Upon opening the box containing the Innotab 2 by Vtech which we reviewed for the Izziwizzi Kids Play Fest, Miss M couldn’t wait to get her fingers on the children’s tablet and get started. The chunky, sturdy casing immediately grabbed her attention and she couldn’t wait to see what happened when she switched the unit on. The first thing you are asked to do is set up a profile under which it saves all your own gameplay. Then we were required to attach the Innotab 2 to a PC via the USB lead in order to register the product and set it up within the Innotab Learning Lodge Navigator which is the download centre in which you can download further apps, see your child’s progress and download/upload photos and videos between the Innotab 2 and your home PC.
This did take around half an hour to set up during which time Miss M did grow a little impatient but when I finally gave her control of the Innotab 2 her face lit up and she couldn’t wait to get stuck in. It comes with 15 apps:
Camera – Rotating twistable lense – fun at all angles!
Video Camera – Miss M loved capturing us unaware and then playing it back to us
MP3 player – easy to transfer music from PC – perfect for littles ones to play and dance to or use in the car
E-book Reader – interactive books which highlight words and provide facts and animation
Art Studio – fabulous choice of tools/colours – kept Miss M occupied for hours
Photo Editing – lots of fun scenes, accesories and fun effects – we had lots of fun with this
Game: Face Race – motion sensor game although we found it didn’t hold interest for long
Clock
Calendar
Notes
Friends
Calculator
The final 3 apps come on the included cartridge: E-book ‘What’s that noise?’, camera game Alien Rescue and Colour & Pop
Two further apps can be downloaded of your choice from the £2.99 selection in the Learning Lodge Navigator. Although we did find these games fun, they were short and we reached the end within 20 minutes. It would have nicer to see more depth to them to help maintain interest as the levels we played were entertaining and fun.
Cartridge games are also available which although retail at anything up to £20, I believe they would probably have a lot better games, with more depth to them and a wider variety of activities – Miss M would definitely like to try some of these in the future so I suggested she add them to her list for Santa!!
Miss M thoroughly enjoyed the Art Studio and spent a lot of time using the wide choice of coloured pencils, paints, stickers etc. but the thing that caught her eye most was the special effects – tubes of stars/hearts, rainbow effects etc. Another app that really appealed to Miss M was the Colour & Pop app which is basically just black and white pictures and you select different coloured paint to colour them in. I did notice in this particular app the screen did sometimes require a couple of taps from the stylus when selecting an art tool rather than an immediate response which although I would have found frustrating, it didn’t bother Miss M in the slightest.
The camera is also great fun, with a rotating twistable lense Miss M found it fun to take pictures of not only her family but herself. And what she found highly amusing was making our faces look silly with the special effects. Although not the best the quality, the photos are perfectly acceptable for a child. They are able to use them within the games to give faces to characters which is a nice touch.
Another highlight for Miss M was the MP3 player. I downloaded some music that she likes from my PC to the Innotab 2 and it was a simple, straightforward process. She was then able to play her own music and dance around the front room with little brother Mister B copying her every move. This would be ideal with headphones for long car journeys. You can also upload videos and films for them watch – great for keeping little ones entertained!
We have had lots of fun trying out the Innotab 2 and definitely think it will be a hit this Christmas, it’s lots of fun for little ones in more ways than one although you do need to bear in mind the costs over and above initial purchase. To get longevity out of this for your child and to make it last a few years I do feel you would need to purchase a number of games and apps to keep them interested and occupied.
All in all the Innotab 2 has proved to be a great multi-tasking product giving little ones an introduction to technology thats full of learning opportunities!!
Please watch our video review to find out more:
All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.
