My Ami

You just don’t get more “mom and pop” than Ami Entertainment Solutions LLC.  Bea and Louis Fahrberger came up with this teddy bear cum mobile media device holder to protect their iPods while, at the same time, entertaining their young children with music and videos.  Basically, My Ami is a portable entertainment device holder in soft, squishy teddy bear’s clothing.

My Ami Mounted on a Highchair

The device holder works like an adjustable clamp, and holds your media device securely with a latch that small hands cannot operate.  My Ami can then be attached to a high chair, restaurant table, stroller (using the clamp base attachment), desk, you name it, wherever you are.

The teddy is remarkably soft, completely washable, and comes in two colors.  If you don’t already have one (or you just don’t want your iPod streaming Blue’s Clues), Ami Entertainment Solutions offers players that you can purchase along with headphones (that look like little teddy bears . . . too cute!) and a carry bag.

My Ami is brand new this year.  It retails at $79.99, without the additional player, and as a mom, I can see it becoming very popular!

Bioloid Premium Kit

This was my first introduction to a Bioloid (by Robotis), and let’s just say that I was duly impressed.

Bioloid Basic and Expert Kit

The Bioloid Premium Kit can be used to build a variety of robots that, when coupled with the software, can be programmed to do some really cool things.  One kit had been used to build a dog which walked, wagged it’s tail, and bowed to follow my hand as I rested it on the table.  Another was a humanoid that was programmed to balance on a disk that had been mounted on a small base.

Balancing Bioloid

The technology was truly impressive, but with price tags ranging from $350 for the most basic set and heading to a cool $3K for the expert set, these kits are not necessarily targeted to the casual user.  Rather, the primary market for the Bioloid seems to be educational institutions (schools, museums, tech clubs, etc.), for which it is aptly suited.  Still, playing with the Bioloid was one of the highlights of my trip to Toy Fair, and I had to at least mention it.

Hmm, I wonder how it would do at a science fair . . .

Roboni-i

Cruising the aisles of Toy Fair, I came across a robot that can only be described as from the future.  The Roboni-i looks like a mix between a race car and Spock’s ship in the new Star Trek movie.  The Roboni-i is surprisingly agile and stable considering it balances on two large wheels.  Controlled via IR remote, players can compete in single or multi-player games.  But, the real fun is that you can program your bot’s behavior, reflexes and personality and then connect to a whole online world of gaming.  This product truly links physical reality with virtual gaming.

Robioni-i Bots

Available now, the Roboni-i is sold for $199, and includes everything you need to get started, including (but not limited to) the bot, remote, base station, energy port, and software.  This is one toy that I can’t wait to get a chance to play with and review in more depth.

CUBE

Just when you thought that I only looked at expensive robots, here’s a cool invention that I stumbled upon: CUBE.  DGT was showing off it’s new timer that will keep track of individual game times for up to six players.  The CUBE will keep total game time for each player or the time for each individual turn for each player.  The way it works is each player picks a color/side of the cube, and the group begins play.  When it is your turn, rotate the CUBE to the side with your color and make your move.  When you are done, pass the CUBE to the next player who will then turn it to his or her color and take a turn.  The CUBE keeps time for all players simultaneously.

The DGT CUBE Keeps Track of Game Time for Up to Six Players

While DGT has put a lot of focus on chess in the past, the CUBE breaks into general timekeeping for games such as poker, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit, Rumicube . . . you get the picture.  Unfortunately, this is one item that is looking for a distributor, so don’t expect to see it on shelves right now.  But, DGT is hoping that the CUBE will be widely available by May.

smart-e-tales and smart-e-tunes

Building on their initial success with smart-e-bear, Intellitoys is launching some new friends to sing and read with preschoolers.  The dinosaur and kitten smart-e-tales are billed as “e-readers for pre-readers” while the puppy and penguin smart-e-tunes will play music.

smart-e-tales Kitten and Dinosaur

All of the smart-e friends encourage interactive play and games.  Of note, Intellitoys is also working with major book publishers to record and release classic books that can be download for smart-e-tales.  Also, don’t be surprised if you see some licensed characters appearing among the smart-e friends.  But, for now, I can’t get over the cute factor of the penguin!

smart-e-tunes Penguin

Overall

So, while much of Toy Fair is dominated by big names and brands, there are still many other wonderful toys and inventions to be found within the exhibition space.  I hope you enjoyed these finds as much as I did!

