What Does RFID Do?

The short story is RFID chips are planted in Talking Railway enabled trains. Currently this includes Thomas, James, Percie, Spencer, Rosie, Toby, Edward and several other favorites. You’ll know it’s a Talking Railway engine by looking at the magnetic connectors. They’re gold instead of the standard silver. There’s also a making underneath the train that indicates it’s RFID enabled. When a Talking Railway engine passes over an RFID reader, which is embedded in special stations and locations, kids hear an engine-appropriate message.

In the case of the Farewell at the Docks set we tested, that means Sir Topham Hatt has different greetings for Thomas than Spencer, both engines are included with the set. And if you were to add a Talking Railway James for instance, he’d get his own set of messages when pushed over the sensor. Of course regular engines and so on work with this set, they’ll get sounds and messages, they’re just not engine specific.

The only downside to this particular use of RFID, is that they haven’t given us any way to update the recordings stored in the stations. So that means if in a few years they release more Talking Railway engines, stations bought today won’t support the new trains. Learning Curve has indicated they have no plans to release new talking engines in 2010, but after that, it’s hard to tell, and you may find the current systems outdated.

Do Kids Really Care?

They do. Our mostly boy test group had dozens of combined Thomas playing years under their belts. To date there have been trains that can talk when a button is pressed on their cabs, or certain features that activate and make noise when a train is driven over a waterfall for instance. But nothing quite like this, a system that just works on its own and is customized to the engine driving over the sensor.

It was pretty funny actually, watching the kids being surprised each time as they’d try to trick the system into mixing up the trains. Of course they couldn’t do it. Unless you cut out the RFID chips and switch them, it will never make a mistake. But kids trying to trick Sir Topham Hatt really underscores the “magic” of the technology. They also enjoyed getting instructions for the engines, contributing to imaginative play. Here’s a little video of what you can expect.

Aside from the talking Sir Topham Hatt, this package also includes Cranky, specially decorated  Thomas and Spencer, decorated tunnel, bridge and track; totaling 24 pieces in all. This package retails for $99.99 and is exclusive to Toys R Us. In general, there’s a small premium for the Talking Railway engines, about $4 from what we can find, though Toys R Us currently sells a regular Cranky and the Talking Railway Cranky for the same price, $39.99. We’re not going to get too bogged down in price, the wooden railway pieces are expensive, but the Talking Railway engines and stations don’t appear to command a huge premium, which is nice.

Bottom Line

Kids that are into trains and Thomas specifically, really enjoyed the extra interactivity the Talking Railway offered. If you’ve already decided to buy Thomas sets and trains, the little extra for the Talking Railway pieces is worthwhile, especially when you factor in the many hours, if not generations, of play.

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

The learning laptop is designed for kids age 3 and up, who are getting started with letters, reading and writing. The computer teaches alphabet skills, reading comprehension, word families, rhyming, letter sounds, spelling, phonics, problem-solving and fine and gross motor skills. It accomplishes this through a variety of games that are available in three skill levels. This is a nice feature, as it gives the computer a longer lifespan as kids expand their skills.

Interacting with the computer is actually pretty unique. There’s a keyboard of course, this one is in alphabetic order, which is probably fine for kids in this target age group. There’s also a Super Why stylus and touch screen though, which is new for this category. The touch screen can be poked with a finger too, which makes it pretty easy for kids to use. Parents will be happy to know there’s also a volume switch, kids can toggle between two volume levels.

We tested with several kids near 3 years old and they all found the games to be engaging. Those who knew Super Why already were a little more interested. The good news is there’s a depth of content, so kids won’t get bored. Once they get the hang of the computer it’s also self guiding, which is a nice bonus. The multiple skill levels add another dimension, and there’s a help button if kids get stuck. All of these factors combine to make the Touch & Learn Super Duper Computer an interesting option for parents when looking for an educational computing product. Our only complaint is the screen resolution is pretty low, but that only bugged the parents, the kids didn’t even notice.

Editor’s Rating – 4 out of 5 Stars

Perhaps the best thing about Super Why is he and the team get kids energized about reading. The line of toys largely reinforces this mission, along with providing the typical roleplay action and imaginary play. Learning Curve sent us a trio of these products including the Super Why Hovering Why Flyer, Princess Presto Electronic Role Play Set and the Zap & Learn Why Writer.

