A former Nokia Oyj engineer is building a private social network in China where children share art projects online with parents or grandparents. Japan's phone and Internet giant Softbank Corp. is betting he'll succeed.
SmarTots, Jesper Lodahl's Beijing-based startup, began offering mobile education applications for kids from age 2 to 7 through Apple Inc.'s China iTunes store in June. Designed as a game center for app developers, this month it's adding functions to allow parents to "like" or comment on projects in a layout similar to Facebook Inc.'s site, Lodahl said.
Softbank, which provided funding, and Lodahl expect growth in smartphones and tablets to drive demand for educational services. Parents' desire to set their children apart from peers is likely to drive strong demand for any service in China that can offer an edge, said Duncan Clark, Beijing-based chairman of BDA China, which advises technology companies.