Toy fair is every kid’s dream: acres of every kind of toy imaginable surrounded by product specialists anxious for you to stop at their booth and try their offerings. Oh yeah, and did I mention that almost every booth had free candy? Too bad for the little guys that you have to be over 18 to even enter the show. Fortunately, I met the age requirement and got to play with a whole host of new toys and new takes on old toys. Here are some highlights of what I saw.

Hot Trends

So, what’s big for 2010, you ask?

Licensed Characters — In the world of tech, licensed characters based on TV shows and movies are bigger than ever this year. With Toy Story 3 and a new Cars movie on the horizon, there were many offerings sporting the visages and themes of our favorite characters. Avatar, Ironman, Transformers, and Star Wars had a big showing along with i-Carly, Dora, The Princess and the Frog, Hello Kitty, Barbie and Disney Princess. Showing up as robots, cameras, music players, online games, and action figures, licensed characters were everywhere at Toy Fair. Here are a few examples of what I saw:

• The Marvel Ironman Whip-It car (Silverlit) has an articulating middle that “whips” for tight turns.  At $40, this car stands to be a good deal in the spring for any little RC or Ironman enthusiasts five years and up.
  

  Marvel Ironman Whip-It RC Car

• The Buzz Lightyear Deluxe Action Wing Pack (Mattel) is designed to take a child’s imagination to “infinity and beyond.” The wings extend, light up and lower with the push of a button. They even have a sensor to tell when they are tipped horizontally which cues “flying sounds” to accompany little space rangers as they go on their adventures. Geared toward 6+ and retailing at $50, these wings were a lot of fun.
  

  Buzz Lightyear Deluxe Action Wing Pack

• Barbie Video Girl (Mattel) looks just like a regular doll, but she sports a real video camera inside a necklace (no really, the batteries are seriously in her legs and everything) with an LCD screen on her back. Girls can create movies from Barbie’s point of view and then edit and enhance the films with music, visual and sound effects at Barbie.com. Video Girl is recommended for girls 5+ and will retail for $50. The really great thing is she’s the same size as other Barbies, so she can share clothes with her friends.
  

  Barbie Video Girl

“Grown Up” Electronics — Continuing another trend, many companies are offering electronic devices for the 3+ crowd that imitate those that belong to adults, including readers, mp3 players and video cameras. Here are some items that stood out.

• Just check out this video camera with the flip out screen and USB connector from Sakar. It’s brand new, and it will be available soon in Hello Kitty,iCarly, and Batman (a newly licensed character for Sakar). It’s designed for a user who’s 6 or older, and it’s frighteningly similar to the one I just got for Christmas (though mine is not pink).
  

  Sakar Flip Video Camera

• And the MobiGo gaming console with touch-screen technology and an app-based home screen (a la iPod) from VTech was really cool. While the slide-out QWERTY keyboard and flip-up screen styling is reminiscent of many popular cell phones, the MobiGo is geared to ages 3-7 and will be available in the fall for about $60. In addition to the pre-loaded games, others (many of which are based on licensed characters) can be added for $20.
  

  VTech MobiGo

• If it’s a Kindle that you love, your 3-7 year-old can have that technology too with VTech’s new FLiP. It’s an animated e-reader that kids can use to read along, look up words, and explore the world in the story they are reading. In classic VTech style, parents can use software to track the progress of little ones. Available in August, the FLiP will retail at $60.
  

  VTech FLip In Pink and Blue

• There’s also the iXL story book, game player, art studio, photo album, music player, and notepad all in one from Fisher Price. This cool combo toy also sports an app-based touch screen and was developed for 3-6-year-olds. It will be available in the spring for about $80.
  

