News
MiiPC - the first family friendly Android Computer
eMachines Founder Aims to Disrupt PC Market through Crowd Funding
April 23, in the year of
our Lord 2013 -- MiiPC, a new PC aimed at parents,
today announces that is has raised its funding goal and over
$50,000 in just 22 hours and 43 minutes from its official launch
on Kickstarter. MiiPC is upsetting the traditional PC market by
launching the first family computer on Android, available for
just $99 on the website. MiiPC allows parents to give their
young children access to the Internet under their supervision
from a companion mobile app.
With total funding already secured, MiiPC will now go into
production in the next 90 days, ready to be delivered to early
bird backers in the summer.
MiiPC offers parents the chance to let their children surf the
web, play games, watch media and do their homework, safe in the
knowledge that they can make sure their children are not exposed
to disturbing videos, unsuitable apps and inappropriate
websites. The device comes with a HDMI connection, so it can be
hooked up to computer monitors and most modern TVs and with two
USB ports the whole experience is optimized to provide a true
keyboard and mouse experience.
Parents also have access to a MiiPC companion mobile app giving
them complete peace of mind knowing that they can monitor the
real-time activities of their children from anywhere - work, the
supermarket, a restaurant. While they’re on the move, parents
can instantly adjust the settings that allow their children
access to games, YouTube, Facebook and other distractions from
homework and learning at home.
Young Song, co-founder of eMachines which was acquired by
Gateway in 2004 for $265m, is the brains behind this new concept
of PC aimed at parents and schools: “MiiPC was launched on
Kickstarter as an experiment to see if parents would back the
idea of a PC which could allow them a little supervision over
what their kids are doing online. We’ve been astounded by the
response and to hit our funding target in our first day live! We
felt we had a great idea but it was really based on our own
experience of having children in our company from a very young
age through to teenagers sitting exams. But now we’ve heard the
internet community loud and clear – parents want a little power
back and want to curb the addictiveness of gaming apps and help
their children to get on with their schoolwork.”
“We feel like we’re just getting started. The team here
developed MiiPC as a simple and elegant solution. It allows you
to monitor your child’s activity, but at the same time start an
open and honest conversation with them about the content they’re
looking at and the time they spend on different tasks.”
Time Management
MiiPC was developed to stop family squabbles over the computer
use, too. Multi-user accounts can be set-up for different family
members, giving each different access to suitable apps and
games. A parent can register any number of family members and
can carefully monitor use (and misuse!) in real time on the
MiiPC companion mobile app. You can see if one member is hogging
the computer and make sure that every child gets their time
online.
Specifications
MiiPC runs on top of Android 4.2 (Jelly Bean) leveraging the
ever-growing Android application ecosystem. To complete the
desktop computing experience MiiPC comes with pre-bundled
Android apps and access to a Web Apps Center which will include
productivity, games, entertainment, multimedia and educational
selections.
Full specifications include:
Processor: Marvell® ARMADA® Family Series Dual Core1.2GHz SoC /
Memory: 1GB DDR System RAM
Storage: 4GB Internal Flash (expandable via SD Slot and USB
port)
Connectivity: WiFi (802.11 b/g/n), Ethernet Port, and Bluetooth
(4.0)
Connect to TV: HDMI (1080p/720p) output
I/O: 2 USB 2.0 Ports, Speaker & Microphone Jack
MiiPC Companion Mobile App for iOS and Android
*Keyboard, mouse & HDMI cable are sold separately