Fisher Price Communication

Some time ago I thought:
I will really begin to be old the moment I will think "at my times...this was better, that was better..."

I am afraid that moment has come.
When I read articles as the following I think I do not understand the world anymore




Baby babble
Martin Geddes - Telepocalypse


What I want: a Skype “phone” I can give to my daughter which is battery powered and lets her talk to her grandparents and — in future — her cousins.
Up to five buttons, one for each person. When they’re online, the button glows green. When you’re talking to that person, it glows red. Press the button to connect and disconnect. Press multiple buttons for a conference call between all grandparents. Totally under the initiative of your kid, no parents needed. Incoming calls? Probably not, or at least a parent-selectable option (naturally, only from pre-approved buddies). Auto power-off after 5 mins of relative silence. More... (http://www.telepocalypse.net)

I always believed in teaching my children to do intelligent things (and I was only partially rewarded).

I NEVER would have liked my daughter or my son playing with a stupid phone, talking about weather conditions or what they had for lunch or "are you going for a walk?" because those would have been the topics to discuss with their grandparents.

Far away are the times when grandparents read nice stories to grandchildren and they discussed about them.

Far are the times when they could teach them things they would have never learned in another way.

Now the important is to see if the button is green, that means the others are talking, or red, that means you are talking.
And may be in a near future it will also be possible to see the grandparents face on a small video.

But then, you must be careful, and the INCOMING CALLS?

"Probably not, or at least a parent-selectable option (naturally, only from pre-approved buddies). Auto power-off after 5 mins of relative silence."

And the important:

" Should be tumbling out of Chinese factory for $10-15 or less. Retail for $80-100 this year, $49.99 in Costco next year, $29.99 in Wal-Mart year after. (Undine can sell me 2 cordless phones and a base station for $80 at retail right now, and Wal-Mart 2 FRS radios for $8. This is a high-margin device in year 1.)"

Because it should also be cheap.

But still the cheaper way to communicate is face to face, how nice it was when children could see their grandparents and talk to them!
Yes, my old age is definitely on the door...


I don’t want a smartphone for Christmas. I want a Fisher Price phone that works.
There’s still time. Anyone dare?


If I really have to choose, I prefer it on a stick:


Skype On A Stick


VoIPStick may be the first out the door with an idea like this, but U3, a Redwood City based company is taking things a lot further, with a whole line of on USB memory stick based applications. The one with Skype is the most appealing to me simply because it means that you can leave the laptop at home and only carry a headset and the memory stick.

Andy Abramson - VoIP Watch