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Can you mix family time and screen time? If you're prioritizing one over the other, make it the former. But sometimes, with some tech, those worlds combine with great results.
Did you see Drew Kozub on BT today and want to know more about the apps and gadgets he was using? Read on!
For book lovers, retro gamers, or anyone who dreamed of owning a futuristic robot for their home, here's our collection of family friend tech for fun around the home!
OlloBot
OlloBot is officially ushering in the era of "warm technology." Instead of just another household robot designed to mop floors this roly-poly cyberpet is built for one thing: being part of the family.
Its main purpose is to provide continuous emotional companionship to evolve and grow with your household. Using a suite of "empathy engines" it will learn your family's unique vibe and adapt its personality to fit right in.
Here is why OlloBot is poised to be the companion your whole family falls in love with:
- The Daily Diary: It captures "precious moments" from its perspective, creating a digital scrapbook of your family's life that you can check through a companion app.
- The Chore Whisperer: It makes parenting easier by giving kids reminders; let's be honest, it's way less annoying when a cute cyber-pet tells you to clean your room than when Mom or Dad does.
- Find-Me Video Calls: No more shouting through the house—OlloBot will actually navigate through the rooms to find your kids or spouse so they can answer your video call on its screen.
- Memory Inheritance: In a genius move, all its "memories" and personality are stored in a removable, heart-shaped module. If the hardware ever ages out, you just move the "heart" to a new body so the emotional bond never breaks.
The tech under the hood is impressive (LiDAR, SLAM navigation, and Matter-compatible smart home controls) and if you know what none of that means, that's okay. Just know this thing is smart enough to get around your home and keep the personal data it learns safe. All within a fuzzy-necked, adorable gizmo that you can dress in a giraffe costume if you want.
OlloBot
Ollobot was a highlight of the Consumer Electronics Show in 2026 and will be available first through a Kickstarter campaign later this year. This is one of the first robots I've seen that's about being present first, not necessarily about being productive. Usually when we talk about tech and connection we're talking download speeds. With Ollobot, that connection is a genuine and unique-to-your-home robot who becomes a beloved member of the household.
Kobo For Reading Time
Kobo is synonymous with reading, so it's important when you're talking to people about "Kobo" to figure out if they're talking about the great eReaders or the digital library of amazing eBooks.
Kobo Libra Colour
- This is the colour eReader with the largest display
- 6-inch "Kaleido 3 display" renders colours beautifully
- This model includes stylus support for note-taking and annotations
- Various cases for propping up tablet, protecting your device and stylus, and more
- Read our review here
Kobo Plus
- Membership service giving you access to a massive library of stories
- Kobo Plus Read - access 1.5 million eBooks for $9.99/month
- Kobo Plus Listen - access 150K audiobooks for $9.99/month
- Kobo Plus Read and Listen - combine both memberships for $12.99/ month
Colour eReader
Kobo Libra Colour
Geeking Out Shop
The Kobo Libra Colour adds a new dimension to the eReader experience by laying in colour e-ink. The colour is a nice-to-have feature, particularly if you enjoy reading comics and graphic novels or want to take advantage of annotating your books in coloured "ink." Pair this with the Kobo Plus Read and Listen and you'll have an incredibly robust library of eBooks and Audiobooks to enjoy everywhere you go!
Pocket Playground
Pocket Playground, developed by Canadian company technofou Inc., is a fast-paced multiplayer mobile game designed to transform smartphones and tablets into nostalgic, "Gameboy-style" handheld consoles.
In a time when it seems so many other "Free" apps bully you into a paid version because of a non-stop bombardment of ads and gate-keeping key content, that's not the case with Pocket Playground.
The app prioritizes "zero friction" gameplay, allowing up to four players to jump into a match in less than 10 seconds without the need for accounts, complex setups, or internet connectivity for solo play.
The game features three core modes:
- Coin Quest: A race to collect as much currency as possible.
- Zone King: A "King of the Hill" style challenge involving moving zones and combat to push opponents away.
- Survival Battle: A test of reflexes where players must survive an onslaught of lasers.
Pocket Playground is built to work with whatever phone or tablet you have on hand and works with some portable gaming handhelds as well.
Gaming On The Go
Pocket Playground
Geeking Out Shop
This collection of retro-inspired games is instant fun for anyone who wants a solo or competitive gameplay session to kill time rather than scrolling mindlessly through your phone. While the base experience is free, the app offers optional one-time "Silver" or "Gold" upgrades that unlock advanced features such as landscape mode, enhanced customization options, and additional handheld styles..
Disney Coloring World
This digital colouring book is amazing for Disney fans of any age!
When it comes to colouring and creativity, nothing quite beats the real thing or paper and imagination. But as any parent with toddlers can attest, when a child has a crayon in their hand (or even more terrifying a marker), you simply cannot leave them unattended for even a second unless you're willing to risk your household walls becoming a canvas.
Disney Coloring World is a great way to encourage creativity through colouring with the ease of a digital canvas.
- Colour pictures of your favourite disney characters browsing by name, movies, and more
- Use enhanced brushes and features to help colour inside the lines and achieve the "right" colour palette for your child's project
- Create simple animations and digital stickers
- Preserve your works of art into a digital gallery
This app is available for Apple and Android devices and there are versions included for free with an Apple Arcade or Google Play Pass subscription.
We're Geeking Out
Hopefully you found this week's collection of gadgets and apps helpful and there's something that could be handy for your home, your next family trip, or even a way to keep kids from succumbing to rowdiness while waiting at the pediatrician or other spot where a mistake is ideally avoided at all costs.
Remember to give Drew Kozub a follow on Instagram to keep up with all things new in Canada in the world of tech and video games. And send him a DM any time if you want more info about anything you read in this article.
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