Sunday, January 06, 2013

Griffin Technology Partners With Nickelodeon To Release A Kid-Friendly iOS Accessory Line Based On Popular Nickelodeon And Nick Jr. Shows

According to the following Nickelodeon News articles from SlashGear and 9to5Mac, the Consumer Electronics company Griffin Technology have announced a brand new partnership with Nickelodeon to make and release a line of child friendly accessories for Apple iOS (iPod, iPhone and iPad) and Google Android devices based on the popular Nickelodeon and Nickelodeon Preschool (Nick Jr.) properties "SpongeBob SquarePants", "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles" and "Dora the Explorer", including device cases and a "SpongeBob SquarePants Woogie" (picture below) in 2013 at this years International CES, CES 2013, a major technology-related trade show held each January in the Las Vegas Convention Center, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. From SlashGear.com:
Griffin kid-friendly accessories explode upon CES 2013

This week the folks at Griffin are sure to bring on more than just a couple of their own accessories for devices of all kinds, but right at the start they’ve made it bright and colorful for the kids. Starting with an item as small as a pencil – the Capper Stylus, shaped like a rocket here in the first images we've got, transforms a standard pencil into a tablet-friendly stylus – how about that? Then there’s a set of Kazoo iOS cases (which you see in monkey form here for the iPhone) and frog-themed headphones – needless to say, we’ll be getting really cute with Griffin this year.

The Kazoo Heaphones you’re seeing here come in several friendly animal-shaped looks including the aforementioned frog and at least one kind of penguin, then there’s a set of iPod touch cases with every animal from an elephant to a zebra – imagine that! They’ve also worked with that fancy little lanyard connector on the iPod touch bringing you a set of charms – once again very zoo-friendly. They’ve got a set of Kazoo AUX cables coming out, each of them made to connect in just about as kid-friendly a way as possible for your kid’s audio equipment, too, with more animals on the fritz of course.

The most interesting of the releases here is the Griffin Capper Stylus, this being tablet, smartphone, or any capacitive touchscreen interface, really, friendly, made to attach to your regular standard pencil or pen. This means that your child will be learning to use a standard-sized writing utensil while they’ve still got the tablet in front of them – how handy! These come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and colors as well. The fun continues with Nickelodeon and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles-themed accessories, with both Griffin and Nickelodeon making a statements specifically for these new doors opening for 2013:
“Nickelodeon properties have passionate fans who are eager for products associated with their favorite shows. Partnering with Nickelodeon opens the door to tons of fun accessories modeled after the most popular characters among kids of all ages. We look forward to a long-lasting partnership, kicking off at the 2013 CES.” – Mark Rowan, President of Griffin Technology
“Nickelodeon properties have passionate fans who are eager for products associated with their favorite shows. We are excited to partner with Griffin to produce unique and trendy products to help us further expand our consumer electronics offerings.” – Manuel Torres, Senior Vice President, Global Toys and Consumer Electronics, Nickelodeon Consumer Products
This lineup begins with so much Spongebob your eyes are going to fall out. There’s an 8-bit styled iPad cases, “Faces” cases for the iPhone 5 and iPod touch (with interchangeable faces!) and a lovable SpongeBob Woogie – that’s a big stuffed animal with a special app to make it “alive”, so to speak, when you’ve got your iPhone, iPod touch – or even Android device inside! Dora the Explorer is popping up too with cases for iOS devices galore, starting with the Dora the Explorer Skin for iPod touch.

Then comes the most awesome set of comic book characters in the history of the world, those four green-skinned heroes in a half shell that hold a special place in this humble narrator’s heart, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. This brand is working with Nickelodeon at this point in history and will be rolling out with Griffin with at least one TMNT Shell for iPhone 5 and iPod touch as well as a Folio for iPad.

Stick with us all week for more action from Griffin as well as the rest of the gadget-loving universe as we traverse CES 2013. Check out our big amazing CES portal for all things hands-on as well as early release and otherwise soon-to-exist in the consumer market machines. Check the timeline below as well for examples of some of the products above with slightly different designs, Griffin quality manufacturing in-tact.
Also, from 9to5Mac.com:
CES 2013: Griffin unveils updated audio lineup with XLR to 3.5mm ‘MicConnect’, partners with Crayola and Nickelodeon for kids accessories

The 9to5Mac crew just touched down in Las Vegas for CES and to kick things off we have a slew of new products from Griffin, many of which we plan on getting our hands on next week during the show.

First off, it's introducing a new lineup of audio accessories, including an updated Lightning version of the Studio Connect interface for iPad it launched last year (full review here). The new version will be available May 2013 for $149.99. We also get Griffin’s new Mic Stand Mount, a $39.99 iPad stand that works like a traditional microphone performance stand. Lastly for audio products, Griffin is launching an XLR to 3.5mm mic bringing studio quality recording to iPads and iPhones (its available June 2013, but we hope to bring you a full review of the MicConnect soon).

Pictured to the right is another new accessory Griffin has at CES, the $99.99 charging cradle known as the Power Dock 5. The dock accommodates iOS devices with cases, and holds up to 5 full-sized iPads. It also launched the new WoodTones headphones made from responsibly harvested Beech, Sapele and Walnut woods (pictured at top).

Griffin isn't stopping there, it’s also launching a ton of new iOS accessories aimed at children, including a partnership with Crayola to bring a digital stylus shaped like a thick, Crayola marker ($29.99 with a free companion app this spring). Other kids products include the Crayola Color & Play Workstation, which Griffin described as an “all-in-one iPad workstation that includes a built-in carrying handle and three storage cubbies for their crayons, markers and digital coloring tools like ColorStudio HD and DigiTools.”

The company is also teaming up with Nickelodeon to bring SpongeBob SquarePants, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Dora the Explorer themed iOS accessories to market. Finally, it will be showing off its latest in the children’s KaZoo lineup with “new headphones, iPod touch cases, a charms lanyard kit and kid-friendly AUX cables themed after animals.”


(via Griffin)