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:
Impressive to watch, but hard to use, Rubik’s TouchCube is a second, much more sophisticated attempt to computerize the 
original twisting puzzle that so many people remember from the 1970s. The first was called Rubik’s Revolution, released from Techno Source last year. This version is packed with technology: multi-color LEDs, an accelerometer, rechargeable batteries (with a cradle) and a microprocessor.
Rather than physically twisting the ingeniously interlocked mechanical cubes, you swipe your finger against one of the cube’s capacitive sides in order to change the colors. So there’s no moving parts. Instead, the bright, multi-color LEDs change color with a flipping sound emitted from a tiny internal speaker. The accelerometer knows which side is up, and an internal microprocessor computer can give you a hint, take back the last step, or remember your progress. It can also solve itself while you watch in mathematical admiration. When it is not being used, the cube sits in a charging cradle and blinks for 15 minutes, before turning itself off. Please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
Designed to look like a pot of soup, this battery-operated phonics toy comes with an attached talking spoon that prompts children to find the letters needed to spell specific three-letter words. While he talks, background music plays in repeating loops. There are five activities including letter sounds (tells the sound a letter makes), finding fun (asks for the letter that makes a sound), counting colors (asks for you to press a certain color block), letter order (tells you what what letter comes after) and spelling time (asks you to spell a word). Includes 4 AA batteries for demo purpose only and an automatic shut-off. Please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.
This toy laptop comes with a small, extremely low resolution color touch screen, a membrane alphabetical keyboard and 35 reading and matching games. Content is based on PBS Kids Super Why characters (Super Why, Wonder Red, Princess Presto, and Alpha Pig). Each character comes with a set of noisy activities that vary in quality. For example, in Why Flyer you are aske
d to find the word “soup” (presented verbally) and then are asked to touch the screen when that word is shown. In the Emperor’s New Clothes, you spell out short words on the alphabetical keyboard, one letter at a time. Children used to the keys in QWERTY order will be confused, because the keys are presented in alphabetical keyboard style. In addition, there are some buttons on the side of the screen that have no function, which confused our testers at first.
Other features include built-in speakers, two levels of volume control and a tethered question-mark stylus for the touch screen. The device is powered by 3AA batteries and there is an auto sleep function if the toy isn’t used for a few minutes. Learning Curve Brands, Inc.. www.learningcurve.com, $35. Best for ages 3-up. Please log into our database using your password to read the full review along with our rating.