Kuddle To Partner Microsoft For Child Friendly Tablet

A Norwegian company called Kuddle, the creator of a child friendly photo-sharing app, will team up with Microsoft to develop a new tablet device.

Kuddle reportedly plans, in conjunction with Redmond, to develop the child safe tablet device in time for Christmas.

Child Friendly

Kuddle is essentially aimed at the adolescent and children market and aims to provide a safe digital environment for the next generation of social media users. It also hopes to help educate children regarding safe online behaviour.

Think of it as a child friendly version of Instagram, where parents can monitor what content their children are publishing to the wider online world. Children can also add their comments to their pictures, and the app is designed to halt any online bullying.

But now the firm has set its sights not just on software, but also the hardware side as well. Its chief executive, Ole Vidar Hestaas, told Reuters that the Oslo-based company is expecting to shortly sign a funding deal for $5m (£3m) with venture capitalists that will allow it to grow its customer base to one million users, but at the same time also allow it to develop a child friendly tablet, expected to be launched on 1 December.

“We are working with Microsoft on several child safe devices which will be sold on our online store,” Hestaas was quoted as saying. “The first device will be an iPad Mini sized tablet priced under $100 (£62) that will be ready ahead of the Kuddle Store launch.”

“This is a child friendly device and it is not possible to download games like GTA (Grand Theft Auto) or apps like Snapchat,” Hestaas reportedly said.

Hestaas also reportedly revealed that the Norwegian firm is in talks with Samsung and Microsoft’s Nokia handset division, and is liaising with European telecom operators such as Vodafone and Telenor for child-safe Kuddle SIM cards.

Online Safeguarding

The issue of safeguarding children online is becoming an increasingly pressing problem for many parents today, not helped by the growing use of smartphones, tablets, and other Internet-enabled devices by tech-savvy children and teenagers.

In February this year, European Commissioner Neelie Kroes warned parents that they were not doing enough to protect their children on the Internet.

Kroes made the comments on the Safer Internet Day, which encourages the IT industry to come together to promote more responsible use of online technology.

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