DreamWorks Animation SKG is premiering its first computer tablet, one that will teach kids how to be their own animators.
The Glendale-based creator of the “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Madagascar” movies has partnered with El Segundo-based Fuhu Inc. to create DreamTab, billed as a state-of-the-the art tablet designed for kids.
Very, very cool.
The 8-inch by 12-inch device, which features a new 4.4 Kit Kat Android based operating system, will allow kids to stream movies, TV shows and play games with various innovative parental controls and educational tools.
Now it sounds like a trojan horse. A content device (are all the movies, games free???) advertised as an “educational” tablet for learning animation.
At last year’s Reubens Weekend in Pittsburgh, there was a panel about comic strip e-books with reps from Andrews McMeel Publishing and Comixology. Two of the issues the highlighted were format and storage space. Accommodating so many screen sizes and resolutions (from phones to tablets) means a traditional comic strip format doesn’t always translate well, especially to a phone resolution. Storage wise, combined with all the other apps, photos, music, and videos people install on their devices, there is a finite amount of space to store decent resolution comic e-books (let alone complete collections like Peanuts, The Far Side, or Calvin & Hobbes)… An issue I don’t see improving since apps and media will continue to equally increase in size/quality as storage increases.
During the Q&A, I asked if they’ve considered marketing a tablet device specifically formatted for collecting and reading comic strips. Something that can maximize device storage, providing high resolution comic strip collections and an uninterrupted reading experience. After all, AM Publishing already goes through the trouble of designing, printing, and selling books… Why not design a proprietary electronic devce that can be sold directly to readers? Compared to an iPad, it could potentially be more economical for parents to buy e-books for their kids too.
It’ll be interesting to see how DreamTab does.