Content is designed for kids age 4-9 and is available via game cartridges and downloads from the VTech site. The game cartridges leverage licensed favorites like Cars, Toy Story and Dora to deliver a combination of animated reading, learning games and creative activities.

The tablet itself also has pre-installed apps, like a photo manager, MP3 player and calendar, that try to give kids a taste of the real thing.

The touchscreen is 5″, giving kids a lot of room to operate. The InnoPad also features a tilt-sensor (used in games for controls and to rotate the screen), microphone, headphone jack, SD card slot and USB interface to connect to a computer to download content.

The InnoPad’s case is sturdy and easy for little hands to grip, and should take the bumps and bruises children dole out pretty well. The back of the case even has a kickstand so the InnoPad can be propped up.

The InnoPad will be available this fall for a retail price of $79.99. Game cartridges will retail for $24.99.

Peek at Me Bunny™

A soft, plush bunny with both day and night modes, Peek at Me Bunny™ is ready to cuddle or to learn. With sensors on it’s body and learning keys on it’s hands and feet, the bunny will play peek-a-boo, teach body parts, and engage in emotional play.

Peek at Me Bunny

• Targeted Age: 6 months and up
• MSRP: $14.99
• Availability: spring 2011 at vtechkids.com, Target, Toys R’ Us and more

Care & Learn Teddy™

This plush teddy needs some love. Kids learn about body parts like ears, hands, feet, tummy, and heart while they use a bandage, stethoscope, and thermometer to help teddy recover.

Care & Learn Teddy

• Targeted Age: 18 months and up
• MSRP: $19.99
• Availability: Fall 2011

Grow & Discover Music Studio™

The Grow & Discover Music Studio is a music station designed to introduce babies to instruments and musical patterns while discovering sounds. With guitar, drum, piano keyboard, songbook and microphone, babies will work on imitative play.

Grow & Discover Music

• Targeted Age: 9 months and up
• MSRP: $29.99
• Availability: Fall 2011

2-in-1 Discovery Table™

This two-sided toy features a desk-themed learning side with buttons and gears that are enhanced by light, sound, color and texture. The second side encourages artistic development with a surface suited for drawing or painting.

2-in-1 Discovery Table

• Targeted Age: 12 months and up
• MSRP: $39.99
• Availability: Fall 2011

MobiGo Packaged for Sale

Overview

MobiGo was designed to be a portable, durable, gaming unit for children 3-8 years old. Games are interactive and leveled to match your child’s skills. They are designed to reinforce phonics, math, problem solving, science, memory and fine motor skills. The unit retails for $59.99 with one game cartridge, and additional games run $19.99 each.

The MobiGo is available in two color schemes: blue with yellow and orange and purple with pink and more pink.  I reviewed the blue/yellow/orange device as it comes packaged for sale.

Out of the Box

When you open the MobiGo box, you will find that your system comes with the Touch & Learn game cartridge (featuring 7 games, each with multiple levels), a USB cable to connect to your computer for downloads, a cleaning cloth, and an owner’s manual.

MobiGo and the Friends it Comes With

VTech has taken great care in designing the MobiGo to make it easy to use and fun. It sports a typical hand-held gaming style with the bonus of rubberized grips to keep it securely in little hands. Other features that VTech added include: touch screen technology (very slick), a flip out QWERTY keyboard (fun and handy), and, of course, educational games.

MobiGo Sporting the Flip-Out Keyboard

The MobiGo sports other basic features that you would also expect for a gaming unit: adjustable volume, screen brightness, headphone and DC adapter jacks (headphones and adapter not included).

Here's MobiGo's Top View With Power Switch, Brightness Control, and DC Port

And Here's MobiGo 180 Degrees Later With Volume Control, Headphone Jack, and USB Port

VTech offers several accessories for purchase to complete the MobiGo ensemble.  These include a carrying case to protect the player and to hold up to three games when your child is on the go. There is also a DC plug for when you don’t have 4 AA batteries on you.  All of these are sold separately.

MobiGo With a View to the Batteries

Additional Games and Downloads

VTech currently has eleven cartridges with licensed characters available for purchase.  These include:

• Ben 10 Ultimate Alien
• Disney/Pixar’s Cars
• Disney Fairies
• Disney Princesses
• Dora the Explorer
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• Mr. Men & Little Miss
• NASCAR
• Shrek 4
• Super Hero Squad
• Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3

In addition to cartridges, VTech is working on an online portion with games and content to download which will be offered later this summer. The online features are not available at the time of this review, so I am not able to comment on the functionality nor do I know the pricing.

