Slightly larger than a fortune cookie, this robotic creature can “slither” on smooth surfaces, propelled by special offset wheels that give it a unique motion that is best described as “creepy.” It is the sixth of seven Hexbugs. A nose-mounted sensor can detect such things as a leg of a chair, and change directions, accordingly. It is available in five colors, and uses three LR44 button cell batteries. See the video at http://www.youtube.com/childrenstech. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This toy/screen experience turns your Nintendo DS into a remote control for a robotic dog. Instead of using standard infra-red signals, however, this dog is controlled by sound, in the form of coded chirps that come out of your Nintendo DS speakers. A microphone in Wappy Dog can “hear” the chirps, which can be sent to Wappy Dog’s computer for different responses. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Two years after the the original Mindflex (CTR Feb 2009), comes Mindflex Duel — with two headsets for two players instead of one, and a higher price. The headset fits tightly onto your head so it can capture information related to your body’s electromagnetic energy, by way of two sensors — one you clip on your ear lobe, and the other that you fit on your forehead. The levels of energy are fed into a computer that controls a small blower that causes a small foam ball to go up or down, Bernoulli Blower style. When in two player mode the game is like a tug-of-war — the idea is to move the ball across the game’s obstacle platform to your opponent’s side. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This toy delivers a close to endless supply of letter-related skits, stories and-or songs, delivered on a very low-tech black and white LCD screen. It is possible to personalize the content with your child’s name, including customized emails from family and a music playlist. Note, however, that this requires plugging the device into an Internet-connected Mac or Windows computer. This also syncs the device with the Leapfrog’s online Learning Path. Included content includes one story, one email and three songs, and holds up to five stories, ten songs and three emails at a time. Requires 3 AA batteries which are included. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
I Am T-Pain Mic ($40, Jakks Pacific) combines three rhythm tracks, an MP3 Player, auto-tune technology, a speaker, an audio-out jack and a USB port, with enough memory to store up to three minutes of your voice. Your goal, of course, is to sound like rapper T-Pain, one of the first to use auto-tune technology in his music. Powered by 3 AAA batteries, the Mic comes in four styles. You can sing in freestyle, or record and play back your songs. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This Mickey Mouse follows last year’s larger, heavier, gyrating Dance Star Mickey. This time Mickey comes pre-dressed in rock star gear that includes sunglasses and a permanently attached guitar. Other than being able to press his foot to change songs, or his nose to start a tutorial, there are no interactive features. When placed on a flat surface, he kick-steps and can do a “mouska-split: at the end of his act, where he “plays the guitar” with his nose. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Singing and Storytelling Belle (from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast movie) is a large (20 inch) soft-bodied doll dressed in Belle’s signature outfit. But this doll does a lot more than just look pretty. Besides the doll, seven special accessories trigger one of 100 related phrases, stories or songs. For example, when you place the storybook in Belle’s hand, she will read a Beauty and the Beast short story. Place her microphone in her hand to hear her sing her two songs (including “Be My Guest”); hold a teapot to her mouth and you hear her take a sip of tea. Belle can also interact with her friends Chip, Mrs. Potts and Lumière (included) when placed in her hands. Three AAA batteries fit into her back, hidden beneath her clothes, along with the on/off/demo switch. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Powered by six AA batteries, Let’s Rock Elmo comes with three small plastic instruments, two of which are playable (the drums and tambourine). Elmo’s hands and feet have pressure switches that trigger songs related to the instrument he holds. Other Let’s Rock instruments (sold separately) include a guitar and keyboard. Let’s Rock Elmo can sing six songs and requires six AA batteries (included). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Originally called the InnoPad, InnoTab is designed for children aged 4 to 9 years-of-age, whose parents are wary of giving them a smart phone. As tablets go, InnoTab is massive in size. When layed over an iPad you realize that it is the same height and width (but much fatter). Despite the bulk, the screen is relatively small; just 5 inches diagonally, which is slightly larger than an iPhone. Inside, are accelerometers for tilt and motion sensing, a microphone, headphone jack, SD card slot and a USB connection to a computer for downloading additional content. There’s also a game card slot. The screen is touch sensitive, like the Nintendo DS. Included software includes a music player, games, an Art Studio with painting and drawing applications and a Photo Viewer/Editor. Other included apps: an MP3 player for both videos or songs, a Calculator, Calendar, Notepad, Clock with personalized voice alarm and Friends Address Book. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
First released in 2007 under the name “EyeClops TV Microscope” by Jakks Pacific, this year’s edition has been simplified once again. To use, you put in five AA batteries, plug the yellow composite video cable into your TV and start exploring specimens at 200x power. Objects are illuminated by three white LEDs. The kit includes one SpyClops Bionic Eye, one Converter Unit and four top secret documents. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
