• Twist screen for self-portraits
• 5 Megapixel Resolution
• 128MB of internal memory (no external storage)
• 2” LCD
• Adjustable flash
• 4 x digital zoom
• Disney PhotoFriends feature

Disney Pix Twist Off the Shelf

Out of the Box

The features of the Pix Twist were designed with a tween in mind.  From the twist feature that allows the photographer to take a self portrait easily to the Jonas Brothers branding and the ability to add Disney PhotoFriends, this camera was made for fun.  And, the wrist strap and sturdy plastic housing make this camera easy to take with you.

Disney Pix Twist Action

Along the bottom of the back, there are triangular buttons for scrolling, a trash button, and a button to adjust the flash.  Running up the right side are a wand button which allows you to add PhotoFriends, and zoom buttons.  There’s also a 2-inch display (more on that later).

Dsiney Pix Twist Back (Partially Twisted)

The Pix Twist uses three AA alkaline batteries (not included), and seems to be judicious about it’s power usage.  I didn’t have to replace the batteries, even with several hours of use.  Considering that there’s no on/off switch, and the camera shuts itself down if it hasn’t been used, that’s worth a mention.

Camera Operation

The designers of the Pix Twist have made the operation of the camera simple and straight-forward.  My 7-year-old figured it out within a matter of minutes and was adding crowns to my mug, the dog, and even my husband. Kids being able to learn the camera’s features on their own is a huge plus.

Appropriate Crown Picture Using PhotoFriends Feature

While I don’t argue with the crown at all, I do wish that the buttons were more responsive.  As I was playing with the camera, I found that, once pressed, the buttons didn’t always do what they were supposed to.  In fact, I sometimes had to press very hard to get the images to scroll in playback or to select a particular PhotoFriend.  This didn’t seem to slow my son down much, but several adults mentioned having the same difficulty.

Button sensitivity aside, the Disney Pix Twist has some features that you would expect to see in a more advanced camera including zoom, adjustable flash, and a twisting screen.  Additionally, it has some features that are geared toward it’s user-group.  Read on, and I’ll tell you more . . .

Zoom

There’s a 4x digital zoom feature that, while not a serious optical zoom by any standards, does allow the photographer to crop out some background and “get closer” to the subject.

Typical Picture

Typical Picture With Zoom

Unfortunately, as with old school point and shoot film cameras, this zoom does not improve the picture quality, it just makes your subject look closer.  So, don’t expect any improved clarity, but it definitely works. Indoor photos also come out dark, which is typical of the sensor used in this type of camera. For best shots, kids will need to be outside with at least moderate sun.

LCD Display

The LCD on the back is a good size for the camera, but it’s very difficult to see your subject unless you have just the right lighting conditions.  Using the camera in my living room with all the lights on, my son’s comment was, “Mommy, this screen is pretty dark.  I can’t even see you.”  That about sums it up.  Below is a sample of the display in good light . . . we’ve seen better.

Display In a Brightly Lit Room

Sadly, the screen is essential to aligning pictures when you add PhotoFriends, so unless you are outside but not in direct sunlight, or in a VERY brightly lit room inside, you’ll be guesstimating at the framing of your pictures.

Flash

The flash is adjustable and very strong.  You can set it to on or off as well as auto.  I found that the auto feature didn’t always force the flash in low light conditions, making the picture fuzzy and grainy.  Still, if the picture doesn’t turn out, you can always adjust the flash button and try again . . . isn’t that the way we always used to do it before the age of fully automated cameras?  The upside is that with digital pictures you can preview the photo to determine if you need to make adjustments.  But, I digress.

As for the pictures that we took, I was disappointed to see that the flash washed out many of them.  As a result, I ended taking many of my sample shots twice (both with and without the flash) to see which turned out better.

Below are two pictures of the same subject, one taken with the flash, the other taken without.  Frankly, I’m not sure either was a complete success.

Overexposed

Photo Quality

As I’m sure you’ve noticed with the samples I’ve included, while the camera offers 5 MP resolution, the image quality is poor.  There’s no focus ability, and the pictures turn out looking very flat with almost no depth of field.  When I viewed them on my computer, they were adequate, but don’t expect much if you print them.  Still, if the camera is used as a toy (it’s intended purpose) and not to create an archival quality photo album, the picture quality isn’t much of an issue.