Using the MobiGo

As with most gaming systems, there’s nothing to do on the MobiGo without a cartridge.

MobiGo's Top With Cartridge Slot

However, once I inserted the cartridge it came with, I was prompted to enter my name (or choose my name after the initial entry); then, I was ready to play.  Even with a small screen (roughly 1.75 x 2.25 inches), navigation is very easy, and the screen is responsive.

MobiGo in Action

I also found the spoken instructions at the beginning of each game to be very clear, even for young children.  All things considered, children don’t require a lot of instruction to get started.

Testing Results

In general, my testers loved the MobiGo.  The included game cartridge was entertaining, and the flip out keyboard and touch screen were novel for a device aimed as young children. None of the games we had required the use of the directional arrows or the button on the front of the unit, but the buttons seems to be well-placed for little thumbs to reach.

Additionally, the game cartridge that was included contained educational games at multiple levels that entertained testers from 3-8 years old. I have to admit, I love the penguin game, so I suppose I should say the games were fun for testers up to thirty-something.

That said, there were three aspects of the MobiGo that came up during testing that I didn’t like.

1. Limited Score: when some of my testers played the games on the included cartridge, they could only achieve a score of 100 points. While this doesn’t seem like a big deal, it was blatantly obvious when the testers would play a game, reach a score of 100 points, and continue to complete point-earning tasks, but the score wouldn’t change. When I contacted the public relations team for MobiGo, I was told that this is the way the game was designed. That just doesn’t jive with my competitive side or my sense of fairness.
2. Marketing Age Range Doesn’t Match Available Games: VTech clearly states that the MobiGo is for children 3-8 years old.  However, none of the games that are currently available are labeled for children beyond 7 years.  Furthermore, of the games I found for sale, only two stretched to include 7-year-old kids; the rest were for 6 and under.  Frankly, I have a hard time saying the unit is for 8-year-olds when there are no games geared toward that age group. When I asked about this, the PR team said that there are both beginner and experienced levels of the games and that the experienced levels are geared toward ages 6-7, which does nothing to address my concern with the marketing age range. So, buyer beware, while this unit may be designed for children up to 8, the games only go part way there.
   

   MobiGo Age Range

3. Prompting to Connect to Internet: after several testing sessions, I was surprised when I turned on the MobiGo and was greeted with the following message, “You won a special prize.  Ask a grownup to connect MobiGo to the web, and go pick up your reward.”  I did not like this on three fronts: first, this feels like child-focused marketing to me, which I adamantly oppose.  Second, what if I want to use the MobiGo without the Internet? I now have a child begging me to go online and see what the prize is.  Third, there is currently no site available for MobiGo downloads, so now I have a child begging me to go online to find a prize that’s not even there.  When I asked the PR team, I was told that as soon as I connect to the internet, the message would go away.  As a parent, I’m not impressed with this “feature,” and I want the option to turn it off.

In a Nutshell

The technology employed by the MobiGo is advanced, and the system is slick.  However, VTech has overlooked some important aspects when it comes to usability, including some “features” that I don’t agree with when you’re talking about 3-year-old children. The result:

3.5 out of 5 stars

Blue and Orange VTech V.Reader

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.

Open V.Reader with Included Accessories

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)

V.Reader Jacks and Stylus

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.

Back of V.Reader and Battery Compartment

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.

V.Reader 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.

Cartridge in V.Reader

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

VTech has launched its MobiGo handheld learning device featuring an interactive touch screen and QWERTY keyboard. Designed for children ages 3 – 8, it features early learning games that help develop skills in math, language, and logic. Parents can plug the MobiGo into their PC or Mac and download progress reports.

The touch screen interface allows kids to tap, flick, pat, and drag & drop. There is also a slide-out QWERTY keyboard.

The MobiGo is durable and is designed to be used on-the-go. It has built-in headphone jacks.