With a shape that can slide into a large pocket, the new LeapPad Explorer is based on the discontinued didj (2008) operating system. Features include a 5 inch color screen, accelerometer (for tilt input), monotouch screen with tethered stylus, d-pad controls and a single, front-facing camera. There’s also a USB plug to connect to your computer (needed to download apps), a rather low res but fully functional camera, 2 GB of memory and no SD card expansion. For sound, there’s a microphone (in) and headphone jack and speakers (out). It is powered by 4 AA batteries. Software is managed the old fashioned way — by plugging in a $20 cartridge (sold at retail) or downloaded at less cost by tethering the device to a Windows or Macintosh computer. By year’s end (holiday 2011) the software library will include about 80 “apps” that will include 14 onboard LeapPad activities, 20 cartridges and 50 learning games that can be downloaded by way of the USB port, when plugged into a host computer. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This regular-sized Ken doll doubles as an easy to use voice recorder and sound morpher. To get started you press a button on Ken’s chest and start talking. Up to five seconds of sound is captured, and can be played back in three voice styles — low, regular, and high. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This new version of the Story Reader features a lighter, more compact shell. After a child inserts the ROM cartridge and the book, they simply open the cover of the reader to hear a narrator read whatever page the book happens to open on. The starter set includes the Story Reader 2.0 unit and one Toy Story 3 title. Additional titles are available in three-pack book refills for $20 and include Disney’s Cars, Finding Nemo, Peter Pan, Sesame Street and more. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
About the size of a shoe box, the plastic toy talks, tells jokes and sings. Stinky will also ask questions, initiate sing-a-longs and play games. If he’s not played with for a few minutes, he’ll eventually snore and then go to sleep. Stinky can say 80 phrases, and stand up on his hind wheels. Requires four C batteries (included). Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The size of a regular Hot Wheels Car (about an 1.5 inches long), these clever cars fit inside a case that doubles as your remote control. So the entire toy is not larger than a deck of cards. To use, you slide the vehicle out of the case. There are two controls (forward/back, and left/right), so operation is simple. There are four varieties (each $25); two with caterpillar treads, designed for gripping and climbing. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
One of two toy helicopters released this year from Spin Master (the other is the Air Hogs R/C Hawk Eye), this “Sharp Shooter” has two tiny foam missiles that are about the size and weight of a Q-Tip. Six missiles are included. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
One of two new remote control helicopters released this year from Spin Master, this bird-sized toy contains a tiny camera that can capture five minutes of 240 by 320 resolution AVI video (web cam quality), or take many 640×480 still photos. Designed for indoor use, the Hawk Eye uses two-channels, and can move up and down or left and right. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
The Parrot AR.Drone is a $300 flying spy camera, propelled by four-rotors (called a quadricopter). Onboard flight sensors consist of two altimeters, a three-axis accelerometer and multiple gyroscopes that send in-flight information to a Linux-powered processor, so that it can continuously stabilize itself when flying. The Drone is controlled via Wi-Fi. Here’s how that works. After you charge the Lithium Polymer battery and Velcro it into a holding dock, you turn on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad (obviously not included in the price, but required) and check your control panel to sniff out the Drone’s temporary Wi-Fi hotspot. A power button starts the four motors, and an emergency button shuts everything down. To steer, you can tilt your device like you are balancing a plate, and use thumb controls for more subtle moves, such as when landing. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Drill and practice gets a new face, voice and brain, with this updated edition of one of the first robotic learning toys. Powered by three AA batteries (included) the 9 inch tall robot is controlled by inserting one of 30 two sided cards into his belly, covering every letter of the alphabet and numeral up to nine. The cards are color coded on the bottom so Alphie can keep things straight using an optical reader. There are eight possible button combinations so children can make matches (e.g., 2D shapes with 3D shapes; sets with numerals, and so on). The LED screen and light-up mouth gives Alphie a wide range of expressions. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
We’ve all grown used to the talking greeting card. Record a Story, ($20, from Publications International) takes that idea up a notch, by letting you record your own 45 second message on each page of an eight page book. To record your voice, you turn to the page, press record, start talking or reading, giving a young child an good excuse to read the words, or even stray from the script. To hear your masterpiece, you simply turn to the page — a series of holes marks each page. There is no limit to the number of times the narration can be re-recorded, and it is possible to save the current recording using a lock switch in the battery compartment. The book is powered by three AAA batteries, included with the book. Titles include Guess How Much I Miss You, ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas, Sesame Street: Together at Heart, and Dora the Explorer; all for sale starting today at www.pilbooks.com. Teaches: reading or language. Publications International, Ltd.. www.pubint.com, $20. Best for ages 3-up.
