DreamWorks Animation partners with Fuhu on new tablet
DreamWorks Animation SKG is premiering its first computer tablet, one that will teach kids how to be their own animators, according to the Los Angeles Times.
The Glendale-based creator of the “Shrek,” “Kung Fu Panda” and “Madagascar” movies has partnered with El Segundo-based Fuhu Inc. to create DreamTab, billed as a state-of-the-the art tablet designed for kids.
The 8-inch by 12-inch device, which features a new 4.4 Kit Kat Android based operating system, will allow kids to stream movies, TV shows and play games with various innovative parental controls and educational tools.
Fuhu is best know for creating the award-winning Nabi tablet. DreamTab will be unveiled at the CES technology conference in Las Vegas next week and be sold in stores this spring for less than $300.
The initial game, “School of Dragons,” an educational multi-player online experience, will feature the studio’s “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise.
The tablet also includes a “Be an Artist” program that teachers kids how to create “Shrek” and other animated characters in one-on-one video sessions with DreamWorks animators.
“Fuhu grabbed our attention when they came on the market because they single-handedly made a quantum leap forward in revolutionizing the kids tech space; as their company grew, we saw an incredible opportunity to join with them to take the overall tablet experience to a whole new level,” DreamWorks Animation’s head of digital strategy, Jim Mainard, told the Los Angeles Times.
“The DreamTab posed a compelling challenge not only to our filmmakers and artists to create content for this new medium, but also for our engineers and innovators who worked hand-in-hand with the Fuhu team to develop the consumer-facing side of this groundbreaking technology,” Mainard added.
Jim Mitchell, chief executive of Fuhu, said, “This strategic alliance with DreamWorks Animation and the creation of the DreamTab is a major game changer in taking kids tech to a whole new level. Similar to the entrepreneurial nature of Fuhu, there is a founder-led spirit of innovation at DreamWorks Animation which permeates the studio and inspires them to create compelling content, regardless of the medium.”
-- By Richard Verrier, Los Angeles Times
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