PhotoFriends

As I mentioned above, one feature that I really liked was the ability to add Disney-themed PhotoFriends.  These are graphics that include various Disney-contracted actors (like the Jonas Brothers), picture frames, and hats that you can select and add to your picture.  (Note: the princess-themed camera has more princess graphics and no Jonas boys).  The graphics show up both on the display screen and in the final picture, so you can frame your subject with the graphic.  It’s worth noting that once a graphic is in a picture, you can’t take it off.  Still, my young testers loved being able to create photos with these neat little add-ons.  This is definitely the highlight of the camera and the thing it does best.

In a Nutshell

What I like about the camera:

• Adding the PhotoFriends to pictures was seriously fun
• Adjustable flash settings
• Very durable
• Twist action for self portraits (very helpful if you want to use the Hannah Montana wig PhotoFriend)
• Has a display screen though this it is ineffective in low or bright light

What I did not like about the camera:

• Buttons were temperamental and did not always work well
• Poor focus
• Pictures that were not print quality

As a toy, this camera is fun.  The twist and PhotoFriend features are really fun.  However, as a camera, it is seriously lacking.  Overexposed or fuzzy pictures are common, and at a MSRP of $60, you could get a better traditional digital camera for the money, though, admittedly, it would not have Photo Friends.  Still, if you can find one of these on sale, it is entertaining for a tween.

Rating - 3 out of 5 stars

The Mix Lights comes in four designs: Jonas Brothers, Wizards of Waverly Place, Princess Wish and Hannah Montana.

Disney Mix Lights Specs

• 2 GB Internal Memory
• SD/MMC Card Slot for Additional 2GB External Memory
• Holds up to 1000 songs/64 hours of WMA music or 480 songs/32 hours of MP3 music
• USB 2.0, Type B mini-USB connector, 3.5mm Headphone Jack Outputs
• Built-in Rechargeable Battery – Up to 16 Hours of Playtime (recharges via USB port)
• Supports Disney Mix Clips, MP3, WMA, SD/MMC Cards
• Dimensions: 1.4″ L x 3″ W x .5″ H:
• Weight: 1.2oz

Getting Started

Disney and Digital Blue have definitely made it easy to work with the Mix Lights series of media players. In the box is everything you need including USB cable for charge and file transfer, a set of earbuds, lanyard, and the Disney Mix Central software.

To get started, you’ll want to charge the battery on the unit. To do this simply plug it into a computer. On a PC the player shows up as a storage device, which makes it easy to manually copy files over. If you have an SD card in the player, the card will show as a separate storage device. For some kids copying files straight to the player might be easiest. For those who are a little more advanced, the included Mix Central software is also available. The software lets kids sync their music to the player, create playlists and other related activities.

Listen Up!

After you load up the player with songs, it’s time to get listening. All the navigation is handled with the cutely designed Mickey Mouse ears buttons on the back of the player. The buttons are the key interface, as there’s no visual display on the player. The mouse ears are used to put the player in a repeat loop, or to have it make random playlists in the mix it mode. The mouse head if you will, is used to play/pause songs and to skip/fast forward and previous song/rewind. The power button, with hold lock, is on one side while the volume control is on the other.

The fun part is on the front – where the mix lights are. When you press the Disney logo button, you toggle the dancing lights on/off. When they’re on, kids get to see a light show that bounces around to the beat of the music. The lights are pretty fun. While it’s difficult to figure out exactly what each one represents, like treble or bass, they seem to move around appropriately. Kids who tested the unit largely enjoyed the option to have the lights on, they felt it gave the device a little more personality. It’s also a unique way to broadcast the fact that you’re listening to music.

Bottom Line

We listened to a few hours of music on the Mix Lights. The only problem we found was a small stutter between songs on the media card. The issue is really only noticeable on live tracks, so it’s hard to complain too much. Of course any MP3 player is going to get compared to the iPod. The 2GB Shuffle runs $20 more MSRP (Mix Lights is $39) and doesn’t have a memory card slot or the lights and Disney branding. The media player comes with everything you need out of the box, has a long lasting battery and the Mix Central software is pretty solid too if you choose to use it. Kids quickly figured out how to use it, meaning parents don’t have to help much. All in all, it’s a solid offering and reasonable purchase for kids who aren’t ready yet for a full-featured media player.

Rating – 4.5 out of 5 Stars – Editors’ Choice

Disney Flix Jr. in Box As My Friend's Daughter Spotted It

Out of the Box

Framed in pink and purple, Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle are ready to join any little princess on a documenting adventure.  The camera features a rubberized, non-slip grip and simple to use buttons.