Rating: 
or .94%
Talkatoo is a silver-dollar sized digital recorder, powered by a button-cell battery (included). Designed with a clip for a backpack or a pendent for your neck — with six color themes — the recorder has two buttons, record and play, plus a sliding lock for message saving. To record, you hold a red button and talk for up to 30 seconds, until the one MB of RAM is full. To hear your message, press play. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Mixing a side-scrolling collecting adventure with multiple-choice workbook problems is nothing new, and this title is no exception. Children guide a Penguin through simple levels, earning badges as they kick rats, collect popcorn and complete activities. This title covers basic math content — such as comparing quantities, solving tangram shape puzzles and completing addition or subtraction problems. Created by InLight Entertainment for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This new format Leapster cartridge (for Leapster Explorer only) targets girls with seven princess-themed games. As you flip through pages of the book, reading-related challenges come up. For example, you are asked to touch items that help clear the path, to get into a castle. Created by Other Dream for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Of the three new format Leapster cartridges this one, targeting older children, seemed the most fun and was the best designed, perhaps due to some of it’s side-scrolling game play which looked passable on the small, crisp Leapster Explorer screen. In the story segment of the game, you try to defeat Dr. Animo to free Ben’s friends, working through five levels, each with a science/geography related activity. Designed by Virtuos for Leapfrog. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
The size of a typical door mat, this folding cardboard map of the United States has been coded to work with the $50 Tag Reading System — Leapfrog’s fat, talking stylus which has been out for several years. The stylus is not included in the $20 price of the map, and using the interactive features requires downloading and installing Leapfrog’s free, 50 MB or so “Leapfrog Connect” software utility on your Mac or Windows computer. This is required, along with a USB connection to transfer the audio files to your Tag. This process takes about 30 minutes, and only has to be done once. The map has two sides — each with two modes of play and several hide-and-seek types of games. One side deals more with state identification and the capitals, and the other has cultural highlights, with snippets of state related trivia, and music. Both sides feature a racing game, where you try to touch as many states or capitals before the music runs out. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Book Buddy is a small, mouse-sized digital audio player and a book. The idea is to start the audio, and follow along with the text; listening through the included headphones. The stories are narrated with a human voice with sound effects. Two books come pre-loaded on the device, and are included in the $30 price: Home Run (reading level 3-4) and Touchdown (Level (5-7). There are 15 titles in the series including Bold Moves: A Dancer’s Journey, Full Speed Ahead, and The Biz. Prices are $30 for the Book Buddy with one title (two levels), $70 for six copies of any Future Star Series title, and $300 for the entire library of 15 titles. Includes batteries and headphones. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Barbie Video Girl Xray
At first glance, Mattel’s Barbie Video Girl Doll ($50, Mattel, for ages 6-up) looks just like a regular version of the doll. But a closer look reveals a camera in her pendant, and a postage-sized color screen on her back, peeking through a square space in her blouse. To make a video, you insert a AAA battery into each leg; a tricky process that involves a clothing change and a screwdriver. The three button interface on Barbie’s back makes it easy to know when you’re filming, and you can transfer footage in AVI format to your Mac or Windows computer by way of the included hot pink USB cable (a first for us). The accompanying editing software is Windows only, however.