  Fisher Price iXL (also available in pink)

• For the aspiring scrapbooker, Sakar has a Crayola Kids’ digital scrap booking kit that includes a digital camera with interchangeable face-plates (for the style conscious). There are even blank face-plates that kids can design and decorate based on their own styles. Also included are Color Genie software, scrapbook, markers, paper and stickers. The kit will retail for $30 and is targeted to 5+.
  

  Crayola Scrapbook

Toddler Tech — Many companies are also expanding their toddler tech lines, offering a plethora of remote controlled toys for the little ones.

• Silverlit introduces JoJo the bunny to American toddlers after great success in the European market. Seen here in “Bump Bump,” the RC bumper car, JoJo and friends will pop from the car, follow you around, or play hide and seek. The complete line of JoJo is geared toward 1+ and will retail from $15 to$45, depending on the toy.
  

  Bump Bump JoJo

• Fisher Price showed off the new Follow Me Thomas, a remote control toy that works off of infra red technology. Simply shine the light on the ground,and Thomas will follow the red dot as it travels across the floor, forward, backward, left, right, zig zag, circles, he can do it all. For $45, I can see Thomas making the holiday wish lists of many 2+ children when he is introduced in the fall.
  

  Follow Me Thomas

Music and Dance – Making music and moving to it was a fun theme this year. Some of the most popular toys were designed with music and movement in mind.

• The Sing-A-Ma-Jings from Fisher Price are in the running for the cutest toys . . . ever.  These plush creatures sing when you press their bellies, and the best part is that they actually harmonize with each other when you have more than one. To add to the cute factor, they open their little mouths, and you can see their tiny teeth and tongues. At $13 and available this spring, these cuties are sure to please 30+ . . . I mean 3+
  

  Sing-A-Ma-Jing

• Move over James Brown! Dance Star Mickey (Fisher Price) walks, talks, and gets his groove on to Latin, Disco, Soul, and Techno beats. For the 2+crowd, he may just be more fun than Tickle Me Elmo when he does the moonwalk. Mickey will be groovin’ into stores in October and groovin’ back out again for about $70.
  

  Dance Star Mickey

• The We Did It Dora was created by Fisher Price to help them celebrate Dora’s 10th year. The doll sings Dora’s signature “We Did It” song in both English and Spanish and dances to the music. She’ll be on shelves in the fall to teach your 3+ child to do her dance and sing her inspiring song. Her MSRP is$40.
  

  We Did It Dora

Old School Updates — I saw a lot of updated and re-released toys that took me way, way down memory lane.

• Arrange and rearrange the Scrabble Flash tiles (Hasbro) to create as many three, four or five-letter words as possible in 60 seconds. The “SmartLink Technology” allows the five electronic tiles to communicate with each other, keeping your score and timing the game. This is a fun and updated take on a classic game, plus it’s portable, it’s designed for one player, and it will be available in the fall for around $30.
  

  Scrabble Flash

• This is NOT your father’s Alphie (though he may have had one)! New and improved and available this fall, Alphie (Hasbro/Playskool) is still geared for children ages 3+, but he has more personality than the one I had growing up. Still, Alphie is all about learning, and he comes with 60 educational games for$40. Booster packs of questions are $10 enabling Alphie to grow with your little one for several years.
  

  Alphie

And, of Course, Online — Beyond having a basic online component, licensed toys now have a gaming presence. This is a trend that has been growing steadily, and this year is no exception. Two big online launches include Cars and Littlest Pet Shop.

• Cars is joining Disney Fairies’ Pixie Hollow, Club Penguin, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Toontown with an online gaming world. Create your own car(including custom paint from Ramone) and then cruise Radiator Springs meeting people and playing games. There’s a lot of free functionality available to users,but a subscription fee (on the order of $6 a month) will unlock additional games and customizations. One of the best features is that the voices of the Cars characters from the movie were recorded by the original actors (Owen Wilson, Larry the Cable Guy, etc.). Look for the official launch of the site later this year.
  

