官方稱４７０美元版的待機(jī)時(shí)間可以達(dá)到６小時(shí),，而且它還預(yù)裝了很多應(yīng)用,。在楊丹的暢想中，她的設(shè)計(jì)團(tuán)隊(duì)可謂廣闊天地,，大有作為,。這款兒童平板只是投石問路之作，針對(duì)更廣闊的數(shù)碼生態(tài)系統(tǒng),，還會(huì)源源不斷地推出許多后續(xù)產(chǎn)品,。（Vinci即將推出的下一個(gè)產(chǎn)品是一套可以下載的數(shù)字積木，可以讓孩子進(jìn)行拼寫和數(shù)字游戲,。）
????Vinci并不是唯一一個(gè)吃螃蟹的人,。差不多就在Vinci推出兒童平板的同時(shí)，LeadFrog公司也推出了一款名叫LeapPad的低端兒童平板,，售價(jià)僅為９９美元,，它采用了一塊５英寸的顯示屏，存儲(chǔ)空間也比Vinci平板小一些,，主要面向４至９歲的兒童,。據(jù)說LeapPad在前期的預(yù)售中全部售謦，這對(duì)苦苦掙扎的LeadPad公司來說真是天大的喜訊,，因?yàn)檫@家早教公司上兩個(gè)季度都報(bào)了虧損。
????LeapPad的預(yù)售告捷,，說明這款產(chǎn)品可能的確會(huì)取得成功,。但是相比之下,，Vinci平板的銷量可能更能反映出兒童平板是否真的存在一個(gè)規(guī)模可觀的市場(chǎng),，盡管兩者的目標(biāo)顧客在年齡上存在著幾歲的差距,。畢竟Vinci平板的起價(jià)達(dá)到了３８９美元,，比LeapPad貴了將近３００美元,，只比功能強(qiáng)大的iPad低了１１０美元。不過由于這款平板只面向兒童,，因此這也限制了它的使用壽命,。
????蘋果的iPad是當(dāng)之無愧的平板之王，它霸占了６１％的全球市場(chǎng)份額,。到２０１５年,，平板電腦的年銷售額有望增至４９０億元。有些批評(píng)人士可能會(huì)說,，Vinci平板只是iPad的玩具版,。不過只要Vinci和LeapFrog等廠商能在平板電腦這座金山上挖下一小塊石頭，他們也算成功了。年輕的父母?jìng)兪欠裨敢馓湾X買這么昂貴的玩具,，我們拭目以待,。
????譯者；樸成奎 |
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????With over 25 million sold, Apple's iPad isn't just a hit with adult consumers but also with their kids. In fact, they often learn to tap, swipe and pinch their way around its slick user interface faster than their parents. But whether or not they ought to at such an early age is a matter still up for debate. Dr. Dan Yang, founder of the Santa Monica, California-based Vinci, believes they should.
????After discovering her daughter playing around with a smartphone back in 2009, Yang self-funded Vinci, a startup with 40-plus employees. Named after Leonardo da Vinci, the company plans to release the Vinci Tab, a tablet geared toward children ages zero to four years old.
????As Yang tells it, the Vinci Tab isn't intended to replace current early child development tools, but complement them. "What I was trying to do was look at different cultures and combine different strengths and find a better solution for early learning," says Yang. She believes that Eastern cultures tend to place a heavier emphasis on cognition, while Western cultures focus on creativity, communication and independence. (Case in point, she argues: a three-year-old in China may know how to count to 20, while that may not happen for an American child until the age of five.)
????The Vinci Tab sports a red rubber handle fashioned out of non-toxic, medical-grade material surrounding a 7-inch display. It comes loaded with the Android 2.3 operating system, a 1 GHz processor, 512 MB of RAM and a 3-megapixel camera on the back. Hardware-wise, that puts it in league with other tablets from the likes of Apple (AAPL) and Samsung. It's missing WiFi and 3G connectivity to reduce radio emissions potentially harmful to the youngest users. Also onboard: games, music videos and story books for different age groups aimed at developing fine motor, language, cognitive, and sensory skills.
????Yang thinks current apps for children aren't comprehensive enough to nurture early child development. "Developers don't even understand what the developmental signs in children mean. They think they can make some money by putting something together and putting it in the [Apple App Store]," says Yang. "When we designed the content, we had to consider what the age of the child was. We had to look at all aspects of the developing child."
????When it launches Wednesday, the Vinci Tab will come in two flavors, a $389 and $479 version. The pricier tablet doubles storage to 8 GB, boosts battery life to six hours and comes with more pre-loaded apps. It will also serve as the first salvo into what Yang envisions as a larger digital ecosystem of the team's own design. (Up next: A downloadable set of digitized blocks featuring spelling and number games.
????It won't be alone on shelves, though. The Vinci Tab arrives around the same time as LeapFrog's (LF) LeapPad, a significantly cheaper $99 tablet with a smaller 5-inch screen and less storage skewed towards kids between ages four and nine. LeapFrog's offering reportedly sold out during early pre-sales -- a boon for the struggling education company which posted losses the last two quarters.
????While LeapPad pre-sales indicate a possible success, reception of the Vinci Tab could be a better gauge of whether there's a sizable market for tablets aimed at the younger set, even if their target customers are a few years apart. After all, the Vinci Tab starts at $389 -- just $110 less than the more versatile iPad and nearly $300 more than the LeapPad. By limiting its scope to young children, it's also possibly limiting its lifespan too.
????Detractors may also see it as merely a play on the iPad, the reigning tablet champ with a 61% global share in a market that's expected to rake in as much as $49 billion come 2015. If tablet makers like Vinci and LeapFrog can get even a mere sliver of the tablet gold rush, they'll have succeeded. Whether or not parents will actually shell out so much for a high-priced gadget remains to be seen. |