Disney Flix Jr. Princess-View

There’s a small LCD screen (about 1 x 1.25 inches) on which young directors can view their masterpieces as they film, and a red light on the front alerts their subject to the fact that film is rolling.

Disney Flix Jr. Back

The princess picture on the right side (if you’re holding the camera) hides the jacks for the USB and TV connectors.

Disney Flix Jr. USB and TV Out

TV out and USB cables are included, and the software for downloading is conveniently installed on the camera.  Setup takes just a minute the first time you transfer a video to your computer.  One thing to note, is that there is no file selection capability in the download software.  So, in order to avoid duplicate downloads, delete the videos from the camera after they have been transferred.

Pressing any button will turn the camera on, and it turns off automatically if you stop using it.

Now, on to the fun part . . .

Taking Flix Jr. For a Test Drive

Upon seeing the Flix Jr. in a box on my table, my friend’s daughter gasped and said, “oh, I want THAT for Christmas!”  She didn’t even know what it was, but she was already bubbling over with excitement.  When I explained that it was a video camera, she nearly burst.  After freeing the camera from it’s plastic prison, installing the requisite three AA batteries and pealing her off the ceiling, my friend’s daughter was off and ready to film.

Disney Flix Jr. Battery Compartment

Here’s what I learned following her around:

• The camera is sized perfectly for little hands.
• The buttons are simple and easy to navigate.
• The microphone does a decent job picking up the audio as long as the child isn’t screaming with excitement.
• It is VERY easy to download videos onto your computer or to watch them on a TV.
• The simple act of holding the camera produces spontaneous fits of giggles and causes those around the filmer to act completely ridiculous; and if that’s not a glowing recommendation, I don’t know what is.

Disney Flix Jr. in Action

As, as for production quality, here’s a sample:

NOTE: due to the length of the videos taken by my testers and the fact that I am not a film editor, the video I included is one which I took that is substantially less giggly than those of the kids who used the camera.  Sorry.

You’ll notice in the video that the focus isn’t super sharp, nor does the camera keep up with very quick movement.  However, in all reality, it’s almost as good as old school VHS cameras, which is plenty good enough for a small child (who will no doubt drop it, pick it up, and keep filming).

Speaking of dropping it, just so you know, the Flix Jr. does bounce, and was no worse for the wear after falling down the stairs twice.  Sadly, I can’t even blame this on my young testers.

Things that I would changeabout the Flix Jr. are very few, but they include:

• I wish it had a wrist or neck strap for easy portability.
• Retailing between $70-$80, this seems like a potentially expensive investment.

These two negatives are the only things that keep the Flix Jr. from earning full marks.

In a Nutshell

The Disney Flix Jr. video camera is a fun gadget that is easy to use and built to withstand the “loving” play of three to eight-year-old kids. My testers had an absolute blast with the camera and didn’t want to give it back.

The Flix Jr. models are available now direct from Amazon.

Rating – 4.5 out of 5 stars – Editor’s Choice

The idea of LEGO electronics gear is pretty fun, and not just for kids. Parents who grew up on the stacking bricks love the idea too. The alarm clock radio does what you’d expect. There’s a digital clock display and AM/FM band with digital tuner. All are controlled by the buttons and switches on the front of the LEGO brick and the two knobs on top.

Getting started is simple, the clock radio comes with an AC adapter, but can also run on 4 AA batteries (not included). All of the buttons are clearly labeled on the front of the clock, meaning any kid over 5-6 will probably be able to figure it out. The same goes for working with the radio. Push the radio on/off button, then use the right knob to dial up the station and the left knob to handle volume. The stations are digitally displayed, which makes it easy to find what you’re looking for.

The alarm setting is also just as easy to configure. Kids can wake up to the radio, or buzzer. What you might miss is you don’t read the instructions though is that the left knob can be depressed to activate the 5 minute snooze function. It also activates the backlight for a few seconds if the backlight is turned off (there are three backlight settings).

We’ve been playing with the LEGO alarm clock radio for a while now and find it to be a great fusion of the classic LEGO brand with electronics. It’s easy to use, the buttons are clearly labeled and make sense to kids, the radio reception is solid and the unit looks good and comes in pink, green, red or blue. As an added bonus, if you buy the LEGO Boombox, the clock radio can attach to the top of the Boombox brick.

Kids did want to try to find ways to build with the clock using their LEGO sets, but unfortunately you can’t do that. There’s little surface area where standard sized knobs could have been added, the right side being about the only option. Even so, kids thought the clock was “super cool” and it fits right at home in any kid’s room.

