Tue 13 Sep 2005
Mattel releases Vidster camcorder for kids (via Engadget)
Mattel has released a truly 'dumbed down' camcorder for kids – 320 x 240 resolution and only 15fps – for $99. I assume they're banking on the low price-point to get kids (or more likely their parents) involved in media creation. But is it a good thing to give kids a device that basically sucks, and with which they can only approximate 'real' media? It seems to me that they're asking for it to be a novelty toy – kids & parents are interested in the idea, but then realize the video product is lousy and lose interest.
Cool toy! My son has a birthday coming up (and I'd love play with it
. I suspect the lower quality isn't a big deal. So many childrens' toys "suck" compared to the adult versions, but I think they can succeed because childrens' standards are lower and their capability for creativity is higher. Interesting parallels to the old Pixelvision camera, which is now a collectible classic.
Thanks for that link, Mike. I hadn't heard of the Pixelvision… It's a great story of how the really creative and enduring uses of a technology aren't always (or aren't usually) the ones that makers and marketers expect.
Let us know how your son likes it if you end up getting it for him!
Used to have a Pixelvision. Lovely, textured image. But really frustrating and fragile. Just got a Vidster. It's fantastic. True, the image is very lo-fi. But that's the charm, as it provides a kind of texture regular digital cameras can't offer. It's remarkably easy to use (even on a Mac, which is what I have). And batteries last way longer than I expected. I've shot over an hour on the first set of AAs, and they're still going strong. I expect to pick up a "real" DV camera at some point (now I shoot 16mm, mostly), but for the time being I'm sticking with the Vidster.
I seems like the Vidster is getting some attention from adults because of the 'artsy' quality of its movies. But the question remains – can it sustain kids attention, or is it a Christmas-day-only toy?
Actually Vidster does suck, bad quality, and it skips through the movies you make and it doesntr hold 6-8 minutes of recording time, it holds 3, basically regular vid cameras pwn vidster
Vidster sucks a$$, you can pick up a 640×480 30fps cm for not too much more. Yet another attempt to convince parents into buying a product which really does suck and is probably very biased twards kids and paying a prmium for the 'kids' feature.