Vtech Vsmile Cyber Pocket Blue With Scooby-doo Reviews
Rather Disappointed
H. Joberns from West Midlands UK - 3 out of 5.
I bought this having already gotten my boy (who's in nursery) a laptop to help him with the ENGLISH phonics system taught at school. Unfortunately it teaches the letter names, not their sounds and even more unfortunately, so does this V-tech. I'm already having problems with his nursery because he is flatly refusing to do the d-o-g way of spelling (he's supposed to use the letter sounds to refer to the letter, he says deee oh geee, which is the letter names).I'm not keen on using the phonics system to learn to read myself, but unfortunately its the way they learn at school. When the Vtech blurb said the cyberpocket/vsmile etc system helped teach phonics, I thought I was buying something to help my son not something to confuse him even further. So now I've spent a fortune on the games and add-ons.., for nothing. Not overly happy. This isn't phonics to me.
Beware this product if your son/daughter is supposed to be learning phonics.., its not suitable for the UK way of referring to letters by their sound rather than their name.
Having said that, the console is sturdily made and if it wasn't for this problem, I'd be over the moon. It isn't really suitable for a younger child, it is probably more suitable for kids who are already well on their way to reading because by then they tend to drop the more babyish letter sounds system (please god).
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Good product
lacventa boy from Northumberland, UK - 4 out of 5.
My 4year old got it for her birthday present and she loves it. It keeps her entertained for long periods and she is getting better with her scores. Certainly worth it0 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
Don't bother - get a DS instead!
rarni - 1 out of 5.
I bought one of these for my 3 year old, my other son has a DS and I thought that 3 (and only just 3 at that) was too young for a DS but that with one of these he could "join in". How disappointed we all were. The controls aren't as easy as they should be (the control for use with the stylus is just white and no pictures appear on it). I think the only thing my son wanted to do on it was switch the controls from blue to orange again and again. We ended up getting a DS for him in the end with Peppa Pig game which is much easier and he will sit happily playing with it. This has barely been touched and was a waste of money - wish I'd just gone straight for the DS in the first place!!!!!0 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
We love it!
S. Barry from Tregaron, Wales - 5 out of 5.
Bought this for our 2 yr old son because he wanted a nintendo ds and we're really pleased with it - it takes all the games from his sisters v smile and because it's so tiny the graphics look much better than they do on the t.v.!0 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
What a load of rubbish
ingerlund from London, UK - 1 out of 5.
Okay, I accept my review may be slightly blinkered, and other people may want to persevere a bit more but for what it is worth here goes.....The first problem was the plastic packaging. Not withstanding the danger to my skin, I successfully opened the item. Surprisingly without having to have major surgery on my hands afterward for slash wounds. On this subject; why can't manufacturers use the pop-open style containers? The cynical side of me would suggest that people are less likely to return an item once the packaging has been ripped to pieces?
Anyway, back to the review (of sorts)...
The game itself is designed like a laptop into which the games cartridge is inserted. Everything was therefore very simple to setup and turn on. That is until you realise there is no power supply or batteries included. Now it may well say this on the description page on Amazon but even if it does I think it is incredibly cheapskate of the manufacturer to not include either! Now having examined the box, it does tell you this on the back right at the bottom. I still find it unacceptable. After scouring the house for batteries on Christmas Day, as obviously most shops were shut, I found some and got it working.
It's a bit difficult to review the actual game as my 4 year old daughter lost interest in it in under 5 minutes. From what I saw it was all a bit too 80's, almost like no effort had been made to produce something more up-to-date. I accept I may be being a little harsh on what is only a cheap bit of plastic (and it is relatively inexpensive) but the whole purchase left me with the feeling that this was cost cutting gone too far.
Anyway, I returned it mainly because I think these items should be sold ready to use straight out of the box.
Incidentally the box did have a gap for a power supply so it must have been a cost cutting decision later in the process to remove it.
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Fantastic product!
F. STIRLING from Swansea, United Kingdom - 5 out of 5.
I bought this for my 4 year old son as he is very competent on the PC for his age but has to compete with his older sister to actually use it! This console gives him the chance to play games by himself and he instantly mastered the 3 games that he received at the same time. The console is very robust as it has been inevitably dropped on a few occasions and played heavy handedly by his little sister and it has survived :)As well as the Scooby Doo game which came with the console, I also bought him Disney Cars and Wall-E games. The latter offers the chance to use the stylus in some of the games which I found difficult at first but he had no problems at all!