Princess Presto Electronic Role Play Set

This kit also comes in a Super Why version, but both let kids pretend to be one of their favorite characters. Both come with the proper accoutrements, in the Princess P case this means a tiara, full size cape and an magic spelling wand that lights up and has 11 unique sounds and clips of Pricess Presto. The Super Why bundle has a mask, fulle size cape and and electronic writer that lights up and says 10 phrases.

For the price, it’s hard to complain much. The kits don’t provide much learning, but they do get kids int eh right frame of mind. Emulating Super Why is more constructive than most other characters on TV. For that reason alone we can recommend these kits. Otherwise, the components are durable and provide good pretend  play value.

Both kits are designed for ages 3 and up and retail for $14.99.

Zap & Learn Why Writer

This unit is actually pretty fun for kids, though the non-adjustable super loud volume could make parents want to be in another room. On Level 1, kids get to wiggle the writer to cycle through two options that result in a little animated movie. There seem to be dozens of combinations involving popular animals. The Level 2 game makes kids answer questions. They’ll be prompted to waggle the reader to find the right answer, then press the Zap button to lock it in.

Both games are pretty solid, the words are reinforced both with images or sound and the spelling, so kids that are getting ready to read are exposed to easy to see letters. Kids who are into the show will also get a fair amount of pretend play out of the writer as well.

Aside from the loud speaker, we like the learning components of the writer and think it’s great for kids who enjoy the show. There’s also a Princess Presto branded Spelling Wand that’s similar. ($19.99 MSRP)

Super Why Hovering Why Flyer

The Hovering Why Flyer uses an air current to make it float enough off the surface of the ground for it to glide around, complete with lights and sounds from Super Why. The concept is great, it would have been easier to slap some wheels on the flyer. So we give Learning Curve credit for being creative. The only problem is that we couldn’t find many surfaces where it actually hovered very well. It obviously doesn’t go on carpet, but it also struggles a bit with hardwood floors. Desks and counter tops are okay, but the risk of drops and accidental crashes runs pretty high. If you have a completely flat hard surface, you should be fine. (MSRP $19.99)

Overall we’re pretty happy with the value of the Super Why line by Learning Curve. The combination of imaginary play and actual learning is enough to get us to recommend most of their tech-oriented lineup.

Kids driving an RFID enabled Thomas over the sensor on the track for instance, will hear Sir Tohpam Hatt say “Hello, Thomas you’re right on time!” Engines with the RFID chips will have their names printing in gold on the bottom of the chassis and they’ll also feature golden magnet connectors on the front and rear.

Initially the engines that will features this technology will include Thomas, Percy, Toby, Rosie, Salty, Stanley, Edward, James and Emily. The small engines will retail for $14.99, the larger engines with tenders will retail for $24.99. Each engine will have a unique set of greetings and phrases associated with it.

Several destinations will also be released including Stop & Greet Station, Cranky the Crane, Morgan’s Mine and Brendam Barrel Company. These sets will retail for $59.99, the Cranky set retails for $69.99.

Update 11/14/09 – Thomas Wooden Talking Railway Review Posted

Learning Curve has announced a licensing deal that will bring an entire line of Super WHY! branded products to market. The line will include play sets, plush and the like, in addition to kid’s tech products like learning aids and other electronics.

Super WHY! features a team of superhero characters with literacy-based powers, who jump into books to look for answers to everyday problems. The new Super WHY! product line translates the TV show’s reading education mission into products with learning features and content, helping children develop literacy skills. 

“The excitement surrounding the introduction of the Super WHY! line of preschool toys and electronic learning aids has been outstanding,” said Peter Henseler, President of RC2 Corporation. “Both Out of the Blue and RC2 have been receiving inquiries from parents for months wondering when they’ll be able to purchase Super WHY! products for their children. Our teams have been working closely together to ensure that the products we bring to market are not only fun for kids, but also help boost their reading abilities. We expect Super WHY! to be one of the strong highlights of the 2009 toy season and for years to come. Based on its considerable appeal among parents and children, Super WHY! is already showing it has the right stuff to be a modern day success with classic appeal.”

While specifics surrounding the product line have not been released, many parents will be excited just to know reading-based toys will be coming to market with the popular Super WHY! brand. The lineup is expected to be available for purchase in the middle of the year, though many should be on display at next month’s Toy Fair.