LONDON – Kano, the leader in creative computing, has revealed the most advanced DIY computer ever made – the Computer Kit Touch, is available today for $279.99 via Kano.me and selected retailers and e-tailers in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia & New Zealand.
It comes as a kit. You build a portable, touchscreen computer, and attach a keyboard, following a simple storybook. It comes to life. Inside, Kano’s unique operating system takes you through a world of tools and stories, where you make apps, art, games, music, and more, in multiple programming languages, with simple steps. Bridging the gap between block-based and text coding, the Computer Kit Touch is a complete system to take you from beginner to coder.
[Click here to watch the Computer Kit Touch Video]
First, you build a fully working touchscreen computer following the storybook. Then, you embark on a journey from beginner to coder thanks to the step-by-step tutorials and challenges. The touchscreen helps you learn about tactile interfaces and how touch controls work across everyday devices like smartphones. Then you use the screen to paint with your fingers, hack Minecraft, create pieces of music and art with simple block-based coding editors, leading to more advanced environments with real Javascript or Python, at home or on the go.
“Your first experience with computing and code should be simple, playful, and powerful.” said Alex Klein, Co-Founder and CEO of Kano. “The Computer Kit Touch takes the experience of building your own computer to a new level, by revealing the secrets of touch interaction. Combining block based and text based coding, it shows you how modern computing systems work. It gets you inside the screen, rather than just in front of it, and provides a set of art, music, and programming tools – not just toys.”
The Computer Kit Touch includes a touch-enabled 10.1” HD touchscreen, as well as a wireless keyboard with trackpad. You build a USB board and equip it with a sound sensor. The brain is based on the award winning Raspberry Pi single board computer and comes preloaded with the latest version of Kano OS, a creative and educational operating system, with support for touch control, three hours of battery life, fast performance, mainstream apps like YouTube and Whatsapp, and increased storage capacity at 16GB.
Kano Computer Kit owners can then share their creations in Kano World, a free community where anyone can learn and remix the code behind thousands of artworks, songs, games and apps – over 600,000 creations, and 56 million lines of code.
Kano launched the first computer anyone can make five years ago, and since then it’s cemented its position as the STEM category leader. In 2017 Kano raised one of Europe’s largest educational hardware financing rounds of the year and released its range of coding kits in more than 4,500 retail stores including Best Buy, Target and Walmart.
Kano announced the Harry Potter Kano Coding Kit, a partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products, in July 2018. The $99.99 kit lets you make your own wand, learn to code and make magic, on iOS and Android tablets as well as Windows or Mac computers.
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About Kano
“The creator of build it yourself tech.” -Fast Company, Top Ten Most Innovative Companies in Consumer Electronics
Kano is a new kind of computer company. Our kits and software give people the power to create technology, not just consume it. Kano’s creative computing platform lets you build real devices, learn to code, and share your creations with the world.
There are more than 20 billion connected devices, that take up much of our waking hours. Less than 1% of us can understand and influence them. Kano believes in a future where anyone can. Our team represents two dozen nationalities, and every discipline, and we work to demystify technology, end to end. We build out of London, Shenzhen, and Boston. We share a belief in DIY, learning by doing, storytelling, and realism.