Bottom Line

The LEGO alarm clock radio does what it’s supposed to do, and it’s simple for kids to operate. It even plays well on an adult’s desk in most environments. For $30 MSRP, we think it’s fun and worth the cost for LEGO fans.

Rating – 5 out of 5 Stars – Editor’s Choice

Disney Pix Jr. in Box

Out of the Box

Just seeing it on the shelf, every 4-6 year-old princess I know would flip over this camera.  Sporting a pictures of Aurora, Cinderella, and Belle, and framed by pink and purple, it’s the perfect accessory for a royal adventure.

Disney Pix Jr Camera Front

Then you pick it up . . .

Weighing in at over 11 oz., this Pix Jr. is more than twice as heavy as the 5.5 oz. point-and-shoot that I carry around.  While I’m all for sturdy cameras for small children, this one is substantial to the point of being heavy, which means that mom or dad will probably be carrying it around.  It is, however, rubberized which absorbs shock when it’s dropped and makes it easy to hang on to.

Then you turn it on . . .

Upon pressing the Snapshot button, I was greeted with what I assume was princess sparkle music, but it sounded more like a bad synthesizer in guitar mode.  There is a shutter sound when you take pictures, which is not bad, nor is the bubble pop sound when you scroll through your photo library.  However, if you press the wand button to add a PhotoFriend (more on this later), there’s more bad synthesizer that sounds more like lasers than magic dust in my opinion.  Ditto for the shutdown sound.

Unfortunately, there is no way to adjust the sound or turn it off, which means that this toy is relegated to places where noise is not an issue.  This is too bad since my son and his friends like to take their cameras everywhere, but we could not take this model to a play, a graduation, or a recital. Even if we were only to take pictures before and after the event, I’d be worried that it would turn on in my bag.

Photo Quality

As for the pictures that we took, I was disappointed to see that the flash washed out many of them.  At first, I thought we were just too close to the subject, but even from 6 feet away, we had the same problem.  With no way to turn the flash off or force it on, you can’t control whether the picture will be underexposed, overexposed, or just right.  Furthermore, it seems that there is some sort of sensor that determines when a flash is necessary because sometimes, the flash just didn’t come on, even though it was charged.  But it’s worth noting that there is no mention of this in the very slim user guide.

Below are two pictures of the same subject, one taken with the flash, the other taken without.

Disney Pix Jr Pumpkins With Flash

Disney Pix Jr Pumpkins Without Flash

As you can see, while the camera offers 1.3 MP resolution, the image quality is poor.  There’s no focus ability, and the pictures turn out looking very flat with almost no depth of field.  When I viewed them on my computer, they were disappointing at best, and when I printed one, I could barely make out the image.

PhotoFriends

One feature that I really liked was the ability to add Disney princess-themed PhotoFriends.  These are graphics that include various Disney princesses, animals , and a crown that you can select and add to your picture (the other versions of this camera have appropriate graphics).  The graphics show up on the display screen and in the final picture, so it’s easy to frame your subject with the graphic. Kids loved being able to create photos with these neat little add-ons. This is definitely the highlight of the camera and the thing it does best.

Disney Princess PhotoFriends On Screen

Bernie with Bambi (picture taken inside with flash)

In a Nutshell

What I like about the camera:

• Adding the PhotoFriends to pictures was fun
• The buttons are simple and easy to use
• Very durable
• Holds over 500 pictures
• Has a display screen though this it is ineffective in low or bright light

What I did not like about the camera:

• No off button, so you waste battery waiting for it to shut itself down
• No way to adjust the flash, and it is VERY bright
• Heavy
• Can’t turn off the sound
• Poor focus
• Pictures that were not print quality

Overall, this camera would be fun for a 2, 3, or 4-year-old to carry around, but beyond that, the photo quality and weight do not justify the $60 MSRP price tag, even with the princess-themed PhotoFriends. Unfortunately the Disney Pix Jr. falls into the trap that many kids cameras do, the photo quality just isn’t very good. That said, if you can find one of these on sale for $30 or less, we think it’s a worthwhile first camera for kids who are interested in taking pictures.

Rating – 2.5 out of 5 stars

LEGO Boombox

The LEGO Boombox is a 10X scale brick with knobs on top to control volume and tuning. Along with an AM/FM radio it includes a CD player housed in the top and an aux input jack. Other features include: 3.5mm headphone jack, 1.1″ digital display with backlight, telescopic antenna, 2x 1W 2 channel speakers, dynamic bass boost system, and included AC cord. The Boombox can also run on 6 C batteries.

