Smart e-Bear

by Kids Preferred

Product Features

• Choose from over 5000 titles from award-winning artists such as twin sisters and red grammar
• Connect, Click, Cuddle, customize what I say and do with included USB cable to your PC or Mac
• Bi-lingual with a few clicks
• More Free Content available once you plug toy in and log on
• Smart-e-bear grows with you child, you change the content by the day, month or year

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 12 x 14 x 10 inches ; 2.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0016LTRMY
• Item model number: 90647
• Manufacturer recommended age: 24 months - 6 years
• Batteries: 2 AA batteries required. (included)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,156 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

smart-e-bear bridges the gap between 21st century technology and timeless, loveable plush. Children play interactively by squeezing the toy's hands or feet. Children select stories such as the Three Little Pigs, or Play games such as Simon Says, or just listen to their favorite songs. Parents select all the content from the smartebear.com website and can change the content on the toy at any time with a simple USB connection to their PC or Mac. smart-e-bear is ready to play out of the box (batteries and USB cord included), and comes preloaded with over a dozen songs, stories and game. In fact, smart-e-bear is so smart, he can even can say your child's name!

Product Description

This plush bear is pretty smart. Not only is he wise enough to wear a shirt, he can speak, sing, tell stories, and play games to help children learn. He's even bilingual! Parents can choose whatever they want to have in his repertoire with an easy USB connection. Kids Preferred. Ages: 2+

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Major money-sink, December 16, 2008

By 

Jennifer "Techie Mama" (MN, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:3.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Smart e-Bear (Toy)

Let me say first and foremost, this toy is not worth the $80 MSRP. It's a stuffed bear with a speaker in it. I picked it up here at Amazon at an enormous discount, and I wouldn't have paid a penny more for it. If I had paid full MSRP, it would be going back to Amazon. In fact, it may be going back anyway.

I decided to rewrite my review after giving it to my 3-year-old son so I can add his impressions as well. I'll try to avoid ranting over the media issue and break it down into pros and cons.

Pros:
-----
-software is extremely easy to work with
-huge variety of educational material pre-categorized by subject
-bear is very light, soft and cuddly
-memory has room for over 5 hours of non-repeating play
-headphone jack was a nice thought
-speaker is good enough quality for a child's toy

Cons:
-----
-EXTREMELY overpriced
-bear does NOT come preloaded with over an hour of content like the product description states, but 23 minutes (33 minutes if you download free content)
-games are too fast paced and too short
-buttons to activate the feet are not where you'd expect them to be and continually frustrated my son
-the "interactive" stories only ask your child ONE question throughout the entire story with no impact on the outcome
-navigating content via the yes/no system is extremely tedious and time-consuming, especially with a large amount of content
-no continuous playback, bear stops after every single song
-songs and stories get interrupted constantly if your child accidentally touches the hands or feet
-songs and stories purchased on the website can NOT be converted for use on other devices
-likewise, you can NOT add your own content that you have already purchased
-website can occasionally trick you, such as when you buy the album "25 Christmas Songs" and you only get 15 songs
-albums are more expensive on manufacturer's website than if you were to buy them elsewhere, such as here on Amazon
-you lose everything you've purchased if you ever sell or give the bear to someone else, you can't keep it and it does not transfer to the new owner

This toy had amazing potential if only the manufacturer were a little less greedy. If they allowed you to add your own content or allowed you to use content you purchase from them on other devices, I would have paid more than what I did and been very satisfied. In the end, if you don't mind paying out your nose for songs and stories that you can't use without the bear, it may be worth it for you. If you like to make the most of every penny spent, you may be ticked off like I am. In the end, if my son had absolutely adored the bear, that would have made it worth it for me. But after 15 minutes the bear was thrown across the room and not looked at again. One of the worst toy purchases I have ever made.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My 2-year-old LOVES this toy, December 17, 2008

By 

Andrew Garlikov "corporate event specialist" (Los Angeles, CA, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:4.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Smart e-Bear (Toy)

My son received Smart-e-Bear for his 2nd birthday. He enjoys it tremendously.

We've only had it for a little while, so he's concentrated on just a few of the features and pieces of content -- toddlers like the repetition after all -- so I have no complaints about only having a 1/2 hour or so of material. Considering how many times we've heard the "Five Little Monkeys" song so far, a half hour of other stuff might last years!

The toy itself appears to be durable, works reliably, and has been very entertaining for my son. That he can control the toy a little, and that it responds to his squeezing the paws, is a big deal. For a kid that likes pressing buttons and enjoys taking in the cause/effect of his actions, this is a GREAT toy.

But the real advantage this toy brings is the unbelievably responsive service from the manufacturer.

In the course of synching the toy the first time so it would say my child's name, I got either impatient or creative (depending on how you look at it), didn't follow the instructions, and somehow managed to screw up the data on the bear. This was at about 7 PM (West coast time). I left a message and sent an e-mail to the tech support number, thinking it'd take a day or two to resolve the issue.

But within the hour, I had the president of the company on the line from new York walking me through some fixes. When he wasn't immediately able to fix the problem remotely, he arranged to send a replacement -- which arrived, pre-programmed for my son, the next day.

Intellitoys took responsibility for the issue -- even though it might have been my fault for breaking it! -- and made certain that my son had a working toy for his birthday. He -- and I -- really, really appreciate it.

I look forward to this company's next creation.

17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The new standard in kids toys, November 16, 2008

By 

S. Romo "dravenone" (LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Smart e-Bear (Toy)

Smart e Bear has hit the mark with bringing together technology and simplicity in a soft easy to use traditional looking toy. Smart e Bear can be a simple huggable plush bear for your child, or when you turn it on it becomes a music player, story teller, and game player. My son's Smart e Bear has almost 90 minutes of content loaded and it takes up less than 10% of its storage capacity, so you get the idea of how much this little guy can store.

The Smart e Bear online store has lots of content to purchase and free content as well. Songs are .99 cents and I purchased an interactive story and a game for 1.99 each. Interactive stories have decision points for your child to decide where they want the story to go, and games can test memory or listening skills. There are also narrated stories by colorful narrators with music and sounds and voices. It's easy to purchase content via credit card or Pay Pal and you can listen to 30 second segments when browsing the song area. The software also knows which songs you have purchased so you don't have to worry about remembering.

Smart e Bear also has a huge list of children's names so it can greet your child by name when you turn it on. With so much content available Smart e Bear will always be fresh and new to your child and not get boring and repetitive like hard programmed non updateable electronic stuffed animals. Now if YOU need a break from the bear before your child is ready to stop, not a problem, it has a jack to plug in headphones!!

Customer service is also great. I had a non technical question which I emailed and called (left a message) about and the customer service rep returned my call (left me a voice message) AND replied to my e mail knowing that I was the same person, just to make sure they reached me and that my question was answered. Their website also has video tutorials to show you how update the bear incase you are not sure how.

This is a great toy/educational tool that you can always change up to keep fresh and new. It's a winner!