Review: VTech’s New V.Reader

Written on Jul 6, 2010 by RuthJS and filed under VTech

VTech® describes it’s new V.Reader™ as an “animated e-book system.” In my opinion, it’s like a kiddie Kindle and has taken e-readers for kids to a new level. Designed for children 3-7, it’s both easy to use and fun. Add to that the fact that it was a hit with our reviewers, and I think VTech has done it again.

Overview

The V.Reader was one of the most memorable tech toys from Toy Fair 2010.  (Although, I should note that when I saw it at Toy Fair, the V.Reader was named the FLiP, but it’s still the same impressive device with a few design updates and a new name.)  With this toy, VTech has created an interactive reading experience for kids based on their skill level while combining educational games that reinforce letters, sounds/phonics, reading comprehension, and logic.

The reader retails for $60 and comes in two color schemes: blue/orange and pink/purple.  I reviewed the blue and orange device as it is packaged for sale as well as an additional e-book cartridge, “Mr. Messy and the Missing Sock.”

Out of the Box

The V.Reader comes with a story cartridge, a USB cable to connect to your computer for downloads, a cleaning cloth, and an owner’s manual. It also sports a “V.Reader Pen” or stylus. The reader itself is designed to look and feel  like a book, and the clear plastic “book cover” doubles as a screen and button protector.

The V.Reader has a whole list of features, including:

• headphone jack
• SD card slot (card not included, but insert your own and you can store downloaded data)
• V.Reader pen/stylus
• touchscreen capability
• 2.25 x 3.75 inch screen with surprising clarity
• brightly colored buttons with pictures that even pre-readers can easily interpret
• a protective cover
• QWERTY keyboard which reinforces standard key locations
• port for an AC adapter (adapter not included)

Other accessories for the V.Reader include a carrying backpack, an AC adapter, a car charger.

VTech has licensed may favorite characters for the reader including Mickey Mouse, Disney Fairies, Disney Princesses, Shrek, Toy Story 3, Mr. Men and Little Miss, Cars and Dora. Cartridges featuring some of these characters are available now, with others waiting in the wings.  It’s worth noting that the included cartridge features a puppy named Rufus of their own creation and not a licensed character.

After installing the 4 AA batteries (VTech recommends alkaline), I was ready to go.

Using the V.Reader™

The V.Reader is designed so that it can be held like a book or you can flip the cover all the way back behind the unit and it becomes a tablet. Personally, I found that holding the reader like a tablet suited me, but one of my testers loved the fact that “it feels like a book!” when he held it in two hands with the cover open.

Additionally, the V.Reader has touch-screen capability, or you can use the included stylus. I preferred to use the stylus because then I didn’t get the screen all smudgy, but the cleaning cloth came in handy for my testers who wanted to use their fingers.  One child actually held the stylus in one hand and used her pointer finger on her other hand and navigated through the book using both.  Regardless of the technique, the menus, books, and games are easy to navigate, and the screen and keyboard were equally responsive.

One thing I should mention before I go on is that the on/off button must be held down for about 2 seconds before the reader will toggle successfully. At first this was frustrating since I tapped the button quickly and nothing happened.  But, then I realized that this was actually a helpful feature since the button would have to be depressed for a period of time and not just bumped by a child or the side of a backpack or purse before turning the player on or off.  Additionally, I found that the player will conserve battery by turning itself off after 10 minutes if it is not used.

The first time I started up the V.Reader, I was prompted to enter my name and to pick an avatar. Subsequently, the “Hello!” greeting message would appear and then the display would go to the main menu screen.

The main menu is really cute.  It looks like a cork board with tacks sticking pictures to it.  There are five icons leading to options as well as an identification tag with the user’s name and avatar. (I thought it was appropriate for KidsTechReveiw to have a robot )

• Backpack — the backpack is where a user will find his or her downloads (more on that later).
• Setup — when I touched the Setup icon, I was taken to a screen where I could change my name, my avatar, or customize the start-up message. However, I could not add more than one user profile on the reader.  I don’t know if that will be a available as a feature in the future, but I think it would be useful for parents of multiple children or in a classroom setting.
• E-Book Title – if there is a cartridge in the reader, the book title will appear in the center of the menu screen.  Touching the book title allows a user to hear and read the story, explore the book dictionary, play the games on the cartridge, or “free play” in the book (more on that later).
• Game — the game controller icon navigates to the included game, “Word Whacker.” It’s kindof a Whack-A-Mole concept where children touch the mole carrying the correct letter or letters to complete a word.  There are three levels of difficulty, and the reader keeps track of high scores.
• Certificates — frankly, I couldn’t figure out what the certificates section was supposed to do. I assume it has to do with downloads, but since the download library is not available, yet, I can’t be sure.

At any time, a user can press the Menu, Game, or Backpack button located between the screen and the keyboard and the reader will navigate there.  Also, users can toggle the background music on or off, adjust the volume, and change the screen brightness from anywhere in the program.

Beyond the basics, the functionality of the reader on it’s own is very limited.  The only program actually loaded on the machine is the Word Whacker game.  However,  the reader comes with one e-book cartridge, “What’s That Noise?,”  which contains a full-length child’s e-book and eight games that pertain to the story and it’s content. The one cartridge was enough to keep my testers happy for a long time.

A note about the cartridge, while it slipped into the player easily, it was a bit difficult to remove.  Several of my testers needed help taking out stuck cartridges.  However, I don’t necessarily think this is a negative since it will cut down on lost cartridges, and I’d imagine that the more the child plays with the reader, the looser the cartridges will become.

One fun feature of each cartridge is the ability to “free play.” While reading a story or playing a game, a child can touch the screen to stop or restart the narration, see animations, hear word definitions, or hear fun sounds and voices. My testers had a lot of fun trying to discover the free play hot spots on each page of the story.

The video below shows the included story being read and some of the free play items that users can touch on the screen. (Please note that the screen is much clearer than the video shows merely because my video camera had trouble focusing on the screen.)

Additional e-Books and Downloads

Additional cartridges containing e-books and games can be purchased for around $20.  Those currently available include:

• The Little Engine That Could
• Olivia
• Shrek
• Disney/Pixar Toy Story 3
• Mr. Men and Little Miss
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse

After reading the e-book that comes with the reader and one additional, they seem to be age appropriate and the games are engaging and fun.  There is enough built in to each cartridge that they held my tester’s attention and interest.

In addition to cartridges, VTech has targeted mid-summer to have a download-able library available with over 100 books. The online library is not available at the time of this review, so I am not able to review this functionality nor do I know the pricing.  However, VTech has said that there will be some free downloads available. Still, if the downloads are anything like the included cartridge, they will keep a child busy.

Tester Reactions

Truly, I think the reactions speak for themselves. “It was all really cool!” effused one user.  Referring to the Mr. Messy and the Missing Socks cartridge another said, “I like it when I can make the pictures do funny things, like the water spilling out of the clothes washer onto Mr. Bump.”

In a Nutshell

The V.Reader from VTech is quite cool. I’m looking forward to seeing what’s available on the web site. At $60, it’s a sturdy and engaging toy, and I’m happy to give it:

5 out of 5 stars

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