ELECTRICCHALK

Getting our eldest daughter an iPod Touch for her 6th birthday is probably one of the least revolutionary things I’ve ever done. Big deal!

All I wanted to do here was record the reasons behind going for this device rather than the Nintendo DSi as it might be interesting to look back in 12 months or so to see what she’s done with it; has she enjoyed it, does she regret not getting the Nintendo, is she getting things from it we didn’t anticipate?

Here’s our reasoning:

Looks: the DSi looks like a souped-up Donkey Kong game from the 80′s. The iPod looks like an iPod.

Cost: the iPod is more expensive than the Nintendo but once you take into account the cost of games vs free apps that quickly balances out.

Interface: She’s already quite confident with the iOS after playing with my iPhone and anyway, I much prefer the touch interface over the nasty stylus thingy. Also playing accelerometer-enabled games is pretty cool.

Flexibility: the iPod does a greater variety of things. Games, music, internet (including CBBC on the iPlayer – big hit). If she’s interested, we could be making Animoto movies together, editing images, making music…

Education: this was a toughie. The Nintendo has lots of really great education games while the eduction apps on the Apple are weaker in some cases. I was trying to think beyond dedicated learning games. Using apps like Doodle Buddy will hopefully help her develop skills in collaboration as well as creativity. Using Maps might help her build her spatial awareness. She already loves playing with the calculator. And so on. I felt the iPod was a richer experience for her.

Sometimes it feels like magic. Try using Bump to share pictures with your daughter and see the amazement on her face, let alone on Grandma’s!

And the down sides:

No camera: I felt a bit of an idiot being advised by shop assistants that if I waited a few weeks there would be a nice shiny new ipod to buy with a video camera and all sorts, but still buying the old one. Firstly, I don’t think she’ll miss not having a camera on her own device too much as she can use mine when she wants. Secondly, she hasn’t yet learnt to look at the next update and long to own it – she’s not hanging on Steve Jobs’ every keynote . She’s only 6! (We might be starting her off on the path early though, I admit). Thirdly, when you’re 6 you don’t want to wait a few weeks for you birthday presents, do you?

Peers: None of her friends own an iPod that we know of so she might miss out on some sharing experiences. However, when we asked her, she said she didn’t mind having something none of her friends had, she actually thought that was rather cool. (OK, I realise the irony of joining the Apple bandwagon instead but it can take a lot to do something different from your peers when you’re that age).

So let’s see how she gets on.

Image: Fe Ilya on Flickr – CC License – Attribution, Share Alike