VTech review #1 Kidizoom Smartwatch DX

This is the second VTech watch we have reviewed at Mommy Connections.  This is the next generation version, created after VTech actually listened to the feedback from both kids and moms.  I love that the watch is durable (my 3 year old little boy is wearing it!) and it is a nice small gadget that can keep him occupied when we are running errands or grocery shopping.  Plus, it is attached to him, so no chance of losing it somewhere along the way.  There are actually 11 activites/games on the watch in addition to the camera, video features and regular watch capabilities.  There is a new motion sensor built in, which makes the games extra fun.  I really love that there is a built in pedometer.  I wear a Fitbit daily and my little guy likes to see how many steps he has made throughout the day as well.

My daughter loved to take photos on hers and I am impressed by the improved image quality on the new watch.  It is very easy to connect to our computer so he can see the images and short videos he has captured.  Each video clip is limited to 1 minute, which is a great feature.  Kids can now choose from more than 50 3D clock faces too – which is really neat!

The Kidizoom Smartwatch DX features include:

 Durable kids’ camera that captures vivid images

 Creative photo effects, frames and filters

 Video and voice recorder with voice-changing effects

 Generous internal memory that stores approximately 1,600 images or 23 minutes of videos2

 Colourful touch screen

 3 fun activities, 5 games, 3 action challenges, a motion sensor and a pedometer for active children, providing more play value than ever before

 Light-up driver button activates fun phrases, music and sounds

 Splash-proof, kid-friendly design for everyday play

 Cool new 3D clock faces with 50+ digital & analog watch displays

 Time telling app, timer, alarm, calculator and calendar included

 Rechargeable battery

 Micro USB cable for data transfer and battery recharging

 Access to VTech’s Learning Lodge for additional games, watch displays, photo effects and more

 Choice of midnight blue and vivid violet colours

Age recommendation: 4-9 years • MSRP: $69.99 • Available at Walmart, Toys R Us, Sears, Best Buy, Indigo, Amazon.ca

Learn more: Demo Video

#2 Flipsies – Sandy’s House and Ocean Cruiser

Having 2 young girls (3 and 5) who are into all things girlie and dolls, it was an exciting day when the Vtech Flipsies Sandy’s House and Ocean Cruiser showed up at our house!  Vtech Flipsies are a great new line of toys deigned to empower girls to dream big and that they can be anything they want to be! Each interchangable set  comes with wigs, clothes and fun accessories to match each dolls style and dream.

Sandy converts into a marine biologist – I have to admit, even I was a little excited about this – what girl of the 80’s didn’t have a dream to be a marine biologist?!?!  You can easily swap out her hair, her clothes and accessories to become her alter  ego.  What is even neater is that the “house” transforms into an ocean cruiser!  While not a bathtub to,y the ocean cruiser has a slide and all the accessories of a luxury ship!  Theres even a zipline for the dolls!  And to make it even better there is a toy dolphin, which my girls loved making the sounds for and tried to communicate with one another “speaking dolphin”!

I loved how this toy allowed my girls to use their imagination and come up with a variety of ideas, for both land and sea!  They continually changed out her hair, clothes and accessories, like binoculars – I was explaining what some of these things were to my girls.  Another neat thing about the flipsies doll, is that once you put the on a “magic point” on the cruiser they will start to “talk”; and say positive affirming messages.  My girls had fun listening to them!  There are 8 different spots on the set.

My only complaint was that it only came with one doll so my girls had a hard time deciding who got to be Sandy and who had to be the dolphin!  But you can easily get other dolls at Toys R Us or on Amazon.  At $39.99 for the set, it is a great value that brought many hours of creative play for my girls – they have played with it repeatedly in both the land and sea settings, each time with its own creativity – I like that it encourages them to use their imagination!  More Vtech flipsies dolls got added to the wish list for Santa this holiday season!

#3 Go! Go! Smart Wheels Ultimate RC Speedway

This is an outstanding toy.  Easy to put together and nice and oversized pieces (track, car etc) for those little hands.  This makes a great first race track for kids.  I find the other remove control race tracks are too find and the remove control is too complicated.  The RC Speedway remote control only has 2 buttons – one that moves the car forward and the other one moves the car backwards.  We have another Vtech car toy with a track that is similar as it also makes special sounds when the car goes over certain parts of the track, but the remote control makes this toy really fun!  My almost-3 year old loves it!  The track is large enough that he can sit right in the middle of the track and then use the remove control to drive the car around the track.  

The track is very interactive.  At multiple points, the car makes special sounds as it goes around the track.  There is a part of the track that dips down when the car goes onto it and a second part of the track that includes a car lift, which my little boys love!  The car can either continue going around the track, or stop in the pit, where the car actually comes to a stop for a moment while gears move around and then the car keeps moving.

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