iToys Announces i Pix Rugged Portable Video Player

Written on Feb 10, 2009 by Brian and filed under News, iToys

iToys has announced the fall release of their oddly named “i Pix” portable video player. This semi-rugged video player is water resistant and shock-proof and comes in pink or green. Parents will be able to download age appropriate content from the iToys website. i Pix is designed for kids ages 3 and up.

“Personal entertainment devices are coveted by people of all ages and our innovative i Pix Portable Video Player meets the needs of the preschool set head on,” said iToys Toycoon George Irwin. “The i Pix Portable Video Player lets kids take their favorite movies and shows with them wherever they go and enables families to download fresh, kid-safe content appropriate for their child.”

It is unclear however how parents can get their kid’s favorite shows and movies onto the device. The downloads are said to be “proprietary content” and there’s no mention of fees for the downloaded content or licensing agreements with key kid’s brands. We’ll reserve judgement until we see the unit, but devices like this never work unless the content is good. It remains to be seen what the quality of content is and how easy it is, if at all possible, to add your own digital library to the device.

From a hardware perspective the unit is semi-rugged and features a rubberized grip and large kid-friendly buttons. It will connect to your PC for content via USB, though we’re not sure how much storage is on the device and whether or not it can be expanded. It also  includes a rechargeable internal battery that should net 2.5 hours of playback time.  The display is 240×360 pixels, but the size of the display was not disclosed. Based on the picture, it looks to be somewhere around 3 inches. 

The i Pix Portable Video Player will be available this fall and will retail for $69.99.

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