The only drawback is that it doesn't come with an AC adaptor and goes through batteries pretty quickly. We use rechargeable batteries so it's not a major drawback. A real bonus with the one we bought was that it came with a free case/carrier which enables him to carry it around with his games.
I would highly recommend this to anyone wanting a games console for a child a bit too young for a DS. In fact, I am seriously considering buying one for my 6 year old rather than the DS she is asking for!
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child friendly, robust & good value for money
N. Mullings from UK - 5 out of 5.
Bought for my 5 year old son, but my 4 year old daughter can work it just as easily, requiring no assistance at all. Great for long car journeys, I barely knew he was in the back seat (which has never happened before!!). I have the VSmile TV system and am very pleased that this device works with the same games so its cost effective too. Its robust which cannot be said of every toy designed to withstand young children. All in all I'm very happy and will be purchasing another for my daughter this month.4 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
becoming disappointed
Mrs. A. Mclelland - 3 out of 5.
when i first purchased this for my sons christmas (age 4 at the time) i was very pleased with it. he loved playing the scooby doo game and it was great to take on the go. unfortunately the batteries do not last very long and we had to buy the 9 v adaptor. after doing so i continued to be pleased with my purchase and on his 5th birthday i bought him the thomas game, which he loved even more than the scooby doo game. i was beginning to consider getting my daughter one for her 3rd birthday until i purchased my son 3 more games. noddy, cranium, and mickey mouse clubhouse. each game had the same result. it wouldnt allow us to make any selections using the joy stick and enter button. it kept asking us to use the pencil to navigate and i found it impossible even for me to move the arrow with the pencil, so i've wasted my money on 3 games he is unable to play with and am beginning to wonder about the consoles durability. the scooby doo game and thomas game i orginally purchased for it are still working with use of the joy stick and enter button but having purchased 3 games which do not has made me incredibly disappointed.15 people voted this review as helpful and 1 people voted this review as unhelpful.
vsmile cyber
Mrs. N. J. Haigh from uk - 5 out of 5.
fantastic, my 4 year old son got the tv system from father christmas we hadnt seen the hand held at this point. decided to get it for him as its great for days out & holidays. the games are interchangeable and there are loads to choose from. once you start buying from the range it becomes addictive though, we prob have a dozen games, carry case, dance mat 9volt and car adaptor etc. a lot of money to spend if he wants a DS next christmas but its a popular range and will all resell when he has outgrown it.VTech V.Smile Pocket Touch (with Scooby-Doo)1 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
My son is verry happy
Hero from Belgium, Mons - 5 out of 5.
I bought this item for the birthday of my son and he plays almost every day and learn a lot with games vsmile.1 people voted this review as helpful and 2 people voted this review as unhelpful.
Loved by my four year old
N. Walton from Newcastle, england - 5 out of 5.
My 4 year old son already has the v-smile learning system, I was looking for something more portable and ordered the cyber pocket, my son loves this toy. It is great that the games from his v-smile can be used on the cyber pocket. The controls can be changed for left handed players. He can't manage to use a nintendo ds and can get really frustrated, but this hasn't happened with the cyber pocket, I would recommend this toy3 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
GREAT EDUCATIONAL TOY
Jason Gibson from UK - 5 out of 5.
MY 3.5 YEAR OLD WANTED A DS, BUT WE THOUGHT THAT HE WAS TOO YOUNG. SO WE PURCHASED THE CYBER POCKET.HE HAS A GREAT TIME PLAYING ON IT. IT IS A GREAT EDUCATIONAL TOY EG READING,FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS AND IT IS GOOD WITH HAND AND EYE CO-ORDINATION. WOULD RECOMEND STARTING LITTLE ONES ON THIS RATHER THAN A DS. IT IS ALSO GREAT THAT IT HAS GOT A HEADPHONE JACK SO THAT THEY CAN LEAVE YOU IN PEACE TO WATCH TV.12 people voted this review as helpful and 0 people voted this review as unhelpful.
A Great Buy
SAV from Essex - 5 out of 5.
Purchased for our 4 year old son - he plays with it all the time (luckily has volume control) and chucks it about a bit, but its not a problem - its very robust and a great purchase if your child is not ready for a nintendo DS just yet!5 people voted this review as helpful and 1 people voted this review as unhelpful.
