Why You Can Trust CNET Tamagotchi-inspired water bottle motivates kids to hydrate
Drink more water, watch your animated creature grow! That's right: Now we're gamifying hydration.
- Webby Award Winner (Best Video Host, 2021), Webby Nominee (Podcasts, 2021), Gold Telly (Documentary Series, 2021), Silver Telly (Video Writing, 2021), W3 Award (Best Host, 2020), Australian IT Journalism Awards (Best Journalist, Best News Journalist 2017)
If you've played endless negotiation games with your kids to try to get them to drink water, you could soon get a new weapon in your arsenal: the Gululu water bottle.
The bottle has a built-in screen on the side that houses a little animated creature. Sensors inside the bottle detect when you're drink, and the more water you drink, the more your creature grows and evolves. Do you detect some Tamagotchi inspo here? You're not alone.
If you shake two bottles next to each other, the creatures make "friends." You'll see joint animation thanks to a wireless connection as one creature jumps across to visit the other's screen.
Gululu also says the sensors are "smart enough to ignore cheating if your kids decide to water the plants instead."
Key features
- 400ml BPA free bottle
- 950mAh battery for two days of normal use, four days standby
- Included recharging dock recharges in 3 hours
- IP67 water and dust resistant (so you can hand wash)
- "Cheating detector" can tell the difference between drinking and pouring
The bottle is available on Amazon for $129, AU$174 or £100.
Be sure to check out the rest of CNET's Computex 2017 coverage here.