We, my daughter and I signed up to review the new KidZui browser. KidZui bills itself as being a fun and safe browser specially made for children. My seven year old daughter and I explored the browser together and after a few weeks I/we offer my/our opinion.
The download was quick and simple and after my first glance at the User Interface, I was impressed. The steps to setting up an account were relatively easy. Creating a Zui proved a bit of a challenge because many of the options that my daughter wanted were “Premiums” and I had to keep explaining that we were not yet members and for now were just testing the product out.
Once inside the actual KidZui browser, the screen is filled with different tabs and options. It is a bit overwhelming and my daughter had a hard time figuring out what to do first. Together we choose the “Video” tab and were presented with different YouTube videos. Each of the YouTube vidoes can be rated with Tags, which are cute little graphics. Each Tag has a different opinion noted but again we ran into seeing Tags we could not use because we were not paid members.
It is not clear to me how the videos are selected to be included in the browser. Are the videos actually chosen by kids or are there a number of videos chosen by adults and the kids rate them. Not sure that it make a huge difference, but the marketing to children is a big concern to me. And I instantly see how this browser can be a huge marketing tool.
The next tab Alana wanted to see was within the “Video” tab and was dedicated to videos about animals. We both enjoyed this section. Seeing at this point, that for the most part the browser is quite benign, I left Alana to her own devices. I came back in about 10 minutes to check in on her and she had found games. She was playing POKER! It was at this point that I realized that the browser had an issue. What kind of kids browser would have a Poker game for kids?
Some of the other games available were great. Alana especially liked the games groupings called, Dress Up Games and Games for Girls. She actually spent most of her time during each log on between these two tabs.
Overall, the browser is beautiful, clear and fun. There are many useful features to take advantage of as a parent which help keep our children safe. Easy to read reports can be set to come weekly, daily or monthly to parents. However, some reporting features can not be accessed unless you are a paying member.
Sometimes the loading times can be long for videos. Membership costs, which is ok and better than advertising. I saw Google Ads in the browser but am not sure why.
My only objection to Kidzui is the Poker Game found in the puzzle game tab. This was the deal breaker for me. I did send a brief email explaining, that I thought the game was inappropriate.
Despite what I think, Alana loves the browser and feels a sense of maturity when she gets to use it. Kidzui is a great way to introduce your kids to the internet.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
LMAO! You are so right about companies not paying attention to details. But they did give me 3 months of their premium service for free. I am so easy…LOL.
Poker?!! Seriously sometimes companies need to take a step back and realize what they’re doing. What’s next non-alcoholic beer in vending machines and cigarette ads in Hightlights magazine.