  Disney World of Cars Online

• Littlest Pet Shop Online is a collaboration between EA and Hasbro. Following the launch of the video game, Littlest Pet Shop opened www.LPSO.com in fall 2009. This is a space where girls can create their own pet, customize their pet’s home, meet other girls,play games and explore. A series of plush toys accompany the online world, and with every plush toy purchase, children get a free 30-day pass to the premium world beyond the basic free-play. Then, for a subscription fee, they can keep the premium features and games beyond the 30 days.
  

  LPSO.com Screenshot

Overall

While none of these trends comes as a huge surprise to anyone who has spent time in a toy aisle recently, the new toys that represent the trends are definitely fun and many show real innovation and forward-thinking. Of course, what I’ve listed here barely scratches the surface of the tech toys I saw, saying nothing of what the greater Toy Fair has to offer. But, still, it gives you a taste of where manufacturers are going in 2010, and it might even help you get a jump on your holiday shopping. At the very least, you will have a vague recollection of hearing about the Sing-A-Ma-Jigs and MobiGo when your children start reciting the commercials

After the software is installed and the bank plugged into the computer via USB, kids get a tour of the virtual world. The world includes home, bank, park and shopping  areas. Each section focuses on something a little different. In the park for instance, kids can learn about sharing some of their money with causes they can identify with. The system even connects kids with the websites for these organizations and provides a direct link to the donation form.

The shopping area lets kids set a savings goal to buy something, a toy, game, computer or whatever else they’re interested in. At the bank kids learn about saving and see their deposits by date. The home area features an area where kids can customize their savings plan and allocation of spending, savings and donations. There are also little life lessons too, like help Mom and Dad by keeping your room clean.

The virtual world is pretty thin though. There are games and more content coming, but kids got bored with it almost immediately. The park for instance is neat in that kids learn about social causes a little bit, but most are Canadian, linking US kids right to the Canadian donation forms. This would be an easy fix and it’s odd Ekomini didn’t do better here. There’s also no way parents can customize the non profits outside those that are included in the system.

It’s a little sketchy elsewhere too. Kids can only set up a single spending goal. So you can’t have short and long-term goals at the same time. Kids can save for a Hot Wheels set, but not the same car set and a computer together. The bank tallies deposits, but doesn’t offer much else in terms of education or interaction. The ideas are all nice, but it’s pretty clear that the system isn’t where it can be or probably will be in the future.

The main feature though is the bank and its ability to count both US and Canadian currencies. When in the banking screen kids can feed the bank coins and they get tallied up in little piles. This is actually pretty fun and the bank does a pretty good job of recognizing the coins. It has a little spring sensor that detects the size of the coins as they go in. So it doesn’t matter how dirty a coin is, just that it has maintained its shape. The reader is pretty reliable, though a few times we noticed coins weren’t counted and it didn’t recognize the current US dollar coin standard at all. There’s also no accounting for paper money automatically, kids are instructed to roll up their bills and insert them in the hole on the front of the bank. Then they can be added manually to the bank total. We don’t expect an optical bill reader, so that solution is probably fine.

The design of the bank could use a little help. The bright orange and yellow isn’t subtle and the placement of the USB connection makes the system look a little odd when connected. Also, to access the funds in the bank, you need a flat head screwdriver. That added level of security is probably too much for most kids.

Bottom Line

The Ekomini bank has the right idea, and we like the general direction of the product. But at this point it feels very generation one, and therefore we won’t issue a rating. For $40 we expected more but will give the company time to work through their issues. The main thing is the content needs to be better and there needs to be more for kids to do online. Solving those issues and perhaps better hardware design in version two of the bank could earn our recommendation.

Buying information for the Ekomini can be found here.

The biggest problem with kid’s electronics is manufacturers tend to de-feature an existing adult product, or they create something new with the most basic functionality. In either event, the end result tends to be garbage, something not even kids want to use. Manufacturers tend to disrespect the ability of kids to understand how to use technology. I say all of that to say this, the Jazwares MP3 player is the best kid’s portable music player we’ve seen.

Getting Started

Jazwares has packed so much functionality into the device that it’s actually really useful and eventually easy to use. I say eventually, because there’s so much that the user can control, it does take a few reads of the manual to get it all down.

