Isabella Products Inc. issued a press release today announcing the Fable, a portable multimedia device that is designed for kids to read color ebooks, view pictures, draw, play games, and share photos over the wireless network.
The Fable features a 7-inch LCD touchscreen and will run a customized version of the Google Android operating system. Each Fable is said to come pre-loaded with several children’s books from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, and parents can purchase new books for the Fable via the wireless connection. The ebooks are expected to cost between $.99 and $3.99.
Here are some of the important details from the press release:
Fable’s easy-to-use interface, coupled with a secure connection to Isabella’s VizitMe.com content management system, enables children to interact with educational and entertaining content at home, school or on-the-go. Fable’s core applications include reading, drawing, gaming and photo sharing. Fable will ship with selected content from HMH’s treasured storybook collection. The e-Reader application will provide access to the Fable library, which includes a child’s personal collection of preloaded and purchased material available for immediate viewing. Parents and children will be able to purchase additional eBooks from Isabella’s VizitMe bookstore or directly from the bookstore located on the Fable device. With a wide selection of picture books and interactive content, Fable provides an entertaining digital experience for children of all ages and interests.
“Fable integrates classic stories and technology to enable children to experience our content in a rich and exciting way,” said Cheryl Cramer Toto, Senior Vice President of Digital Strategy and Planning for HMH. “We continuously strive to entertain, educate and inspire young readers, and through the partnership with Isabella Products we are delighted to make our children’s picture books available on Fable.”
In addition to the e-Reader application, Fable offers:
• Drawing – Includes an artistic toolset of various sizes and colors including markers, paintbrushes, magic pens or shapes, which can be applied to a blank page, coloring book pages or photos.
• Gaming – Provides interactive games focusing on counting, reading, nutrition, colors, shapes and other educational themes, all supported by HMH and other publishers’ unique characters and stories.
• Photo Sharing – Supports the delivery of photos from family and friends to Fable’s own Gallery. An onboard camera will also allow users to take photos from Fable and share them as well. Photos can also be used as coloring sheets in the drawing application.To ensure a secure and safe experience, Fable is managed by Isabella’s VizitMe.com content management system that controls the device’s access to new content, friends and family, and the VizitMe bookstore. Fable’s settings can be adjusted on the device by parents through a pin code or can be remotely managed through a password-protected account at VizitMe.com. All purchased and created content is saved on VizitMe.com where parents can also invite and manage their friends’ and family’s interactions with the child’s device.
There’s an article over at Boston.com that reveals more details. They want to try and price the Fable between $149 and $179 dollars, but it sounds like there will be additional wireless fees as well as a fee for the Vizit data service.
The Fable is expected to launch in mid 2011.