iMarker

Jupiter loves using the iPad. He loves it for games and learning. I am pretty sure he learned most of his animals and what sounds they make from it. Sure, we take him to the zoo and he loves it, but how often does an animal at the zoo make the sounds associated with them in the few minutes you spend looking at it?

Jupiter also likes to color, as most two year olds do. I had noticed that Griffin had teamed up with Crayola to release the iMarker which pairs with the ColorStudio HD and Paint & Create apps for the iPad. I thought this might be something that he would enjoy so I picked one up from Amazon.

Luckily, it arrived from the parcel service during nap time. This gave me an hour to play with it first. I was impressed. But the real test would be whether Jupiter liked it.

At first he had a bit of a hard time figuring out how the app works. He was easily distracted by all those other apps on the home screen that he already knew how to use. But after a little while, he started to get the hang of it, and seemed to enjoy it.

The major benefit to using a stylus type marker on a touch screen device for coloring is, of course, the lack of mess potential. There is absolutely no way to make a mess. Jupiter is pretty good about staying on the paper anyway, so it is not a huge concern for us, but he does go off the paper from time to time. Another benefit is portability. I can throw the iPad and the iMarker into the diaper bag or satchel I am carrying out the door with me and we have access to more than a good size coloring book's worth of pictures. The pictures also have some slight animation, which can make the experience a little more fun.

The only drawback is that it is not perfect. It is software and hardware, not crayons and paper. It still feels like I am using a stylus and a touch screen. I do not know if tools like this can ever completely replace the analog counterpart. For example, when Jupiter was just learning to color, there were a variety of crayons in front of him. It is infinitely more intuitive for him to see what crayons are in front of him, pick one up, and draw with that color. Whereas having a digital palate at the bottom of the screen takes some additional effort for a young mind to figure out.

One other thing that I sort of expected is that the marker also only seems to work with the Crayola apps and not any of the other drawing apps that I tried it with. I do not necessarily see this as a drawback, as I expected there would be either technical or fiscal reasons for this, but it is something to consider.

Overall though, I like the product, and Jupiter likes it too. I recommend the iPad as a great youth learning device, and I recommend the iMarker as a good companion.