Toymail Talkies give kids a fun and easy way to talk to people they love. The Toymail Cloud makes it simple to add new features so that Talkies adapt and improve over time.
On the back of the recent rise in voice-based products and the Amazon Echo, Toymail is betting big on creating the best experience for kids. They are one of the initial investments out of Amazon’s Alexa Fund and recently netted a deal with Chris and Lori on Shark Tank.
Gauri and the Toymail team, what excites you about voice interfaces for kids? What went into designing a toy that is beautiful and fun to play with while mirroring the ease of use of today's tech products?
@mazzeo Three years ago, we began to work on a new way to voice chat with kids. We wanted to make a physical toy, because, unlike a phone, that's something you can feel good about putting in kids' hands. And we wanted the interface to be simple, so that kids as young as three could use it. It took years of iteration, speaking to our customers, and testing to get the product to where it is today.
But the Talkies are only just the beginning. Screen-free interfaces are what drives us. And for kids who are too young to read or write, they make complete sense - they can now surf the web with their voice, accessing information as they need it. Amazon Echo had around 15% penetration in families having more than 75k USD income last year. We’re finally on the brink of research meeting application in machine learning and natural language processing. With backing from the Alexa Fund, we are integrating the voice recognition software inside Amazon's Echo into our next generation of Talkies. Kids will be able to Google, stream, and of course chat with their Talkies with zero chance of posting a selfie or serial clicking Youtube videos.
@gauri_nanda definitely something which the market needed. Can attest the fact seeing how my little cousins are all addicted to their tablets and mobile phones and their parents don't really feel too happy about it. Good luck :)
My 6 yo daughter is obsessed. Will send 20 messages in a row if we let her. The product is incredibly high quality for something so complex and early stage. Telecom hardware, mobile wireless and app, all in the form of a toy for kids. A seemingly impossible challenge that works amazingly well. I can't wait to see what features they add to this platform going forward, which are opportunities to keep the kids engaged as they grow. Can't recommend this product enough for kids under 10 as a first comm device pre-smartphone.
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