Little Apps Tablet Review
- Posted On September 1, 2019
Interactive toys are always a good resource if you have a curious child who’s hungry for some new knowledge.
2 – 5 years
One-piece toy
- Educational
- Fun
- Musical
- Easy to use
Luckily, most children will be more than happy to play with a flashy, interactive, and most importantly – educational toy. If you’re looking for something of that nature, the VTech Little Apps Tablet is an excellent choice!
VTech Little Apps Tablet: The Basics
This particular toy features everything you’ll ever need to keep your young one busy for hours. Many parents don’t allow their kids to mess with real tech (e.g., iPad, tablet, laptop) due to various reasons, and the VTech Little Apps tablet is a perfect substitute in such scenarios.
As far as the functions go, this kids tablet features a color changing screen, piano keyboard, letter keyboard, and a couple of function keys that allow you to choose the preferred learning activity.
Cody the Smart Cub, who will be your kid’s new virtual best friend, is foreseen to lead your child through numerous adventures and teach them how to use a calendar, build bridges with missing letters, count, write, and much more. Even though many battery-powered toys tend to struggle with sound quality and distortion, the audio quality of this particular toy is excellent, even when the batteries are low.
The toy is rather lightweight and ergonomic, meaning you can take it anywhere without worrying about storage, space, and other accompanying nuisances. Instead, all you have to worry about are the batteries, which isn’t a big deal in the first place, as you can always pack an extra pair.
What You See and What You Get
When it comes to build quality, you don’t have to worry about it at all. This toy is made of thick plastic, meaning it can withstand drops, throws, and hits quite easily. Given that it’s foreseen for kids between the ages of two and five years old, drops and throws are to be expected. It’s far from being bulky or cumbersome, and on top of that, it does not contain any pieces or loose bits that could come off or break. It’s not the most resilient thing in the world, but it can definitely cope with rough conditions.
Contrary to popular belief, lightweight does not necessarily mean cheap. In other words, many people get discouraged when they hold a lightweight toy due to the popular aforementioned stigma. Needless to say, the sheer weight of this toy, or lack thereof, has nothing to do with the quality of the toy itself.
This Little Apps Tablet will teach your kid how to count, write, and even play simple melodies while keeping the fun factor at the highest level. This might not seem like a feature that’s worthy of mentioning, but it’s definitely something we consider important and find it lacking in many other interactive toys.
The thing that makes this particular toy sought-after by many is its versatility. In other words, it caters to a vast array of different age groups without compromising the fun factor. It doesn’t matter whether your kid is one or five years old; they ought to have a blast with this toy!
How To Use
One of the greatest advantages of this toy is its simplicity. While many other interactive toys tend to be too complex for a child to use, this one is the exact opposite. If you’re tired of fine-tuning your kid’s toys every five minutes, this is a perfect opportunity for you to put an end to it. All you have to do with this toy is turn it on and let Cody the Smart Cub take it from there. He will lead your child through the interface and explain everything (including how to use) in a fun and interactive way.
There are seven function buttons that allow you to select a particular learning activity. Furthermore, the neatly positioned arrows allow you to list through the activities smoothly and without any delay. The slider on the top of the unit is used for choosing between music, speech, calendar, and letters (writing exercises).
As you can tell, the possibilities are truly endless. It doesn’t matter whether your child prefers music instead of writing; the little apps tablet is there to indulge their needs and keep them busy for hours. If you get tired of hearing the piano or you simply don’t want to listen to Cody, the neatly placed volume control button makes this predicament easy to solve. As far as the batteries go, the auto shut-off function will significantly prolong their lifetime, meaning that a single pair of batteries will last for quite a while.
Buyer's Guide
PROS
- High fun factor
- Stimulates problem-solving skills
- Educational
- Lightweight
- Sturdy and durable
- Auto shut-off function to save battery
- Great audio quality
CONS
- The screen could be of better quality
- Some functions might be too advanced for children
- The keyboard layout is regular rather than QWERTY
Advantages
One of the first things most parents notice about this toy is the fact that it never gets boring. Toys that can keep the fun factor at a high level at all times are quite rare nowadays, especially when you consider the affordability of new technology (tablets, laptops, iPads). However, thanks to a bunch of versatile functions and the variety of different learning activities, the Little Apps Tablet remains rather popular.
Another notable advantage is the sheer durability of this toy. As you may know, the vast majority of kid toys are quite fragile and don’t cope well with throws and drops, especially when it comes to battery-powered toys. Many of them will stop functioning after only a couple of bumps due to the failure of sensitive electronics inside the toy. However, this particular model is made of sturdy plastic; it can withstand quite a beating while the electronic components remain intact and functional.
The inclusion of Cody the Smart Cub is a brilliant idea because it keeps your child entertained even when they are dealing with learning activities that might not be their favorite. So, if your kid hates dealing with numbers, try to introduce them to Cody, and they might change their mind and find playing with numbers interesting and engaging.
The thing most people don’t even notice is the excellent sound quality. As a parent, you are probably used to hearing distorted sounds that come out of battery-powered toys. While audio distortion is to be expected from almost any battery-powered toy, it’s definitely not a pleasant scenario to go through. Luckily, this particular toy won’t cause similar issues thanks to the excellent speaker quality, and on top of that, the auto shut-off function will keep the batteries going as long as possible.
Disadvantages
While there aren’t many disadvantages, to begin with, some things should be pointed out so that you know exactly what to expect.
The first thing that stands out is the color changing screen. It’s not inherently bad or poorly designed, but the color changing property is kind of misleading. In other words, the screen itself is monochrome, but the backlight color can be changed. So, rather than having a color screen, it has a color changing backlight. It’s still pretty cool for kids regardless, but it’s not a color screen by any means. Also, the brightness cannot be changed.
Some people have had some concerns about the keyboard layout not being QWERTY. Whether this is a disadvantage is up for debate, but it’s certainly something a lot of parents might be curious about. As far as we are concerned, it’s not a game-breaking deficiency by any means, but it could have been made with the QWERTY layout as it would help prepare your child for real computers in a fun and interactive way.
There were also a couple of VTech Little Apps Tablet Reviews in which parents complained about the complexity of the included learning programs, saying that some of them are too complicated for children. It’s not a major disadvantage per se, as you can always change the mode, but it’s something you might want to consider. If you have a young child (6-12 months of age), they might struggle to comprehend the whole concept of the toy, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be a fun experience.
To Conclude
If you’re looking for an all-around toy to keep your young one occupied for hours, then don’t hesitate to give this particular one a shot. It’s compact, sturdy, reliable, and most importantly – educational. There is nothing more interesting for a child than interactive play, and once you couple it with learning, you’ve got yourself a perfect recipe for countless hours of fun.
This tablet does come with a few disadvantages, but it’s nothing you should worry about too much. As long as you keep a pair of fresh batteries nearby, you can rest assured that your kids will never forget the countless hours of fun they have had with their new virtual friend.
Catherine is a writer from Canada who simply loves toys, collectibles and superhero figurines. Writing is her passion, but she also loves reading, enjoying her “me time” and finding new ways to improve her work and ways to entertain the readers.
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