A pocket device for ages 5 to 9

Their first device should be a toy.

Hoot is a chunky little thing that takes photos, plays stories, records daft voices, and talks to a friend's Hoot from across the park. No screen to scroll. No internet. No monthly fee.

Join the first run 500 units. No payment today.
Design render. Chunky on purpose, and it survives a driveway.
What it does

Eleven fun things, and nothing you'd worry about.

One big button in the middle. Everything a five-year-old needs to work out on their own in about a minute.

Takes photos

No screen to check them on, so they keep looking up. You see the whole roll later, thumbs and all.

Plays stories and music

You load it, they choose from it. A closed shelf of things you already said yes to.

Records daft voices

Speed it up, slow it down, make yourself a robot. This is the feature they will use most, by a distance.

Talks to another Hoot

Press and hold, and your friend's Hoot chirps. Works across the park with no phone, no SIM and no wifi.

Torch, timer, compass

The small tools children love out of all proportion. Brilliant for dens, camping and the under-stairs cupboard.

Leaves you a message

One press records a note for whoever's on the other Hoot. Mostly it will be about a snail.

What it doesn't do

The list we're proudest of.

  • No internet, no browser, no app store
  • No feed, no autoplay, no streaks, no notifications
  • No account, no login, no profile
  • Nothing is uploaded. Photos come off by cable.
  • No microphone listening in the background
  • No monthly fee, now or later
"When my daughter asked for a cell phone, she was not asking for the internet in her pocket. She was asking for a portal into her best friend's bedroom."

Chet Kittleson, founder of Tin Can, interviewed in Modern Retail, March 2026. He is describing the same thing we are building for.

Better in twos

A Hoot on its own is a toy. Two Hoots are a secret.

Every Hoot pairs with another straight out of the box, with nothing to set up. One for your child, one for the friend two doors down, or the sibling at the other end of the house, or the grandparent who wants to hear about the snail.

Range is roughly the length of a park. Far enough to feel free, close enough to come home for tea.

Why we think this works

Children keep saying they want this.

3 in 4

children aged 8 to 12 say they would rather spend time with people in person, without screens around.

Harris Poll, August 2025
1M+

screen-free cameras sold by Camp Snap, a five-person company, since 2023. The appetite is not theoretical.

Modern Retail, March 2026
400%

revenue growth in four years at Cosmo, who make screen-light watches for the same families.

Modern Retail, March 2026
Price

Buy it once.

Every other connected device for children costs you every month for as long as your child owns it. This one does not.

One Hoot

$89

One device, cable, lanyard and a starter shelf of stories.

How most people buy

A pair of Hoots

$159

Two devices, paired before they ship. For siblings, best friends, or a child and a grandparent.

No subscription. No monthly fee. Ever.
Where we're up to

Being honest about what exists today.

Hoot is early. There is a working breadboard, a design, and a first run being costed. There is not yet a finished product in a box, and we would rather tell you that than take your money for a render.

Done

Research

A year of it, into how families with young children live with screens.

Done

Design

Form, colours, and the one-button interaction model.

Now

First run

Costing 500 units and choosing a manufacturing partner.

Next

Safety testing

Children's product certification before anything ships to anyone.

Join the first run

Five hundred Hoots. No payment today.

Leave an email and we'll come back with the real price, the real date, and a photo of the actual thing rather than a drawing of it. Tell us your child's age and we'll ask you a couple of questions that shape what gets built.

One person reads every reply. Your details go nowhere else.