According to Mattel Spokesperson Michelle Chidoni, Barbie first talked in 1968, when you could pull a string to hear her say six phrases. She’s since had fiber optic clothing, and an impeller that pushes glitterized fluid through her wings. Her vocabulary development nicely maps onto microprocessor speed, from six words to Teen Talk Barbie’s 270 phrases, with a moving mouth. This edition comes with 256 MB of memory (30 minutes of video) and the 2 AAA batteries last just over an hour. See the sample video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3ZcgE_K4D8
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VTech’s completely re-engineered MobiGo is an important new addition to the handheld learning category. There is no backward compatibility with the age-old V.Smile cartridges, a break from the past for V.Tech. Fortunately, the included Touch & Learn game cartridge offers six fun games. Powered by four AA batteries or AC power (neither included) there are also ports for earphones and a USB connector for saving progress online. Additional $20 cartridges feature characters from Toy Story, Dora, Mickey Mouse and Shrek. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
A kindle for the kindergartners? V.Tech (www.vtechkids.com) hopes so, with this week’s release of V.Reader (formerly called FLiP), a $60 ebook player targeting early readers with a clear touch screen and a membrane QWERTY keyboard. To read a book, you snap in a cartridge, or, if you’ve downloaded content from a Mac or Windows computer, you can touch the backpack icon. You can listen as the story is narrated in slide show fashion, or touch any page to discover hidden hot spots. When plugged into a Mac or Windows computer by way of the USB port, it will be possible to download additional stories from www.vtechkids.com, a feature not available until August. Stories in the library will include The Little Engine that Could, Disney/Pixar’s Cars, Shrek, Dora the Explorer, Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3, Disney Fairies, Mr. Men and Little Miss, Scooby-Doo and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This racing game consists of an eight inch tall talking dog, with 12 bones that fit in a container in his back. The idea is to follow directions, and try to be the first to slip the bone into the dog’s mouth. After setting up the game by randomly placing the twelve bones around the floor, you press Red Rover’s nose and he calls out which bones he wants. You must run to find the right bone and feed it Rover. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
These 1/2 inch thick musical instruments are good for pretend jamming. There are three components — a guitar, a drum set, and an amp. Each is powered by batteries. The surface of each instrument is touch sensitive, covered with a capacitive paper Wowee calls “Active Graphics Technology.” This allows you to strum the guitar or tap on the drums by merely brushing the tip of your finger across the surface of the instrument (not unlike an iPhone or mousepad). Each instrument includes 3 songs that you can play along with, and there are six versions of the guitars and drums, for added variety. You can also control the guitar & drum rhythm for each song. There are 18 songs in Series One (3 per guitar/drum pad) including Sweet Home Alabama, Hey There Delilah, All Star, Born to Be Wild, Rock Star and others. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Completely re-designed around a Flash-based format (the same as the didj), this year’s Leapster Explorer ($70, for ages 4-9) won’t run older Leapster cartridges. But it will run older didj software, making this a new beginning for the trusted Leapster line. The didj has been discontinued. The games we tested featured characters from Toy Story 3, Dora, Star Wars, SpongeBob and the NFL. A USB link lets you download additional “Leaplets” (or apps), including ebooks from Leapfrog’s TAG library. Requires 4 AA batteries. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
Out this month from Mattel, a choir of singing plush toys that are designed to sing in harmony. In the default mode, they make a whole-tone; selected at random. When two or more toys are squeezed simultaneously, the two tones can form a chord that more-than-likely forms a chord with it’s neighbor. By squeezing the $13 toys in rhythm, you can make silly songs. The toys run on 2 AAA batteries, and can sing a variety of songs, including “Where Oh Where Has My Little Dog Gone,” “Skip to My Loo,” and “When the Saints Go Marching In.” Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
This handheld GPS receiver is designed to lead you to one of the 250,000 geocache locations that are pre-loaded into the device’s memory. After you insert the two AAA batteries, you turn on the unit and go outside in order tune into the GPS satellites. The display shows compass heading, latitude and longitude as well as the ability to save your finds in memory. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Giving the term “computer bug” new meaning, Hexbug Nano is the fifth and latest model in a line of five types of single button-cell powered micro-robots on display during this year’s Toy Fair in New York. Created by the education company Innovation First, the bugs are great for introducing concepts like micro-mechanics, clean randomness, and the fine motor skills required to replace a single AG13 button cell battery, which gives the Nano it’s zip. Subscribers, please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating, and see why this received our Editor’s Choice Award.
See it in motion here
Today, I held in my hands one of the very first Fisher-Price iXL Learning Systems (pronounced “I excel”), a new touch screen edu-game platform for preschoolers coming this June for $80. Can it dethrone the Leapster, which is rumored for major redesign? Let the 2010 tech-toy battles begin.
