Zipit: Take Two

Zipit, a wireless IM-only device, has a whole new look, lots of customization tools, and an accompanying web site as it relaunches to take another shot to land in the hands of IMing 'tweens and teens.

Fresh from an infusion of $4.7 million in investment funding, Zipit has been recast with a back-lit screen, a more impressive looking design and keyboard. The difference between the old Zipit and the new is, as Ralph Heredia, Zipit Wireless co-founder and vice president, told me at DigitalLife, "night and day." He's right. The handheld Zipit has eschewed its plastic-y, small-child- toy look for a more sophisticated blue-and-silver-button keyboard and menu tools. The backlit screen is a far cry from the previous Zipit's dated black text and primitive graphics on a dark screen.

Gone also is the $99 price. The new Zipit will be $149, "the price of an iPod," Heredia said. It's a one-time fee because no service charges are required since it works in any Wi-Fi hotspot.

So why would kids who are already texting like crazy on their cell phones and IMing from their PCs need another device to IM friends? Zipit Wireless is banking on the fact that families with multiple kids often share computers, so IM time is limited. And texting is different than IMing. With texting, kids communicate with one friend at a time; when they IM, they can chat with lots of friends at once. Zipit also is hoping that parents will like that there is no web access from the device; right now it only connects with AOL's AIM, Yahoo! Messenger, and MSN's Windows Live Messenger. 

Customization is big on the new Zipit. Kids can change backgrounds, fonts, and other features to personalize these portable instant message devices. Faceplates will be sold to change the color and look of the Zipit's top. 

The new Zipit Wireless web site has personalization tools, a "Zipitpedia," where kids can make up their own texting phrases, and a parent's page, where limits can be set on when the Zipit is used. The MyTunez feature also is back, allowing kids to download MP3s on an SD card, then plug them into the Zipit. Same goes with photos.

Will music downloads via Wi-Fi be possible? I asked. Heredia just smiled and said, "It's a connected device and we plan on upgrading it." 

Pre-orders for the Zipit will be available on ZipitWireless.com beginning Oct. 1, and they will ship by the end of October. Heredia said Zipits will be back in big-box stores later in the year.

Related: Zipit: An IM-Only Solution for Kids