An online store for MobiGo featuring downloadable games and progress reports for parents will launch in July. The standard included cartridge holds seven games; there will be 11 initial licensed MobiGo games, including Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3 and Shrek and Disney Princesses:

• Ben 10 Ultimate Alien
• Disney Fairies
• Dora the Explorer
• Mr. Men & Little Miss
• Shrek 4
• Disney/Pixar’s Toy Story 3
• Disney/Pixar’s Cars
• Disney Princesses
• Mickey Mouse Clubhouse
• NASCAR
• Super Hero Squad

The MobiGo is available now in Toys R’ Us stores and will be available nationwide in August at key retailers, www.amazon.com for SRP $59.99.

Parents will need to help kids get the device set up though, it connects to a PC for file transfer with an included USB cable. Hopefully the device resizes images during transfer but that feature isn’t clear. The KidiLook also includes a digital clock display.

The VTech KidiLook is available now for $24.99.

We actually didn’t even know about the product, which was announced last month. VTech and their PR firm aren’t exactly rolling out the full-court press, or even a press release, which probably means they’re hoping parents will see their cheaper solution at the stores and let price be their guide. While we can’t yet comment on the system’s functionality, we can say that the extra parental features available from LeapFrog, like the Learning Path, will make it nearly impossible for VTech to replicate the entire experience.

From a hardware perspective, it looks like the Bugsby system is very similar to the Tag, it uses a light wand to know where it is on any given page. VTech doesn’t need a computer connection to download and store the book’s audio tracks though. Each one of the VTech books comes with a clip on cartridge that contains the audio files. In a way that gets around the Tag Reader’s limited memory capacity (it can only store 5-6 books), but it also creates another small piece to lose.

We’re all for competition, but Bugsby feels a lot less like innovation and a lot more like a discount knock off. We’ll reserve final judgement until we use one, but we’re skeptical that it will be able to compete well with the Tag Reading System. For more nformation, here’s the Bugsby demo on the VTech site.

To take advantage of the sale, just enter coupon code: SHOP20 at checkout.

Each game features a different set of learning lessons in areas like phonics, science, math, spelling, music and logic. These new games also feature better head-to-head play for a more arcade-like feel. This is actually a significant development as more sophisticated kids will expect this level of quality, even from a kids gaming system. 

All six games are trickling into retail and have a suggested price of $24.99. Soccer Challenge, Wild Waves and Snow Park Extreme seem to be readily available now. Many of the other games will be released in conjunction with movie events, like Up! and Monsters vs. Aliens. We will of course have reviews of each as soon as we can.

The setup for this game is that Po (the panda) has unexpectedly been chosen to become the Dragon Warrior. Master Shifu has to train Po to be a kung fu legend so he may defeat the evil Tai Lung.

Like many of the V-Motion games, there are several ways to play Kung Fu Panda. There are seven games that can be played in story mode or in quick play, which lets kids select one of the seven games to play in any order they like. There’s also a training mode, where there are two more games, or the kung fu competition which lets kids play in a kung fu tournament.

Kung Fu Panda can be played with either the motion controller or joystick. There are also two skill levels, along with an option to give Po unlimited power, which is a nice touch for the younger kids. The main story is only playable in single player mode, but the training modes and kung fu competition both offer two-person play.

Po’s Rescue Mission

The missions can either be played in story mode or in any order during quick play. It’s worth noting that for some reason, in story mode the games are not played in the same order every time.

Ancient Mission 1 – Bamboo Forest Rescue (Logic)

This is a side scrolling adventure where kids control Po in his effort to save three villagers who are lost in the forest. Forest rescue is very arcade feeling, in fact many of the games do. For that reason many of these games will appeal to an older audience as well.  When rescuing the villagers kids will have to use their logic to move boulders out of the way. Forest rescue is a great game, kids love it and there are good learning elements, though the game could be more difficult on the hard level.

Ancient Mission 2 - Unlock the Rivers (Logic)

Unlock the rivers is nearly identical to bamboo forest. Kids move in side scrolling action to get to three river areas that are blocked by boulders. Po has to unblock the rivers to save the day. By unblocking the river he essentially does the same thing he did to free the villagers in the mission above. The game is still fun, it’s just not very creative given we’ve already played a nearly identical game. As you would expect, it’s not terribly difficult either.

