Recently, my seven year old daughter saved up all of her allowance, Christmas and birthday money and purchased herself and iPod Touch. To be honest, I never thought she would save enough to actually purchase the product but I am quite proud of her and the lesson she has learned about the value of a dollar. That being said, my four year old has iPod Touch envy. She wants to play with her sister’s new toy and as you can image, that does not go so well.
I was so excited to try the new VTech Innotab 2 with her in hopes that it would satisfy her craving for her sister’s iPod Touch. When it arrived, she wasn’t thrilled because it was blue and orange…not pink like sissy’s toy. But once she got over the color, she couldn’t wait to tear into the box because the Innotab 2 looks a lot like Mommy’s tablet. Once we inserted 4 AA batteries (not included), the fun began!
Just setting up the Innotab 2 was like a game for her. She got to type her name on the 5″ touchscreen and even take her own picture with the rotating camera for her avatar. She was beyond smitten with the rotating camera feature and instantly wanted to take pictures of EVERYTHING and when she found out that she could take and save (up to 2MB which is expandable up to 32MB with a SD card) I never thought she would put it down.
After a while, she decided to check out the other features of the VTech Innotab 2. The multi-media tablet comes with one tilt sensor game, one augmented reality game, one e-book, art studio app, notes app, friends list, calendar and calculator. True to herself, she loved the art studio because she naturally loves to create and color. Next, she tried out the tilt sensor game, Face Race where you have to keep the character balanced on a tight rope by tilting the Innotab 2. She was pretty good! Soon she found the “Notes” app and pretend to text message me (guess I spend too much time on my phone!). Finally, we can place MP3 files on the Innotab 2 just like my older daughter’s iPod. This was a HUGE selling feature for Aubrie because she feels like she is able to enjoy the same activities as Lily.
Before bedtime, I connected the Innotab 2 to the computer with the installed Learning Lodge Navigator to download a few ebooks. I love that the E-Books app on the Innotab looks just like my own E-reader and encourages Aubrie to want to read, too. After checking out everything that was available to download from the Learning Lodge Navigator, I realized that there are over 200 additional apps available for the Innotab 2! I love that as my daughter grows we can download age appropriate games and apps.
The VTech Innotab 2 is recommended for kids ages 3-9 and sells for $79.99 (same as the original model). I would highly recommend this product and can attest to it’s durability since Aubrie has dropped it several times so far. Definitely consider adding this to your holiday shopping list!