Customer Reviews

Erector Spykee Mini Vox

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was a Christmas gift for my 9 year old son. We built the robot together, taking about 1 hour. The instructions were a little challenging. My son was more than willing to plunge in and probably would have finished in well under an hour had I not insisted on trying to figure out the assembly instructions. Building the robot with my son was overall a 5 star experience. Fun with minimal challenge. Once assembled, the robot was an instant hit with my 9 and 6 year old boys. I was impressed with the response to voice command. You do have to speak directly at the front of the robot. First you state his name and watch for 2 LEDs to light up. That's how the robot confirms he is listening (voice is male with a hint of Buzz Lightyear thrown in) and then you give one of 7 or 8 commands. This probably sounds like a clumsy process but once my son figured out to speak to the front of the robot in a clear voice, he was able to get the robot to react and within 2 to 3 seconds he could have Mini Vox dancing or turning left or right, moving forward or back. My 6 year old watched all of this with his mouth hanging open and after several minutes of play, finally said to the robot "you're COOL man!!!" Bottom line, a fun toy with a touch of education value in the building process. My boys are already planning how to incorporate Mini Vox into their Star Wars universe. Assembly is probably best for an 8 year old or older unless an adult will be assisting. Not just a boy toy! My 8 year old daughter was very impressed and had it not been for my boys whisking Mini Vox off to their room, she would have enjoyed playing with it too. Note - 3 AAA batteries required, NOT included.

GREAT!! My 9 year old absolutely loves it. His friends wish they would have received one also. I like the idea of the kids having to put it together before they can play with it. It helps them learn to have a lil' respect for their gifts/toys. My son just wished there were more voice commands for it.

My 5 year old and I had some laughs one afternoon with Mini Vox. We found it somewhat difficult to command him. Sometimes he wouldn't listen and other times he would do something different than what you commanded him to do. After about an hour it got boring and now it is sitting in the garage and my son hasn't played with it since.

I bought this for my grandaughter's 8th birthday. She immediately built it and minivox has been her favorite gift every since!!!

We gave this toy to our 5 year old nephew for Christmas. With an adult's help, he was able to figure out how to get the robot to listen to his commands. It may help in teaching kids patience cuz they have to wait for the robot's light to cue them that they are ready for another command. He thought it was pretty cool & for the price (compared to other robots on the market), I thought it was, too.

I wish I could give "negative stars"! What an epic disappointment this thing turned out to be! It hasn't worked from almost day 1, and has continuously fallen apart. SAD!!! Don't waste your money!! :(

My 8-year-old son used his birthday money and picked this out at Toys R Us (for $15). My husband put it together, and he said the directions were really bad. He had to undo some steps a few times and reassemble since the directions aren't too clear about the order in which to put things together. That being said, it still only took him about 30 minutes to assemble (as he put it, "30 minutes with bad directions is still better than one hour with great directions").

Once assembled, the robot works well. It does "go to sleep" quickly if it doesn't receive a command, so you have to wake it up a lot with his name ("Mini Vox"). The voice recognition works fine as long as the person speaks clearly and quickly. He also seems to respond best to a deep, loud voice, so a small child might not be able to command the robot. We have a 2 year old daughter, and her voice is just not loud or clear enough for the robot. Even our son has trouble if he doesn't speak clearly. So, the voice recognition can take some practice.

Overall, Mini Vox is pretty cool (once you get past the assembly). His commands are pre-programmed, so you can't add any new ones, but for a small child, this robot is a good choice. The current Amazon price (around $40) is a little steep for this little guy, but for the $15 we paid, I'm pleased.

I didn't realize when I purchased this that it was voice activated. I purchased it for my three year old, so it's not so easy for him to use since he still doesn't enunciate clearly. However, my six year old likes it. The dance party move is kinda fun, as is the laser war. Get's a little boring after a few minutes, since it doesn't really maneuver and you can only give one command at a time. We also got the Spykee, which can move more as you would expect from a remote control robot.

Voice recognition has came a long way, but it is still flaky.
The toy would have been better if more parts have to be assembled - this is the reason that Meccano products are fun and educational.

I got this robot for my 11th birthday and I am really satisfied. The price was outstanding and the product was fun to build. I even dropped it at least 2 times and it didn't break. This is a fun beginner robot.