To start, the MP3 player comes with a standard mini-USB cable to connect to a computer. When plugged in, the internal storage of the MP3 player shows up and it’s easy to simply drag and drop files onto the device.

Once you power on Echo Echo, the LCD screen will light up giving you an actual menu system to navigate, something we’ve not seen often in comparable devices. The menus are navigated with the four-way pad on the back. Moving around the menus can be tricky, sometimes buttons needs a press and hold to do what you want, and it can be difficult at times to see on the little screen what you’re doing. The flip side though is you get more control and options than on any other kids MP3 player we know of.

Using Echo Echo

When actually playing music, the player has a standard stereo headset jack and earbuds that come with the unit. The earbuds are pretty cute, as they lock into Echo’s ears when not in use. Of course kids can use any headphones they want though.

The other listening option is the internal speaker. While there’s not a ton of power, it’s one thing that kids really loved in our testing as they could share their music with friends, or listen to music while playing, without having to wear headphones. Of course the sound isn’t robust and you’ll probably need to crank the volume to the max, but the net result is well-liked.

The depth of menus and functions come into play here too as there are a mass of options like equalizer settings, repeat options, lyrics mode, file management and more. There’s also a voice recorder that lets kids record and playback their own voice. Kids have a lot of fun with that – especially when they realize what they think they sound like is different than what they sound like on a recording.

Bottom Line

For a retail price of $34.99, you can’t do better for a kids MP3 player. The Ben 10 design might not be for everyone, but the Echo Echo body is generic enough that even kids who have no idea about the TV show thought it was cool. We also fully expect Jazwares to take the same internals and put them in other MP3 player designs.

We really like the depth of menus and operation options. Factor that in with a relatively robust 1GB of storage, speaker, voice recorder and sturdy design and you have a real winner. The only trick is that it’s a little hard to find in retail, Toys R Us appears to have it in some stores.

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

Kid Computer today announced its Kids Cybernet Station, an all-in-one child/student-friendly workstation. The workstations feature Intel processors, Windows 7, touch-screen monitor, and a variety of pre-loaded software. Setup is advertised to be simple – unpack, plug in the power, keyboard, and mouse and push the power button. Windows 7 has parental controls that let parents control what their children can use, which websites they can visit, during what times they can use the computer, and more.

The Kids Cybernet Station comes pre-loaded with a variety of software that does not require a CD to run. Examples of packages include:

• Early Learning Package- for ages 2 to 5 (toddler to pre-k)
• Elementary Package – for ages 5 to 11 (kindergarten to 5th grade)
• Middle & High School Package – for ages 11 to 18 (6th grade to 12th grade)

It also includes software that makes it simpler for children to use. Peanut Butter Software is a desktop sandbox that hides various Windows components and extras that children should not be clicking on. It also allows multiple profiles to be created for different users/groups.

The full specifications of the Kids Cybernet Station are as follows:

• Display: 19” Touch Panel Flat Screen – Active Touch Screen
• CPU: Intel Dual Core E5200 CPU
• Motherboard: Intel G31 Express Chipset
• Memory: 4.0 GB DDR2 PC6400 RAM
• Hard Drive: 500 GB SATA 7200 RPM WD Hard Drive
• DVD/CD-ROM: DVD 20x / CD-RW 40x
• Video: Intel graphics Media Accelerator 3100 3D Enhanced
• Audio: Realtek High Definition Audio AC’97 2.2 compliant 3D,
• SoundBlaster Pro compatible
• Audio Ports: Audio Out, Line-in and Microphone
• I/O Ports: 6 USB 2.0 Ports
• 2 RS 232 Seial Ports
• 1 DVI, 1 VGA, 1HDMI, 4 TV-Tuner ports
• Network: 2x 1 Gigabit (GbE) Fast Ethernet RTL 8168B/8111C
• Intel WIFI-G

The Kids Cybernet Station is available now starting at $1,999 exclusively at www.kidcomputers.com.

