• Night vision goggles
• Digital helmet/bike cam
• Pocket DVR
• 2.1 and 5.1 MP digital cameras that contain social networking software
• 2GB flash drive shaped like a mini Nerf blaster
• 2GB MP3 player
• Walkie talkies boasting a 1000 foot range
• Multi-function flashlight

Starting with Toys R Us, these items will be on store shelves in November and will retail between $19.99 and $59.99, depending on the item.

The design of the camera is true to LeapFrog’s standards, it looks almost exactly like their Leapster2 portable gaming machine. The exterior is textured a bit, so it feels good in the in hand, and is grippy too, so it’s less likely to slip out of a child’s grasp. To get started parents will need to add the batteries, but after that, kids are good on their own.

The camera features four buttons, all of which our test kids figured out either on their own, or with a little coaching. But largely kids were able to operate the camera independently, which is nice.

When taking shots kids can either use the display, or the viewfinder. The camera is fixed focus, the manual recommends trying to take pictures at a distance of 5 feet. Of course this is virtually impossible to manage with kids. The screen displays the number of shots remaining and the battery status, so kids get an honest replica of what an adult camera feels like, which is a nice touch. There’s also a flash, with indicator, that can be turned to auto or off. This sounds like a small thing, but the last several cameras we’ve seen have offered no such controls.

Another great thing which can be turned off are most of the sound effects. While it’s fun that the camera encourages kids with statements like “Great Shot,” when your child runs around the house and rattles off 100 in a row, it gets a little old. We did notice though that the muting isn’t remembered after you turn the camera off and back on.

The other adjustment is resolution. There are three settings that let you control shot resolution. The highest setting is 1600×1280, though it goes down to 640×480 if you’re more concerned about the number of pictures the camera can hold. The camera saves it’s photos to 8MB of internal memory. There is a serious issue here though, the memory is RAM, which means that when the camera loses power, the photos are gone. So parents need to copy the pictures to a computer before changing batteries and before the batteries die. I’m not entirely sure why Sakar went this route, but it’s not kid friendly.

Aside form taking photos, kids can view their photos in slideshow mode on the camera’s screen. It’s also possible to delete photos in this mode to get rid of shots that kids don’t want.

Once the photos get transferred to the computer, kids can go to work with editing software that lets them do the basics like crop and resize. There’s also a bunch of overlays they can add and games to play. The software is pretty well done and could probably stand on its own as a first photo editor for kids. It’s definitely a highlight of this package.

In the end though, it’s all about photo quality. While most kid’s camera companies don’t want to hear this, our test kids always want to see their photos afterward. 9 times out of 10 they’re disappointed because kid’s cameras do such a bad job of taking even decent pictures.

In this case, there are two issues. First, there’s substantial shutter lag, so from the button press to the photo taking, there’s a delay, meaning you’ll get a lot of blurry pictures as kids move around in the time it takes for the photo to take. Here’s an example of what happens:

Of our test shots, 60-70% had the blur effect. In this shot it looks like the dog has a halo around her body. It’s not horrible here, but know that it happens more than half the time. The second common issue is poor low-light operations, as can be seen here:

You can see from the dog’s eyes that the flash was used, but the flash doesn’t have enough power to illuminate the target area, yielding a bad picture. This is a typical low-light shot.

That’s not to say it’s all bad. Outside with reasonable light, the camera is capable of decent shots. Not that you’d expect print-worthiness out of a 2.1 megapixel sensor, but kids can get pictures they’re proud of.

Bottom Line

With an MSRP of $49.99, we’re again stuck in a spot where we think a used digital camera comes out ahead of the kid’s version. This one may be more durable, but if you have kids that want decent photos, we haven’t seen a camera for kids yet that lives up to that expectation. In fact, one of our testers, a six year-old boy, took five shots then gave me the camera back saying, “I don’t want to use this camera – it takes blurry fuzzballs.”

The camera looks good, is easy to use and comes with a nice desktop software package, but falls short in photo quality. If you’re looking for something simple to get kids used to digital photography, this is probably a fine solution.

Rating – 2.5 out of 5 Stars

The alarm clock is a fully molded Darth Vader head (to scale). It features an AM/FM radio and hour/minutes lights in Vader’s eyes that are honestly a bit haunting when seen in person. Of course there are several Vader-isms loaded up as well.

The Darth Vader alarm clock will be available soon for a retail of $29.99. 

Crayola MP3 Player

The Crayola MP3 Player is designed for children 4 and older and has a fun lozenge-shaped control panel with five large differently colored buttons for each function. The MP3 player also features a built-in voice recorder and speaker, for more interactive play. It holds 2GB of music and comes with earbuds as well as colorful letter stickers enabling kids to affix their names to the unit. The player runs on one AAA battery (not included) and can be plugged into the Crayola AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio dock.

The Crayola MP3 Player is due out in Q2 at a retail price of $49.99.

Crayola AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio

Crayola’s AM/FM Alarm Clock Radio is for kids ages 4 and up and is a lively designed cube with super-sized buttons. The clock features a music dock on the top that fits any MP3 player including the new Crayola MP3 Player, a large digital time display on the front and a built-in projector that beams the time up to the ceiling where kids can see it while lying in bed. It includes ‘sound soother’ sound effect buttons, a snooze button and an auxiliary plug for a headphone jack connection.

The Crayola Clock Radio is due out in Q2 at a retail price of $29.99.

Crayola Walkie-Talkie

The Crayola Walkie-Talkie set is designed for ages 3 and up comes with three changeable face plates in multi-colored patterns for variety and personalization. It features rubberized side grips for easy handling, plus easy-to-find pastel buttons and antennas.

The Crayola Walkie-Talkies will retail for $14.99 (pair) and will be available in the second quarter.

LeapFrog Digital Camera

LeapFrog’s first digital camera is styled after the Leapster2 portable gaming unit and features a 2.1 megapixel image sensor with a flash. The camera also features an optical viewer, along with 1.5″ LCD screen for kids to visualize their subject. When kids snap shots they’ll be greeted with fun phrases like, “Great shot” or “Smile for the camera.”

After kids are finished shooting, the camera will connect to a computer and images can be manipulated with included software. The software will let them edit photos, create story books and share with friends. There will also be a series of games and other entertainment activities.

The LeapFrog digital camera will be available in the first or second quarter and will retail for $49.99.

LeapFrog Microscope

The Microscope will come with six pre-made specimens for kids to examine, but also allows for plenty of exploration. Kids can create their own specimens so they can examine something like a hair follicle up close. Included is a 16-page booklet that teaches proper viewing techniques and data on the included samples. The microscope will connect to a PC for further learning and entertainment experiences.

The LeapFrog Microscope will be available in the third or fourth quarter for $29.99.

LeapFrog Telescope

The LeapFrog Telescope is a 50-power unit with a built-in compass to help kids locate stars and other celestial bodies. The telescope comes with a 16-page astronomy booklet that includes information about the solar system and proper telescope usage techniques. Like the microscope product, the telescope can be connected to a PC for interactive learning.

The LeapFrog Telescope will be available in the third or fourth quarter for $29.99.

Update 12/22/09 – LeapFrog Digital Camera Review Posted