The Toniebox – a digital audio system for the nursery – is one of this year’s outstanding products. The audiobook cube by Boxine GmbH enthused the Red Dot jury and was awarded a Red Dot:Best of the Best. Only 1,5% of about 5.200 products registered by manufacturers and designers from 57 nations receive this highest single distinction in 2016.

Toniebox and Tonies are a digital audio system suitable for children, which originated from a sudden inspiration of Patric Faßbender. Together with Marcus Stahl he founded the Boxine GmbH and developed the audiobook cube and the corresponding audio figures.

They combine listening and playing with an intuitive and simple operating concept: You place one of the audio figures – called Tonies – on the Toniebox and the story starts. All functions are operated through tapping and squeezing – no touchscreen, buttons or controls needed. Perfectly designed for children’s hands and ears. Toniebox and Tonies communicate via NFC-chip.

The content is streamed from the cloud and downloaded to the internal memory, then it can be played without an internet connection. The Toniebox is very robust and upholstered with a soft, but though fabric. It has a battery life of seven hours and a headphone jack for uninterrupted audio fun.

For the start there will be well known audiobook characters available; further Tonies and their stories are under progress. With the Creative-Tonies and a smartphone app parents can record their own content, link them with an audio figure and play them on the Toniebox.

The audio system will be available for the German market in fall 2016. Online you can already pre-order the starter kit including a Toniebox, a charging station, a first Tonie and a limited edition Creative-Tonie.

The Red Dot Award: Product Design jury is composed of 41 experts from all round the world, who are chosen according to strict rules. To ensure a very high judging competence only freelance designers, design professors and specialised journalists are appointed to the jury.

The independent expert panel assesses each entry strictly and fairly, live and on site, according to criteria such as degree of innovation, formal quality, functionality and ecological compatibility. The jury awards the highest single distinction “Red Dot: Best of the Best” for ground-breaking design. Only the best entries in a category receive this award.

Professor Dr. Peter Zec, founder and president of the Red Dot Award: “With their extraordinary feel for creativity and keen eye for unmatched precision, the Red Dot: Best of the Best laureates deserve this highest recognition.”

4 July 2016 marks the culmination of the Red Dot Award: Product Design 2016 with an awards ceremony at the Aalto theatre in Essen. At the Red Dot Design Museum Essen the Toniebox and all award-winning products will be presented in the special exhibition “Design on Stage” for four weeks before becoming part of the permanent exhibition.

About the Red Dot Design Award

In order to appraise the wide scope of design in a professional manner, the Red Dot Design Award is broken down into the three distinct disciplines: the Red Dot Award: Product Design, Red Dot Award: Communication Design and Red Dot Award: Design Concept. The Red Dot Award is organised by the Design Zentrum Nordrhein Westfalen in Essen, Germany. With more than 17,000 entries in 2015 alone, it is one of the largest competitions in the world. It was in 1955 that a jury convened for the first time to assess the best designs of the day. The name and brand of the award were developed in the 1990s by Red Dot CEO, Professor Dr. Peter Zec. Since then the sought-after “Red Dot” is the revered international seal of outstanding design quality.

About Boxine GmbH

The Boxine GmbH is a young company from Dusseldorf, Germany. Founded in 2013 they designed and developed the Toniebox and Tonies, which will be available for the German market in fall 2016. More information available on www.tonies.de.

Product fact sheet

The Toniebox is full of innovation and high-performance technology, that makes listening to stories real fun. Great technology, packed into child-friendly design. Here are all facts about the Toniebox and the Tonies at a glance.

Toniebox – the audiobook dice

• Up to 7h battery life and flash memory with capacity for more than 400 hours of audio fun
• Data transfer via WLAN module, configuration of the Toniebox via browser
• Operated through motion sensors, that react to touch and motion; volume control through the ears on the Toniebox
• Power-saving through intelligent energy management and use of LED light
• Sewed from sustainable fabric, water-repellent and robust
• With charging station and headphone jack
• Available in red, green, light blue and berry
• Dimensions: approximately 12 cm x 12 cm x 12 cm / Weight: approximately 600g
• Awarded with a Red Dot: Best of the Best 2016 for excellent product design

Tonies – the audio figures

• Built-in NFC-Chip, that communicates with the Toniebox
• Tonies are between 5 and 8 cm long
• A small magnet ensures that they stand securely on the Toniebox
• Hand painted, robust and produced eco-friendly – up to 60% from natural and renewable raw materials in the plastic content and 100% bio-degredable
• Range of Tonies with German content of renowned publishing houses available
• Additionally Creative-Tonies, that can be filled with up to 90 minutes of own content
• Free Tonies-App for IOS and Android to easily manage own content on the Creative-Tonies
• About 30 Tonies available in German until end of 2016

Toniebox and Tonies are in Germany ready for pre-order online since March 2016, sales in stores will start in fall 2016.