LEGO Stop Animation Video Camera in Box

Out of the Box

So, this may be the cutest video camera I’ve ever seen.  LEGO and Digital Blue totally get style points for this baby.  The bright white and red camera with blue and black accents not only looks like it was made entirely out of LEGOs, but it even has actual LEGO bits to which you can stick LEGOs.  Now really, how cool is that?!

LEGO SAV Camera with Figures Stuck On

Everyone who saw the camera fell for it instantly.  It’s small (note the size of the actual LEGO mini-figs in the above picture), lightweight, and the camera is conveniently packaged with a tripod, a USB cable, an AV cable, and two LEGO people to get you started on your first stop animation feature.  Also included is software that allows you to record and edit movies as well as add graphics, words, sound, and even adjust the color in both pictures and movies.  But, more on this later.  First, let’s talk about the camera.

Camera Operation

The LEGO Stop Animation Video Camera has two modes: still photo and video.  Just add two AA batteries, and you’re ready to go.

Still Mode – When you open out the viewing screen on the left side of the camera, it automatically powers up, and you are in photo mode.  Pressing the big black button on the top of the camera will snap a picture.

LEGO SAV Camera Top View

There’s a 4x zoom, so you can get those closeup shots of your actors.  However, if you really want to see the detail on your LEGO model’s stylin’ outfit, you’ll have to switch to “micro mode.”  Simply,turn the dial around the lens to point to the flower (the universal icon for micro photo shooting), and your close-up images of small people and accessories will be much sharper.

LEGO SAV Camera Front View With Macro/Micro Dial

But, how are the pictures, you ask?  Well, the picture quality is on par with the other “kid cameras” on the market.  It’s grainy, dark, and just not great, but that does not bother the target audience very much.  Basically, it’s fine for what it is.  What is important is to pick your mode to get the best picture.  The samples below show the same shot in macro mode, micro and with and without zoom in both modes.

LEGO SAV Camera Macro Sample Cop LEGO SAV Camera Micro Sample Cop

LEGO SAV Camera Macro 4x Zoom Sample Cop

LEGO SAV Camera Micro 4x Zoom Sample Cop

Video Mode — To switch from still photo mode to video mode, just press the “OK” button in the middle of the LEGO directional on the back of the camera.  The same “shutter” button on the top of the camera starts and stops filming, while the built in microphone does a decent job of picking up the accompanying sound.

With regard to the video quality, the same thing can be said as for the still photos.  That is, it’s pixelated, dark, and grainy, but that did not stop any of my testers (nor me) from getting all Francis Ford Coppola with our LEGO people and other toys.  Here’s an example:

Stop Animation Mode – Now for the best part: the stop animation feature.  The stop animation videos are made using the software provided and a series of still photos.  You have to have the software installed and the camera hooked up to the USB port on your computer in order to use this feature.  But, once you have things connected and running, all you have to do is master clicking your mouse to take a picture, and you’re good to go.

LEGO Software Stop Motion Setup

The idea is simple: take a series of still pictures, moving objects a little bit between each shot and then stitch them together.  Using the included software, all you have to do is take the pictures and then press the button that says “make video,” and your stop animation masterpiece is ready for viewing.  Of course, if that’s not enough polish for you, the edit mode of the software allows you to add words, scrolling credits, sound, and to stitch multiple videos together to make scenes complete with transitions.  Take a look:

OK, so I’m not going to be invited to Cannes, but this was fun to make.  Not to mention, my 7-year-old thought it was fantastic

I should note, however, that I figured out how to do all of the editing by trial and error.  The software includes mouse-over descriptions of the buttons, but they don’t tell you how to delete frames (which I still don’t think you can do as is evidenced by the appearance of my hand in a couple shots), how to stitch movies together (my sample has 8 different scenes), or that you have to import music into the program to include it (it’s not drag and drop from your music folder) and export the video to view it anywhere other than in the editing program itself.  Some people might not find this lack of instruction to be a problem, but if you have a particularly detail oriented child, he or she may become frustrated (I know I did).

