Bandai’s Smart Berry prepares next generation for texting

Posted July 18, 2008 at 09:26 PM by Mark Rollins

Section: Communications, Email / IM, Mobile, Gadgets / Other, Lifestyle

I’ve never caught an episode of Gossip Girl, but I have heard that it is about privileged teenagers who are addicted to their BlackBerry lifestyle.  I suppose this show is representative of the youth of today who can text like no tomorrow. 

It appears that toy maker Bandai is preparing the next generation of gossip girls with the Smart Berry.  Despite the name, the Smart Berry has nothing to do with the genuine BlackBerry.

The Smart Berry is a kid-sized, kid-friendly mobile communicator that enables “email, chat, and online games within a 10-meter diameter”.  It appears that a Smart Berry can only communicate with another Smart Berry.  I honestly don’t think that the Smart Berry is capable of genuine email like Yahoo or Gmail, as messages are limited to 64 characters.

It does come with a feature that most BlackBerries don’t come with, a Virtual Pet.  Yeah, the Smart Berry is a toy, and one that will prepare our youth for next generation of texting.  The price tag for the Bandai Smart Berry is a little high at about $96.

Via [Engadget]