Edutainment is made a reality with TCL partnerships in 2014

Connecting kids with technology is often an interesting balance, as you generally have to provide some entertainment with a dash of education, but TCL has two concepts this year that plan to do just that.

The company which is pushing TV to OLED, 4K, and even holographic places at CES this year is also showcasing some neat ideas that will let people — especially the little ones — really engage with technology in 2014.

One of these ideas is the Xkey, a keyboard that TCL has worked on with CME, a MIDI-compatible keyboard that can work with computers, smartphones, and tablets to help educate anyone in how to play piano and keyboard, as well as give enthusiast and professional players a portable way to compose music on the go.

The regular CME XKey has been out in Australia for a while, retailing for under $200, and with the TCL connected version, the Xkey portable keyboard can be linked up with a TV and played with on a big screen.

If music isn’t the art you’re normally into, TCL has also been working on a big screen TV that measures 85 inches and comes with a specially designed pen.

With this pen, people will be able to draw directly on the screen of the 85 inch TV, making it possible not just to demonstrate things, but also to draw sketches and paint digital artworks.

Sometimes, though, edutainment can be passive, and if you’re going to sneak anything past the kids, you may as well make it look neat in the process.

To that end, TCL has teamed up with Disney to create a TV for kids that appeals to them, decorated with characters from Disney programs.

The TCL Disney TV isn’t just about making the TV look prettier for the kids, though, and has even made the interface use Disney characters in a Smart TV system, complete with games that TCL says will “promote healthy cognitive development in children and teens.”

If the kids are sitting too close to the Disney telly, though, a neat new feature developed by TCL will switch the TV off, as the Disney TV is the world’s first to support a distance sensor to promote safe viewing.

Like all developments out of CES, it’s unknown as to whether Australians will see any of these, though we hear there’s a possibility for the Disney TV becoming a local product, so stay tuned.