Last weekend, Bandai, makers of all manner of toy in Japan, launched the “Mobile Communicator Smart Berry.” No, Bandai has not licensed Blackberry technology, though the Smart Berry could be compared to a Blackberry for kids–more specifically, for girls. After all, these things look positively Hello-Kittyish.
But surely the Japanese wouldn’t put the power of a CrackBlackberry in the hands of a child!
Not exactly. This thing can do a good number of things in common with it’s Canadian-born cousin. Email, chat and online games are all doable on the Smart Berry–no Internet connection (sorry kids! no pixelated porn for you!)–these little guys communicate wirelessly, but only with each other. In fact, they have a range of ten meters and can only communicate with up to three other ‘Berrys at a time. But wait–that’s just the beginning…
Just check out these other features:
Girls can exchange pictures they draw on the diminutive touchscreen with the stylus.
Each Smart Berry comes with a “virtual pet” that the girl can care for or send to a friend.
The Smart Berry can also register user profiles of other friends. This is the only way the SB will connect with other SBs–if your profile has been registered with another user and vice versa. It seems like this is how parents can keep their little girls from exchanging dirty pictures with creepy gaijin in trenchcoats in shady Starbucks. So, okasan and otosan (moms and dads): keep your eyes on those profiles!
The form factor is reminiscent of Sony’s Mylo with some serious sugar and spice mixed in for that “everything nice” feel because girls “are sensitive to trends and fashion,” at least, according to Bandai.
The SB has a 2 inch-wide monochromatic LCD touchscreen (no backlight!!) mounted in a 4+ inch-wide device. Over all, the gadget is just slightly larger than an Altoids tin, making it perfect for the tiny hands of a pre-teen girl in any country.
Speaking of which, no word on whether Bandai will be exporting these little guys, but if you’re in the Land of the Rising Sun, you can pick one up for just over ten-thousand yen. Don’t worry, that’s around a hundred bucks US.
