More important than casual games, mobile apps focused on education and early development are a largely underserved category on the iPhone. But now a team has developed a simple yet ingenious way to marry tactile toys with iOS apps for education.

Created by Carly Gloge and her husband Isaac, the toy is called Ubooly, and it's essentially a plush toy framing a virtual face on your iPhone or iPod Touch that interacts with your child. The topics Ubooly can engage are wide ranging and usually include some form of a learning game. The plush toy and app cost $50 and Gloge will also release updated learning games for $1-$3 on a regular basis.

Originally conceived as a Kickstarter project, Ubooly is more than halfway toward its funding goal. You can find out more here, and see the Ubooly in action in the video below.

Via Geek.com