The LEGO Boombox will be available this summer at $39.99.

LEGO MP3 Player

The LEGO MP3 player comes in multi-colored bricks as seen above and a pink version pictured below. The bricks are actual size, meaning LEGO bricks can be mounted on the top and bottom of the MP3 player. The player includes 2GB of internal memory and plays MP3 and WMA files. Other highlights include a color LCD display, mini-USB connector and rechargeable batter with 8 hours of play time and included earbuds, which are probably not shaped like LEGO bricks. 

The LEGO MP3 Player will be available this summer at $39.99.

The concept sounds great, use an Infrared gun to enable night vision in a handheld camera that can shoot stills and video. But it’s pretty easy to dismiss this as marketing hype, since most products with claims like these and a price point of under $80 fail to deliver in any meaningful way. Think again, after just a little hands on time with Night Vision, we’re sold on the camera and while we need more time to complete the full review, we think it’s going to be a winner. The only problem will be the wait, it’s not due out until this summer.

Using the Night Vision is simple. While there are six buttons for operation and a trigger, you really only need one button to power it on and the trigger to take shots or video. The other buttons are for image playback/review and to turn on an LED flashlight. The Night Vision transitions seamlessly to night vision mode when it’s dark, so kids can walk from a lit room to a dark closet and the Night Vision will adjust automatically. One more button press transitions between video and still capture mode. 

The camera itself takes stills with a 1.3 megapixel resolution and video at VGA (640×480 pixels). There’s a 2″ color LCD display that’s actually better than what we’ve seen on some mainstream digital cameras. While the camera only includes 32MB of internal storage, there is an SD slot that can handle cards up to 2GB.

None of the specs matter though if the images aren’t good. The Night Vision does a fantastic job. The only problem we had is that many photos came out blurry and while shooting video it takes the camera a second to catch up if you make a rapid movement. A still hand will resolve the blur issue though, the camera even includes a tripod adaptor if you’re serious about getting quality shots. At the end of the day kids love this thing. Whether it’s discovering secrets in the basement or spying on their friends outside on a warm evening, the Digital Blue Night Vision has been a huge hit. Expect a full review from us soon, until then, here are a few sample shots.

“Digital Blue is an ideal partner for Bakugan because of the creativity with which it approaches the business,” said Christina Miller, vice president, Cartoon Network Enterprises, the exclusive U.S. licensing agent for the brand. “This first-ever line of Bakugan consumer electronics includes some unique features that draw upon the innovation that make this brand stand out.”

At CES Digital Blue announced a license of the LEGO brand and said they’d be coming out with products like a digital camera, walkie talkie and digital video camera. We saw the concept photos of a few of the devices, but we now have more information on what they’re calling the LEGO Animation Station Video Camera.

While the LEGO Animation Station Video Camera doesn’t have the same brick build as the other products we’ve seen to date, there are definitely LEGO elements throughout the video camera. The specifications are not yet complete, but we do know the unit will feature a 1.4″ color LCD flip-out display, five-way navigation pad on the back, record/function buttons on top and a detachable remote control. The camera will be packaged with a how-to guide for shooting video and will also come with video editing software for the PC. 

Digital Blue expects the LEGO Animation Station Video Camera to be available this summer/fall for  a retail price of $79.99.

Digital Blue NightVision Video Camera

The NightVision Video Camera lets kids see and record video in pitch black conditions. The infrared technology helps kids see objects in the dark up to 20 feet away on a 2″ LCD display. Video footage is recorded and saved on the camera’s internal memory. The recorded videos can be played back on the camera’s 2” LCD screen or downloaded to a PC. The unit also features a built-in flashlight for safety, and a daytime recording mode.

Digital Blue’s Night Vision Video Camera will be available this summer for a suggested $79.99.

Digital Blue U-Turn Digital Camera

There are dozens of choices for kids when it comes to digital cameras, many even let kids add effects to their shots. But nothing works quite like the U-Turn. The U-Turn features a large 2.4” LCD view screen that swivels from back to front so kids can see themselves when taking self-portraits or shots of a group of friends. After the picture is taken, kids can use one of 12 morph effects to instantly give their photo a twist, literally. Think fun-house mirrors and you’ll get the idea. The U-Turn can also work as a standard camera and has enough internal memory to store 80 images.

U-Turn will be available this spring at a suggested retail of $49.99.

Update 3/11/09 – We have posted a first thoughts review of the Night Spy