Camera Buttons and Operation

While the buttons on top of the camera are straightforward, the use of the LEGO directional on the back is NOT intuitive and there’s no on screen navigation menue to help.  I had to read the directions to figure out what each of the four directions and the OK button was supposed to do.  I also had to tell my testers how to switch modes, delete photos, browse images, etc. (all the things the LEGO directional does).  Some sort of on screen menu would help a lot.

LEGO SAV Camera with Nav Buttons

Software

Because the software plays such a critical role in the stop animation feature of this camera, it warrants a place in this review along with some pictures.  First, it’s worth mentioning that it took about seven or eight minutes to install the software, and I spent most of this time staring at a blank status bar, listening to my CD drive spin, wondering whether the software was installing or if my computer was just revving up to lift off.  As it turned out, just as I was considering terminating the install, the status bar zipped to 100% complete, and the whole process was over.  (See, patience IS a virtue.)

The sofware interface sports bright colors and graphics which elicited a “cool!” from my son.  It has a navigation bar on the left side with big buttons that just beg to be clicked by curious children (and adults).

LEGO SAV Film Editor Software

The significant downside is that the buttons are not intuitive, and the description of each is not sufficient to help a 7-year-old figure them out by looking.  Now, that said, I don’t know many 7-year-olds who actually care what the buttons DO.  In my experience they are content to click, drag, and generally play until they figure things out, which is precisely what my 7-year-old did.  He was not at all bothered by the sub-par documentation nor by the fact that many of the functions were clumsy.

However, Digital Blue doesn’t get off the hook that easily.  The whole software studio is difficult to use and frustrating.  Case in point, the font selection menu shows all the names of the font types in Currier rather than in the font each represents.  And, when you go to select a new font, the whole menu flickers as you try to make a selection, rendering it almost impossible to choose the specific typeface you want.  I was annoyed by this; my son was not.

LEGO Title Drop Down Ugliness

Unfortunately, my bad experience with the font menu is indicative of the rest of the software as well.  Sadly, the camera loses some serious points here for software degree of difficulty.  After all, what good is it to create the coolest video ever just to pull all your hair out trying to get it to look the way you want it to with the right music and dialogue and all you get for your effort is a dark, grainy video?  This should be easier.

User Guide

As for my forray into the user guide, well, I had mixed results.  With regard to basic camera setup and operation, it was just fine.  I was, however, confused as to why there was a separate instruction sheet for making stop animation videos and these instructions were not integrated into the rest of the guide.  Beyond that, I have no complaints for basic operation.

Software, on the other hand . . . well, let’s suffice to say that the writers of the guide didn’t know the software existed beyond install.  There is absolutely no help in the documentation to get you through editing your masterpiece, and the help provided online?  Well, here’s a sample screen:

Not pretty and not helpful.  This is one area in which LEGO and Digital Blue could improve the product immensely with very little effort.

In a Nutshell

This little camera is cute as a button, beloved by the young and the young at heart.  It gets points for styling and for keeping par wtih other kid’s cameras on the market.  That said, the picture quality is not great, some of the camera buttons are not intuitive, the editing software is clumsy, and the accompanying user guide only helps with setup, which is less than half the battle.  Where it regains a bit of ground is with the stop animation feature.  I can’t deny the fun that my testers and I had playing with the “LEGOness” of the camera and creating films.

Now, the $50,000 question: is it worth the MSRP of around $80?  Let’s just say that if I saw it on sale for $60, I’d be tempted, but at full price, I’d have to be pretty sure that my child would really use it for a long time to feel comfortable with that investment.   Making the software more user-friendly would justify the higher price, however.

Rating – 3.5 out of 5 stars

The Lego Stop Action Video Camera is available direct from Amazon.

The mother wears a belt around her belly that includes four speakers and a controller that can sit in a pocket. The system has an input for MP3 players to deliver sound to the baby. The controller regulates the output of sound to a safe level for a baby to hear in-utero, regardless of how loud the sound was recorded or the volume that it is played.

Most moms-to-be are familiar with the Mozart Effect, and if you’re a believer, the Nuvo system delivers in a way that’s much more comfortable and safer than other methods. Of course you can also play any media files you want, including recordings of the parent’s voices, siblings, etc.

