Customer Reviews

Barbie Video Girl Doll

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This doll was purchased(by request)for my daughter who turned 7 this week. Without a flash it was like filming in the dark. It was fairly easy to use. The editing software was not as easy. If you have studio lighting in your home you may not have a problem. I personally feel that this issue will result in a price reduction in the near future. We have decided to get a child friendly camcorder with a "Flash" and just get another Barbie doll. Thank you.

We purchased this for our daughter's 7th birthday. She loves it! The video quality is surprisingly good for something that fits inside a Barbie doll! The audio isn't bad either. You do need quite a bit of light for recording, but we were able to record things inside the house with light just from open blinds. The editing software is a little tricky to figure out, but I was able to "produce" a 2 minute video with intros, transitions, sounds, and credits in about 30 minutes. I don't have any prior experience with editing software, and I'm sure it will get much quicker now that I've figured out how to do it. I don't think my daughter will be able to edit any videos herself, but I would rather help her anyway. Overall, I think this is a great product, and I would definitely recommend others buy this if they are thinking about it.

I'm not sure other reviewers appreciate how brilliant this is. It's a working video camera that shoots video akin to the quality you'd find from high end digital cameras a few years ago, all from a tiny camera embedded in a Barbie doll's chest!

The potential is fantastic, tapping into a new way for children to tell their stories and engage in imaginary play. Imagine getting a Barbie's Eye View of her dream house or her date with Ken. It adds another layer of possibilities to make these playworlds come alive for those participating in them.

Some reviewers are concerned, but I wonder if they're the same reviewers who would just as easily give their pre-teen or young teenage children phones with working video cameras. It's just as difficult to tell what they're doing with those phones and who they're sharing photos and videos with. That doesn't mean these devices should be banned. It means parents and caretakers need to teach their children what's appropriate. Little girls could set Barbie's hair on fire too, but most parents would say they've instilled enough of a sense of right and wrong in their kids to make sure that doesn't happen.

As for educational value, it's tremendous. Children - boys and girls alike - need to have a working familiarity with technology today. Transferring videos with the hot pink (hot pink!) USB cable is fairly easy, but also takes a bit of technological prowess. It takes a little more learning to figure out how to upload such videos to YouTube, Facebook, or anywhere else. You can do this with Barbie's software, or with other programs like Picasa (that works great for me). There are some drawbacks, such as sound quality that is subpar to the video quality and battery casing that requires a screwdriver, but still, this is a $45 toy and video camera hybrid, so it's impressive for what it is.

All in all, I'm impressed with the new direction toys are heading in. I'm sure it's scary for those whose most sophisticated toy growing up was a Slinky. In her own way though, Barbie Video Girl will inspire young girls and empower them to embrace technology, learn from it, and expand their storytelling horizons.

I bought this one for my niece and she loves it! You have to get in good light to film. But I think she was worth the price. I love it, it's a Barbie that does something!

Was a little small and you can barely see the screen. When you play it back it is very dark and you can barely make out what you recorded

This doll is fun for my daughter and adds a new level of play with her dolls. Unfortunately, my dog also likes her dolls. Apparently, they are quite delicious and Video Barbie's arms were eaten the very same day (Christmas!). Hopefully I'll be able to find new arms for the doll. If you know how to replace arms on contemporary Barbie's I invite your response. All that aside, my daughter does still enjoy playing with this toy.

We got this doll for our five year old for Christmas. She is cute and comes wearing stylish clothing and shoes. Even the upload cable is cute and pink. The video quality is much better than I expected after reading the reviews, and indoors it does well in normal lighting. I was surprised because I had read that you couldn't see video unless it was taken outdoors. So, overall it's fun and a good product. The problem was that she got the doll on Christmas and took videos in the morning. She took some video of our drive to her auntie's house. When we got there it had a low battery sign. She took a few minutes of video there and it was dead. We replaced the batteries. She has left it laying around most of the time, but has picked it up for a couple minutes at a time since then and taken a couple videos. The battery is dead again. We use high quality name brand batteries, but for this I may just stock up on dollar store ones that she can use so they aren't so expensive. It is also a pain to change the batteries as there is one in each upper inner thigh and you have to remove two covers with a philips screwdriver. No biggy, but it is a little time consuming. Overall, I'm glad I purchased it because my daughter loves it, but I wish it came with a charger.

This is undoubtedly a cute idea, but the battery life is ridiculous. Our daughter wanted this Barbie *so* bad, and my mom got it for her for Christmas. After making 2 or 3 videos not more than a couple minutes each, the new brand name long life batteries we had *just* put in were dead. I feel like I have to go buy rechargeable AAA batteries so I'm not wasting money every time she plays with it. I will also have to unscrew Barbie's leg slots just to replace the batteries constantly, and I wonder how long before the tiny screws are stripped. It's a hassle, so be warned!

I got this yesterday for x-mas. beauty: i love the clothes because they are casual. the hair is beautiful so is the face !
video camera: it has to have some light. i think it is hard to shut off. it only records for 30 min. it works best with dolls!
overall i will give it 5 stars.

Bought video barbie for my grandaughter for her vist to my home for Christmas.... Video Barbie was late for our big day... Had to send to her home and when she went to play with,,,,,, Video is so blurry that you can not see.... Spent way to much money on a Barbie with a useless hole in her chest and a useless square hole in her back