Pentagram designed Yoto Player, a smart speaker

The Pentagram Yoto Player, a smart health connected speaker for kids, has more in common with old cassette players than with smart speakers like Amazon Echo or Google health home devices.

Yoto Player by Pentagram is primarily aimed at children … and parents

The Yoto Player deliberately does not have a microphone, camera, or screen. It is actually designed to play sound, but through NFC-compatible physical cards. It was created by two parents who wanted to minimize the screen time for their children.

Physical cards fit into the top of the speaker like the nostalgic HitClips of yesteryear; which encapsulated bite-size music videos into tiny plastic squares. Parents can connect the speaker to an add-on application to “download” their own content onto blank cards. Also, they can buy cards that connect to the music library; but also activities, sound effects and audiobooks from partners like Random House and Yoto’s Roald Dahl collection.

The speaker requires Wi-Fi, and NFC cards contain links to content stored on Yoto's servers; so the speaker actually downloads the content when it is inserted into the Pentagram Yoto player. Blank cards can be personalized with your own MP3s, purchased audiobooks, or anything you upload to the Yoto server. Daily content is free, but Yoto also sells an annual subscription service that lets you receive new audio cards four times a year, for $ 94.

Yoto Player is a bit expensive…

It seems a lot more expensive than the catalogs of audiobooks and music available at the Kindle library or on streaming services. But parents pay for peace of mind knowing that their children will not be listened to or subjected to an overwhelming selection of content potentially harmful to children.

"As physical objects, cards not only allow children to control the content. But they also promote learning and play and, for very young children, they encourage the development of fine motor skills ”; Jon Marshall of Pentagram told Fast Company.

The design of the Pentagram Yoto is simple enough for children to use, but also stylish and modern, in a way that adults can enjoy. The only speaker controls are the two red buttons. Also, its flexible block edges allow children to tilt the speaker to turn it on and off. The softly lit pixel screen sometimes displays a friendly face or basic designs. It can also be used as an ordinary Bluetooth speaker.

The speaker can charge wirelessly through a supplied magnetic docking station and a built-in battery allows children to take the speaker wherever they go. It only lasts about three hours of continuous play, which isn't much for a wireless speaker, but Yoto says the feature will be improved with software updates. The Yoto Player costs $ 107 and will ship this month.

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