Post-pregnancy, Ritmo will continue to adapt with applications for the crib, stroller and toys all coming soon. The Ritmo is available now for $129.99.

Nuvo Product Page

The game follows Wild Planet’s formula of getting kids up and active, while playing games individually or in teams. Woody and Bullseye sit atop an RFID reader that wireless recognizes the character pieces when placed atop them. Kids are prompted to find one of the characters, placing the reader over the correct piece leads to another call out.

In addition to the main game, Woody’s Run-Around Roundup also features a sequence-building memory game, a hide-and-seek treasure hunt, and multi-player modes.

Woody’s Run-Around Roundup is designed for 1-6 players, ages 3+ and will be available May this year at a suggested retail of $25.

Getting Started

Anyone can play online with a free demo account. But to get the most out of the system, buying a starter pack is the way to get going. The starter packs include two creatures to begin interacting with, along with a random assortment of virtual parts, powers and lair objects. The starter pack also comes with a 1GB flash drive with a link to create your account and download the full application.

One key note though, inside the package is a unique key to activate your account online. When setting ours up, we inadvertently tossed the paper with the code on it. The Freaky Creatures support staff was helpful though. Less than a day after our initial support email, we had a code and were ready to go.

Once you create an account, you’ll need to download and install the desktop application. Once that’s complete you’re ready to customize your first creature. Freaky Creatures says there are over 3.2 billion possible combinations. We’re inclined to believe them; I only got to one billion and got tired of counting.

Freaky Creatures also sells booster packs that include an action figure, 25 creature parts, 10 creature powers and 2 lair objects. You can earn these sorts of upgrades within the games too, but adding the booster packs is the fastest, and most fun if you’re into the offline action figure play. The universe is also perpetually expanding via content updates that include things like rare powers, that will help differentiate your creature from others.

After your first creature is ready though, it’s time to do battle, or if you’re more social, there’s plenty to do with the other creatures roaming about. The game has a lot to offer in terms of both social and competitive aspects, with tournaments, leaderboards and team formation.

Battle Time

There’s a ton to do the Creepy Creatures world, well several worlds to be accurate, but the most common is going to be the battle areas. In these zones players can invite other players to a battle. Winning battles gives you credits, powers and eventually lets your creature be upgraded, giving you addition defense capabilities.

The pairing of battles is pretty easy, click on the creature you want to fight and there’s a red challenge button to get going. Within the battle, players select a style of attack, head, back, left arm, right arm, tail. Each attack has a special style associated with it, fire for instance. Players also have access to special powers that do things like give additional damage to the opponent or repair your own health.

The battles are fought by turns, each player getting to execute an attack. The battle progresses until only one remains standing.

Battles are a lot of fun and while this game is generally designed for kids 8 and up, we had kids as young as 6 having fun. Granted, there’s a certain degree of strategy that older kids will understand better, but there’s still fun to be had for a wide age range – that includes parents. Even I had fun getting a few fights in while our testers weren’t paying attention.

Aside from fighting though, there are other things to do. Players can work on their Lair, build additional creatures, play mini-games online and even partake in a little fishing as seen below.

Bottom Line

In all honesty, we get propositioned by companies like the one behind Freaky Creatures with some degree of frequency to review their products. And generally, we’re less than excited because more times than not, the online games are so poorly done, it’s a waste of our time.

This time though, not only was the game not bad, it was actually surprisingly well done. The figures are well made too. The online game offers a lot of depth and the most popular parts, like battles, are well executed and don’t get boring after repeated play.

The figures are well priced too, starter packs are $19.99 and add-on packs run $9.99 and up. After 30 days, there is a service charge to keep playing the premium version of the game though. A monthly Premium Pass for Freaky Creatures costs $6.99; a three month Premium Pass costs $17.97 and a six month Premium Pass costs $32.94.

Even so, if your kids enjoy playing the game, there appears to be enough value to justify the monthly fees. The game isn’t exactly educational, but it’s a lot of fun and well thought out.

Rating – 4 out of 5 stars

Freaky Creature packs are available via Amazon.com.

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