Review and Giveaway - smart-e-bear

At first, I didn't know what to think about this brand-new toy. Do I really need another noisy toy to clutter our shelves? We have a Tickle-Me-Elmo. He was funny for 5 minutes, but he now sits there idle, collecting dust. We opened out smart-e-bear, well smart-e-dog last night, and after a little struggle with the software, I can now more fully grasp how this cuddly little friend is going to make a positive impact in our household.

Click on read more to find out more about smart-e-bear.

So, think of the smart-e-bear as "the iPod meets the toddler set." It's basically a slightly over-sized stuffed animal that you can download music, stories and fun games to. Out of the box, your smart-e friend comes prepared to play Simon Says, play a handful of award-winning songs with different themes, tell your
child 3 different stories and also to engage your toddler in the tale of the 3 Little Pigs. However, you're not limited only to what's already on your smart-e-bear because you can download other free music, games and stories from the smart-e-bear website, and there's loads of other music, etc. that you can get for a small price, too. If you can purchase and download from iTunes then you can purchase and download from the smart-e-bear website, too. The picture on the right is of Nadia listening to the story of the Three Little Pigs tonight. Very cute and she loved making choices during the story.

I wanted to introduce you to this product before the holidays; so, Nadia hasn't spent an abundance of time playing with her smart-e-bear; however, I think she's going to love him, and he's definitely going to make the trip to Grandma's house with us in a couple of weeks. You can plug headphones into smart-e-bear (thank you Intellitoys!) For the long trip, Nadia can have control over the music she's listening to, and her dad and I can enjoy our competitive game of Name That Tune instead. You control the smart-e-bear using his hands and feet which means I feel more comfortable handing this electronic device over to Nadia than I would a regular CD player or iPod. I don't worry about smart-e-bear breaking if he gets dropped with is such a relief! There is a volume control which can be stuffed away and hidden inside your smart-e-bear. If you're worried about your child's hearing, just turn the volume down low and you'll be set.

There are also stories and games to be played with your smart-e-bear. Here's what I'd really like to see..."books on tape." You know what I'm talking about. Remember when you were young and you'd listen to a story while following along in the book? When you heard the little ding, you knew to turn the page. How much fun would it be for smart-e-bear to be reading the story while your child followed along? Like I said, this is a new toy and I'm sure Intellitoys is going to come up with more and more ways for your child to interact with his smart-e-friend!

Right now, smart-e-bear only speaks English and Spanish, but French and Chinese are coming soon. All of the songs and games are in English, but smart-e-bear can talk in Spanish right now making it great for bilingual families. One extra cool feature is that you can download your child's name from a list to personalize the toy even more. The list is very extensive and even Nadia's name was available. Smart-e-bear's voice is pretty kid-friendly, meaning, it grates on my husband's nerves, but if you keep the volume low, I personally don't find it to be the worst noise I've ever heard. It's no Elmo, that's for sure! If you're mostly using it to play songs, you won't be listening to the voice anyway. The music comes out sounding much more clear than I expected, and the songs have kid-friendly titles and lyrics, and are sung by award-winning musicians and entertainers including Trout Fishing in America!

Full Review, based on 4 stars:

Functionality *** - I had a little trouble getting the software to download last night, but once I figured it out, it didn't take long. The bear comes with a USB cable for your computer. I'm just storing ours stuffed inside our smart-e-dog for now. Once the software was up and running, I had no trouble downloading Nadia's name. There is a bit of a learning curve in regards to figuring out where the current playlist (playdate) is and how to use it, but after just a few short minutes of playing around, I've got it down. Your toddler can cuddle with the bear while listening to songs and stories and you can customize playdates for the time of the day. Five Little Monkeys isn't probably the best song choice for bedtime! I'd like to see a little more interaction when it comes to the stories part. I'd pay for a story download accompanied by a book with cues for turning the pages. The animal is very soft and cuddly, I'm not exaggerating. You can't feel the electronic equipment unless you try really hard. There's ample padding which also means no worries when your toddler throws it around or drops it off the couch!

Style ***1/2 - You have three choices: smart-e-bear, smart-e-dog, and smart-e-cat. The cat is pink which makes it a little less gender neutral, but it is cute.

Price **1/2 - $79.99 is pretty steep, but right now you can get a smart-e-bear at Amazon for only $23.99! I'm not sure if this is just a special for today or not, but you should go now and not miss out. Even at the more expensive price, as with any toy, you have to think beyond the price tag. How long can my child play with this toy? It's for ages 2-6. That's a lot of years of use, especially with multiple kids. The smart-e-bear has activities and games you can download to grow with your child which is another plus. You can use it for music listening which adds another dimension. I fully expect to see more and more products available in the future, too. If you have a grandma that loves to buy the big gifts, this is a great choice, too! You can buy the smart-e-cat and the smart-e-dog on Amazon, too, with free shipping.

Overall Rating *** - There's plenty of reasons why the smart-e-bear has won so many awards in its first year including NAPPA's gold seal as well as Dr. Toy's Best 10 Technology Toys. It's an interactive toy that will grow with your child, and at the great Amazon price of only $23.99, really a great choice for your toddler or preschooler this year!


Intellitoys is offering a smart-e-friend to one lucky Kid Buy Products reader. To enter the giveaway, visit the smart-e-bear website and find the song, story or game you would download if you had a smart-e-bear. Come back here and leave us a comment and you'll be entered in our giveaway of the smart-e-friend of your choice. We want you to have your smart-e-friend before Christmas; so, we're going to run this giveaway through 11:59 CST on Monday, December 15th, 2008. Read our giveaway rules here. Thanks for reading and good luck!