Ancient Mission 3 - Chinese Take-Out (Object identification and spelling)

Po must deliver noodles to the proper stores in this game. On the easy level he’s told which stores to go to, the hard level gives kids the first letter of the store they’re looking for, like H for the hat store. There’s also a mini game where they catch bowls of noodles on Po’s head and in his hands, which is fun. Overall a pretty solid game, similar to the first two, but different enough in the mission to be engaging.

Ancient Mission 4 - Master Architect (Geometry)

This game is another favorite amongst parents. Po moves about in the same way as the first few missions, but the challenge this time is that kids must identify building objects that are identical on the easy level and symmetrical on the hard level. Symmetry is an early geometry concept often discussed in kindergarten and this is the first game we’ve seen that addresses the concept in any way.

Ancient Mission 5 – Bridge Builder (Geometry)

Po must find logs to help build a new bridge. As kids navigate the side and up-scrolling game, they find logs to repair the bridge. Each bundle has only one proper fit though, so they have to select the right shape from four choices. The harder level has more complex shapes to match. The matching is somewhat difficult though since kids can’t place the shapes next to one another. It requires good visualization to find the correct match. This game has a good difficulty level and education component.

Ancient Mission 6 – Mountain Hero (Mathematics)

Mountain hero is a side and vertical scrolling game where Po must again rescue villagers. The twist this time is kids have to answer math problems to move on. The math in this case is the identification of a number that is between two others. The hard level uses numbers up to 30 where the easy level keeps it in single digits.

Ancient Mission 7 – Food Fight (Hand/Eye coordination)

This is a forward scrolling game where Po has to jump over rolling logs and avoid cannons that shoot pears. It takes a few tries to get used to the movement, but after that, the action is pretty simple. Arrows help kids know when logs are coming, along with dumplings and other goodies. Kids found the action to be repetitive and even the difficult mode, with faster food cannons, not terribly challenging.

Ancient Mission 8 – Punching Bag Challenge (Counting)

Punching bag is much like food fight in that it’s a forward scrolling game but the in-game challenge this time is Po has to hit punching bags a certain number of times. It’s billed as a counting game, if anything it’s a counting down game, but even that is a bit of a stretch since it does the counting for you. It’s really a coordination game as kids have to time their punches. It’s actually pretty hard for kids to get it down, younger kids will struggle a bit here.

Legendary Mission (Mathematics)

In the legendary mission kids play as Po in a battle where they must break open boxes to find objects to ultimately help them collect three action points. Action points are awarded by identifying the proper number or object. Kids will be prompted to find four-sided shapes for instance or numbers that are greater than or less than a specified number. Once they get three action points, they’re prompted to race Tai Lung to complete a special attack move that wipes out his hit points.

This game is surprisingly advanced and took even older kids a while to figure out all the moves, power bar readings and so on. It’s very well done though and can really appeal to older kids, even those outside of the 4-6 target.

Kung Fu Training

Training 1 – You May Eat! (Foods)

This is a basic game where kids have to pinch one of two falling foods with chop sticks and drop it again before it’s stolen by Master Shifu. On the easy level the game tests food vs. non-food and the hard level tests against food groups, like seafood or grains. It’s a timed game, it runs for 3 minutes, and kids try to compile the best score they can. It’s repetitive and not entirely compelling though. After the first few plays  kids quickly wanted to go on to something else.

Training 2 – Dojo Star Throw (Spacial skills)

In star throw kids toss flying stars at shapes and punching bags with a 180 second time limit. The object is simply to rack up the most points possible in the time allowed. It’s not immediately obvious as to which shapes kids should shoot at and neither activity really provides that much entertainment value.

Both training games were pretty much a pass for our test kids. They’re just not engaging and both are very repetitive in gameplay and dialogue.

Kung Fu Competition

Competition is an extension of the legendary mission we discussed above. In the Versus mode kids will go head to head with the character and location of their choosing. In Tournament play kids play up to two matches to win the tournament. This game allows for two players at the same time, which is the big differentiating factor from legendary mission, which is only single player.

Bottom Line

While we could have done without the training games, Kung Fu Panda is easily one of the best games for the V-Motion system. It’s geared toward kids ages 4-6, but older kids will still have fun here, especially if they’re fans of the movie. We really like the geometry concepts that are presented and generally think the gameplay is very good. While there’s no two player mode in the missions, the game makes up for that a bit by adding the competition game that is great for two kids to play at once. 

4 out of 5 stars