(second from right) Gerald Cai, Head of Learning, Media Solution Centre, Southeast Asia, Oceania & Taiwan, Samsung Asia Pte. Ltd. and (centre) Luke Au, Head of Product Marketing, Samsung Malaysia Electronics, were delighted to announce the partnership between Samsung and Perbadanan Kota Buku, represented today by (first from right) Sayed Munawar Sayed Mohd Mustar, CEO; (second from left) Razin Abd. Rahman, General Manager; and (first from left) Norhayati Razali, Manager.
Samsung Malaysia Electronics announced last week a series of initiatives to engage parents and children with a safe and secure “learning by playing” environment.
The initiatives will take place in Malaysia and across Southeast Asia, including the launch of Samsung KidsTime; a children’s content service application (app) and the creation of a Samsung KidsTime Author’s Award to encourage publishers to create relevant content for children.
Luke Au Kuan Yew, Head of Product Marketing, Mobile Business, Samsung Malaysia Electronics said: “Samsung KidsTime promotes a safe and secure learning environment for children. The large variety of kids’ apps available makes it difficult for parents to filter and monitor what their kids are doing with technology. Through Samsung KidsTime, parents are provided with tools such as Time Set, App Lock and Parent Report. This gives them peace of mind knowing that their child’s play sessions are guided and meaningful.”
Samsung KidsTime
Samsung KidsTime is a content subscription service optimised for Samsung tablets that provides children aged 3-7 years old with access to a carefully curated set of edutainment apps and eBooks, and parents with additional features including personalised children usage reports.
The app provides content in a safe and age-appropriate environment, free from advertisements and in-app purchases. At launch, children have access to 30 eBooks and game apps revolving around themes such as learning mathematics, literacy, science, creativity and others. The list will eventually expand to more than 50 apps that will be refreshed monthly.
Parents are also provided functions that can help control the time children can access content on the app, as well as an “App Lock” service that prevents children from leaving the app environment without a passcode. This app allows kids to play and learn in a safe digital environment, giving parents peace of mind.
Samsung KidsTime Author’s Award
Samsung had announced the creation and launch of Samsung KidsTime Author’s Award, in partnership with the National Book Development Council of Singapore (NBDCS) at the Asian Festival of Children’s Content 2014.
In Malaysia, Samsung will work in partnership with the Perbadanan Kota Buku at the Festival Sastera Kanak-Kanak (FSK) 2014 to identify ten award winners, who will each win a cash prize and have their winning submission featured in Samsung KidsTime for a year which will be worth a total value of USD 20,000.
The Samsung KidsTime Author’s Award will uncover new talent as well as expand the reach of existing content publishers to co-create a meaningful, safe and engaging ecosystem for children. More information can be found at www.samsungkidstime.com
Participation is open for authors or publishers across Malaysia and South East Asia and will run until 31 December 2014. A panel of five judges, who are experts in the field of children’s books and/or online and mobile content, will select the winners from the works submitted to NBDCS. Mr. Rahman, Senior Manager, Perbadanan Kota Buku will be one of the judges.
Availability
Samsung KidsTime is available for all users of the GALAXY Note 4 4G+, GALAXY ALPHA 4G+ and GALAXY S5 4G+, as well as tablets including the GALAXY Tab S, GALAXY Note PRO and GALAXY Note 10.1 2014 Edition.
Samsung KidsTime comes free with 10 apps and eBook titles upon app installation. Consumers can opt to upgrade to a monthly subscription for access to the complete set of 30 apps and eBooks that will be expanded to 50 and constantly refreshed.