At the end of last year I was invited to a delightful event at London Zoo, run by Microsoft. It was a family event where they were showcasing some new educational apps for children. They had a number of tablets including a giant Lenovo Horizon, which my son absolutely loved! It’s amazing to see how easily children adapt to modern day technology, phones, tablets, laptops… you name it, if it’s got buttons, you can guarantee they’ll work it out! My 2 year old is already a whizz with the remote control, not to mention all items of tech that I own!
We were all provided with a Nokia Lumia 1020. This phone really is one of the best, if not THE best smartphone out there. Windows Phone sales have increased a lot in the last year, thanks to Nokia. Their Lumia range is not only colourful, but the new Windows 8 OS works brilliantly on mobile. One of my criticisms of Windows phone in the past has been the lack of decent apps in their App Store, But in the last 12 months, things have changed and I think this has reflected in sales and their market share.
One of my favourite things about the windows phone is how child friendly it is. There’s a ‘Kid’s Corner’ where your children can play with their apps and you don’t have to worry about them deleting something important or calling your boss by mistake! I also love how you can personalise the home screen and the live tiles. It’s an OS that actually can appeal to everyone!
The apps that were showcased at the event were really popular with the children that attended. Daddy Pig’s Puddle Jump was a huge hit with the younger kids. It’s all about co-ordination. You get to choose a character to play with, Peppa, George or Daddy pig, and you have to complete a course where you jump over the obstacles and land in a giant puddle at the end. As the levels go on, the course becomes harder and requires better and quicker co-ordination skill. I played this game too and I actually found it really fun. It doesn’t see that complex, but if you lose your concentration, it’s over!
The Biff, Chip & Kipper app was another one on show. Biff, Chip & Kipper are very popular stories, so to have them handy in an app like this, is great for on the go. The app is free, however, you can download the books by making an in app purchase. Let’s face it, paper books are on their way out. Their generation are going to grow up reading on e-readers and tablets.
If reading is your thing, you can also download more books via the Nook app from Barnes & Noble. Again, this is a free app and you purchase books within the app. You can download books,, newspapers, magazines and comics. It’s your one stop reading shop on Windows Mobile.
So overall, it looks like Microsoft have really targeted the family market and they’re doing a good job. It’s not at the expense of any features or design of the phone. They’re going from strength to strength and I genuinely hope they continue to do so. With phones like the 1020, which boast an astonishing 41 megapixel camera, they’ll do OK. It’s the little things that matter and Microsoft do that well, just like the surprise visit from Daddy Pig at the end of the day. My boy was over the moon… Like I say, it’s the little things that count!