VTech Gadget the Robot Review
Gadget the Robot
Reviewed by Sarah Hicks
Well our VTech Gadget the Robot has arrived and I'm not sure who is more excited about it – me or my husband!! No seriously – we have unwrapped it this evening whilst the children are in bed, we will let them loose on it tomorrow!
Gadget's packaging is really good – you can see the whole product, and definitely won't get that disappointment which is sometimes possible with children's toys – a huge box, with lots of "inner" packaging and a tiny toy in the corner – what you see is what you get with Gadget – you can even turn him on and interact with him before purchase, a great feature to help you make sure this toy is right for your child.
Gadget is battery operated (batteries included) and comes with 30 learning chips, a backpack – which is used to store all the learning chips – and the robot himself. Gadget feels quite heavy and sturdy – not easily knocked over when on a flat surface, and the computer chips are a nice size for little hands to handle (and big enough not to be a choking hazard – which is obviously quite important when you've got smaller children in the household) He also has 2 volume settings – always handy to be able to turn a toy down!
Gadget is an educational toy aimed at children aged 3-7, he dances, talks and has an LED belly screen to display letters, numbers and pictures. There are six different ways to play with Gadget, (you select these by a sliding button under his tummy) but the main way to interact is by placing the learning chips into a slot in his head and then by turning his nose – for example – Gadget may ask you to feed him 4 learning chips – if this is done correctly, he rewards you with music and a little dance, and then he expels the learning chips from a secret door.
We have 4 children – a 5 ½ year old girl, 3 ½ year old boy and twin boys, who are 20 months – I'm sure it will be a mad scramble to play with Gadget in the morning – I will feedback what the children think of him after they've played with him for a couple of days!
Well – 2 days after life with Gadget and I can confirm he is a hit! I would say my 3 ½ year old Sid gets the most "educationally speaking". The games are mainly at his level, and he particularly seems to enjoy the finding a specific letter game – so it's really helping him with learning his alphabet. My 5 1/2 year old – Lily – also loves playing this game although it's probably too easy for her and part of her enjoyment is coming from the fact she can beat her brother at it!! The babies – Sonny and Stan also like to get their hands on Gadget when he's free – they seem to enjoy stuffing learning coins down his head, but struggle with turning his nose – although it does crack them up when Gadget "spits" his learning chips out all of a sudden.
I'm not sure I'd agree with this toy being aimed at 3-7 year olds – 3-5 might be more accurate – I'm not sure a 6 or 7 year old would get that much from it. The only other issue my children have had is that Gadget is turned on and off with a big button on his head – which can get touched by accident quite easily, – a switch underneath might have been better?
All in all Gadget is a great toy – not something perhaps I would have taken too much notice of on a toy store shelf because he could look a bit babyish, but he really is a great learning buddy for Sid, and for any other child around the age of 3, so I would recommend him.
Ratings wise I think Gadget is a 4 ½ out of 5 – particularly when viewed as a toy for a 3 year old.
Ooo I should also just say, I've just tidied up the lounge now the children have gone to bed – and the good news is we've only lost 4 of the learning chips so far!! (That’s quite good for us!!) Extra chips can be purchased for £5.99 per pack if you lose too many.
RRP: £39.99
Rating: 4.5/5
Available to buy from VTech here.
