Customer Reviews

Elmo Knows Your Name

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I bought this for my daughter for her first birthday, even though it is recommended for 2. Generally, she loves it - hugs it, smiles everytime she sees it and loves that it talks to her. Personally, I think there are some things that need to be worked on. To understand, you should know that Elmo speaks by either squeezing a button in his hand or hugging him and pressing a button on the speaker in his tummy.

1. The sound comes from a speaker that is held in Elmo's tummy. This is where you plug the cord for the PC in. However, with the padding that surrounds this, it is extremely difficult to get the speaker in Elmo's tummy and get the velcro completely closed. Generally, we never get the velcro completely closed, and hide the part where we can't under Elmo's shirt. And since the speaker is where the on/off button is, I am frequently having to struggle to reclose the velcro.

2. Everytime the button on the speaker or hand is pushed, Elmo starts a different "activity". So when my daughter gets over excited and hugs the stuffing out of him, it sound like he has some syndrome - he spurts out a word or two before the "track" changes so it doesn't make any sense. It would be far more productive if a track would finish before a new one would start.

3. The button on the hand is difficult to find and push for an adult, so for little hands, it can be quite difficult. And since Elmo actually says, "Let's play! Squeeze Elmo's hand,", it is what a child will learn should make him talk. Hugging Elmo is the only way my daughter can make him talk, although she tries really hard to squeeze his hand.

4. There are supposed to be 100+ sayings/songs/stories, but if I have heard more than 25, I'd be surprised. Many of them require multiple squeezes to get through the whole activity, so it gets lost on my little one, but would be more enjoyable for an older child.

5. You can choose to set an internal clock that will have Elmo play specific things at specific times, such as wake-up, bedtime, meals, etc. It only works if your child is on a schedule. The only thing I have set is bedtime.

6. At bedtime, Elmo sings a really darling bedtime song that my daughter loves, and she knows means it's night-night time. But if she hugs him too hard, it switches to something else, and she gets the saddest look on her face. Plus, if he is activated after bedtime, he goes back to "Let's Play!" which completely defeats the purpose. The unit should be set-up so that between bedtime and wake-up it doesn't play at all, or only plays the soothing bedtime song.

7. As an adult, I don't like that the software downloads EVERY name in the database onto your PC. Really, I would much rather it interactively let me install the names I want or to just download the ones I want. It took 15-20 minutes to download all of the names, so I know it is taking up a lot of room on my PC, which is frustrating.

8. I actually had to return the one I bought from Amazon. It had clearly been returned to Amazon without the install CD and I had to run out and purchase a new one the morning of my daughters birthday. So purchase early and download early, just in case.

On the plus side:

1. The software installed without a hitch and downloaded to Elmo easily. I have Windows XP Professional.

2. He looks and sounds like he does on TV.

3. There is an opening in the back of the box that allows you to get to the CD and download it to Elmo without taking him out of the box, which is nice if you are giving it as a gift.

4. My daughter loves him!

I bought Elmo knows your name for my 18 month old daughter for Christmas. I had read many negative reviews about it, but decided to buy it anyway because I just couldn't pass up the fact that he said my daughter's not-so-common name. Well, after crossing my fingers, plugging him in, and programming him, he would not download the information from the computer! I was so disappointed. I went to a relative's house to try it on their computer, and it worked with absolutely no problems! Elmo's voice is very clear, and he has lots to say!

However, I was disappointed with the selection of additional names. The fisher price website said that elmo could say "mama", "daddy", "papa", etc. Those names were no where to be found on the software though.

Overall, I think it's a great toy.

First it was easy to set up. It takes approximately 10 minutes installing it on you computer filling in the questions and downloading it to the toy. I suggest you do this when your child is not around because all they will want to do is play with it instead of letting you download to the toy.

The voice box is annoyingly loud and has no volume control. It is also on the difficult side to place it back inside Elmo's body. My daughter kept saying elmo had a boo boo when his voice box was hanging out.

Elmo has an extremely comprehensive list of names that you can insert. Your Child's name plus 3 friends can be programed into the doll. Despite the extremely huge list of names including Mommy there is no Daddy. There is also no grandma or grandpa. It seems pretty sexist not to include Daddy when Mommy is included. Every other name from the English language (and various other languages) appears to be included.

As mentioned in other reviews Elmo can sound epileptic when squeezed repeatedly because he doesn't finish what he is saying before going on to say the next pre-programed speach. It can really frustrate your child if they are singing along the alphabet song only to hug him again too soon and have him move onto something else. It seems like it would be an easy software fix for him to finish his current "speach" before going onto to another one.

I bought this for my son last Christmas when he was about to turn 1 year old. He was a bit young for it then, but he did like dragging Elmo around. Now that he is almost 2, he is really loving this Elmo. Elmo has many phrases and stories to tell, plus the personalization really gets my son's attention. Incidentally, I bought "Elmo Live" this year for my son. I should have saved my money as my son still prefers his "Elmo Knows Your Name". It can be toted around easily ("Elmo Live" can't be toted around) and it is "cuddly" especially if you compare it to the clunky "Elmo Live". Plus, "Elmo Live" doesn't know my son's name or his favorite color, friends, foods, etc. ;-)

My grandson loves Elmo. This Elmo doll is now programmed to say his name, his mom's name, and his dog's name. He also says when it's time for his nap. Elmo gets a lot of love at his house.

My daughter really loves her Elmo, which she got for Christmas. My only complaint is that his memory only lasts for a couple of weeks then it has to be reset. And, we don't know his memory is off until we hear him singing the Goodnight Song in the middle of the night, waking everyone up!

This toy is so much fun I have 2 of them. They have helped with ABC'S
birthday count downs and so much more. We have had one for over 2 years and it still works great. My kids love elmo.

I purchased this toy for my son who is 13 months old.. My whole family thinks that it is the cutiest toy ever. I have recommended this toy to everyone in my family who has chldren and even friends. I an mow in the process of purchasing this toy for my neice. It was very easy to program the info into Elmo. The only thing I did not like was that when programing the favorite foods you only had the options of what was on there drop down list instead of what you wanted to put in, and there was only enough inpt areas for 3 friends names only. But otherwise a wonderful toy

The "Elmo Knows Your Name" toy has captured the heart of our three-year-old. The ability to program Elmo to "know" your child's daily schedule plus her favorite foods, and more, makes this toy very unique. Beware: Elmo will start talking at whatever time you tell him is your child's wake-up time--even if it is a Saturday morning!

My 18 month old daughter loves her Elmo knows your Name doll. She repeats the words Elmo says and lights up when she hears him saying her name. It even got my 7 year old nieces attention when she visited. She thought it was cool how it new her favorite animals, foods and names of our family members.