The size of a paperback book, the iXL opens like a clamshell, exposing a clear 240 by 320 pixel color touch screen that is slightly larger than one of screens found on a typical Nintendo DS. The added heft is a result of the four AA batteries, which provide about 8 hours of play time. The tethered stylus slips into a storage bay, and the single recessed power button is easy to find. There’s also a headphone jack, USB plug, volume controls, a speaker and an SD-card expansion slot. The batteries are preserved because the optical sensor tells the device to sleep if the lid is closed. Pink, blue and silver color options are available, reminding parents that this is a toy, after all.
No, it's not a toothbrush...
The dream of shrinking an entire LeapPad into a single (fat) stylus has become a reality, with the Tag Reading System ($50, www.leapfrog.com for Mac/Windows), which for the first time can also capture a child’s progress.
In 1999, the LeapPad made news by allowing children to touch any word or picture to hear the associated sound. But every page had to be registered with the reader, and each book paired with a cartridge. If the dog chewed up one or the other, you were out of luck. Tag eliminates the parts by syncing to your computer and storing up to six books in memory. The stories can either be read as audio books through a single clear speaker or headphones, or read in book form, with pages full of audio surprises. The built-in assessment system also recommends new books, at $14 each. These titles include a nice cross section of children’s literature, with titles like Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, The Little Engine That Could and Walter the Farting Dog, complete with sound effects.
New for 2009 — about 12 new books, including more Disney content (Up, Cars, and Ben 10), Spiderman, a Star Wars graphic novel (for older readers); plus Madagascar, I SPY, Olivia, and several Dr. Seuss titles (The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham). Winner of the 2010 KAPi Award. See also Tag Junior. Teaches: Reading, comprehension, word recognition. LeapFrog. www.leapfrog.com, $50. Best for ages 4-12.
Rating: or .925%
Explore animal facts and sounds with this specialized talking stylus designed to decode tags found on plastic animals or printed on a poster, using dotted media tags. Touch the tip of the stylus to the tag and you hear facts and quizzes. The $30 kit includes a starter set of plastic Smart Animal toys (additional animals are sold separately) plus color poster-sized playing board, with 240 scannable animal images and games. Please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Update March 2009: Seven new titles will bring the total Didj library to 19 by 2010, and increase the curriculum offerings.
Many releases seem to be Disney-related, featuring Hannah Montana (math, spelling), Neopets, High School Musical (music and fractions), Up (geography) and Fairies. Two notable exceptions: Star Wars Jedi Wars and an NFL sports game. There are no changes in the hardware for this year.
First released in the Summer of 2008, Leapfrog’s Didj (spelled in lower-case letters) is a handheld edu-gaming system with a clear color screen and Nintendo DS-like controls that comes in pink, blue or gray. It runs on 4 AA batteries, or it can be powered with a DC ‘in’ port. Like the Leapster or the Nintendo DS, the software comes on cartridges and is sold for $20 – $30 each. Other features include a mono headphone jack, a volume slider and easy-to-learn gaming controls. It does not have a touch screen. Please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
VTech’s Bugsby Reading System is a talking book-reading stylus with light-up antennae, that makes it possible for children to
Bugsby stylus
touch the words or pictures in a traditional-looking book, and to hear them read aloud. The Bugsby system joins three others based on the same “dotted media” technology: Poingo from Publications International, and the Tag and Tag Junior from Leapfrog. The books cannot work with one another. For $30, you get one book and the stylus; additional books cost $13 each.
Getting the books synched to Bugsby is different than with the other systems. Once the batteries are installed, you place a thumb-drive-sized ROM cartridge, found in a pocket in the back cover of each book, into Bugsby’s back. If the cartridge is lost, the book won’t work. Children turn on Bugsby by finding a small red switch in his ear. Youngsters will initially need help with both of these steps. After that, things are simple. Children can freely jab at individual words to hear them, or drag the tip of the stylus along the words to hear the entire sentence read aloud. Several of the pages contain puzzles that ask children to find rhyming words, creating an excellent informal introduction to words and story structure.
Additional books in the library feature Dora the Explorer, Olivia, Scooby Doo and others. We tested two books and found them to be a bit noisy, with pushy background music. Fortunately, the music can be turned off, but the default setting is on. Rating: