Panania invention Birde puts children in charge of content

Panania couple Daniel and Leah Corkin have developed a smart media player for children which has given them peace of mind about controlling content.

Panania inventors Leah and Daniel Corkin with their children Owen, 7, Henry, 5, and Archer, 3.

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Panania couple Daniel and Leah Corkin used to worry their three young children accessing inappropriate content on mobiles and tablets, so decided to do something about.

The result is the easy to use Birde, a combination of media player and high quality speaker, allowing children to choose their own music or audiobook and play it themselves. They claim it is the world’s first smart media player for children.

Birde is an easy-to-use console for children.

A separate app is controlled by the parents ensuring the content on the console is ideal for their children.

The Corkins quit their steady jobs, while Mrs Corkin was pregnant with Asher, to develop and then market Birde.

It has content from children entertainment giant Nickelodeon, ABC programs including the Wiggles and Play School, Monster Entertainment and Australian author Chris Collins.

“Birde allows children up to eight years to listen to music, audio books and videos which can be paired to a smart TV,” Mrs Corkin said, who earlier worked as a rehabilitation counsellor.

“We tried to find entertainment options for our three young boys — Owen, Henry and Archer — as we were worried they could look at inappropriate content (on tablets and mobile phones).

“The kids wanted to be independent and choose their favourite music or videos but we found tablets and phones weren’t designed to be used by young children.

Birde is also washable.

“Birde took us three years to develop with Daniel using his experience as a design engineer to design it.

“We use the same technology as the tap-and-go cards.

“Nickelodeon contacted us after hearing about Birde and asked us if they could get involved.”

Children can use tokens — called Birde seeds — to tap on Birde and activate their favourite audiobooks, music and/or videos.

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When paired with a compatible smart TV, the audio and video can be played through it.

Birde is even waterproof and washable and Mrs Corkin said the feedback from young parents has been very positive.

Birde allows children to use content which has been checked by their parents.

She said the product was doing quite well in the market — it is available at Bing Lee and Myer Online now — and parents can always update their content by purchasing new items through their website Birde.co.

“It’s very easy to use, our kids love Birde and they don’t have tablets in the home anymore,” Mrs Corkin said.

“We will keep updating the content available on Birde.”

Birde is available in Australia for $199 (USB charging) and $249 (wireless charging).

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