Elmo Shows Us Why The iPad Will Be a Hit With Kids

Sesame Street has launched a new iPhone application aimed at kids called Elmo’s Monster Maker. I’ve embedded a video demo of the iPhone app below. The app costs $4 and can be downloaded from the iPhone app store. It’s pretty amazing that little kids are using the iPhone for games but after watching my sister’s 5-year old niece playing a variety of games on the iPhone, I see how well it works as a game console.

The Elmo Monster Maker app is pretty simple. You can customize the monster’s face including the nose, hat, eyes and mouth. After you are satisfied with your monster, Elmo will dance with it. It’d be neat if you could somehow post your monster to a gallery on Sesame Street’s website.

What I think this app (and other similar apps) shows is how popular the iPad will be with children and young kids. If they like playing on a tiny screen, their excitement will only ride with a screen that’s 3x bigger. I’ve previously shared my thoughts about why I want an iPad. I think the iPad device will be a hit for families once it drops to $349 for the WiFi version. I think the price drop will come just before the holiday season. Will the iPad be a bigger gaming hit than the Nintendo DS or Playstation PSP? Only time will tell  but if the price drops, look for at least strong competition.

As a side note, we hear Elmo got his app (pictured above) for free. Shouldn’t there be a disclosure inside the video regarding this per the FTC?