Oregon Scientific Smartglobe V3 (Colors May Vary)

by Oregon Scientific

Product Features

• 30 fun and informative topics
• Challenging games you can choose to play alone or two player
• More content with the interactive book ¿ Passport to the World (included)
• Content is always up-to-date by downloading the updates online
• Find out about everything you ever wanted to know about anything

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 12 x 15 inches ; 8.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001B0DWRQ
• Item model number: SG18
• Manufacturer recommended age: 5 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,426 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
  • #17 in Toys & Games > Learning & Education > Globes
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

Product Description

From the Manufacturer

There are 30 fun and informative topics for selection as well as challenging games. You can choose to play alone or two player with a friend. There is even more content with the interactive book ¿ Passport to the World (included). Ensure the content is always up-to-date by downloading the updates online simply plug in the Smart Pen and download. Find out about everything you ever wanted to know about anything. Oregon Scientific develops products with innovative technology which enhances people¿s daily lives. At Oregon Scientific we offer a wide range of learning products that bring technology, interest and positive reinforcement for inquisitive young minds. As well as enhancing the learning experience through licenses from Mattel, Lucas Film, DC Comics, and Hot Wheels. When it comes to developing children¿s minds, Oregon Scientific has the experience and innovation to help kids maximize their true potential. From SmartGlobes and ATC cameras to action packed learning laptops, Oregon Scientific¿s Youth and Learning products lead the way in innovation, technology and design. These achievements have been recognized by key industry analysts and well read publications, including Dr. Toy, Creative Child Magazine, Parents Magazine, producers of the American Toy Test and the Toy Industry Association

Product Description

Oregon Scientific SmartGlobe JuniorTouch sensitive and interactive 3D full color spinning globe. 7 Touch sensitiveareas allow kids to press and select info for anyone of the 7 continents. 10 activity buttons to learn about area specifics such as, animals, geography, people, customs, foods, and much more. LCD screen visually illustrates learning about each geographic area and topic. 3AA batteries included.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

49 of 50 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome Educational Toy/Tool, September 18, 2010

By 

N. BROUSSARD (Longview, Texas USA) - 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 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oregon Scientific Smartglobe V3 (Colors May Vary) (Toy)

This Globe has been working since we purchased in March (2010). It takes a few times to get the download to take. So be patient. I may have downloaded the software several times and repeated the online update several times too. It takes a long time, but I believe this is due to how much information the globe has to download on the first time.

Also, is globe is PC only. NOT compatible with Macs (more computers here are Mac). So I wish it was both PC and Mac compatible.

It is set on level one (easiest) but you can set it to harder level. I bought primarily for my children to use to learn geography (not usually something focused on in the US). The kids are age 5, 3 & 2. Because it is a computer/electronic toy, I don't usually let the children use it unsupervised. I am afraid they might be too rough with the pen when they touch the globe. I remind the children to be "gentle" with the globe. That's the only reason I ranked with 4 stars, but it is kind of like a computer.

I am very impressed with the amount of information that the globe (and books,and poster also work with the pen for history, flags and more) provides names of presidents, national anthems, official languages, current events & even does many things in Spanish. After the first download in March, when I touched current events that week Obama had signed Health Care Reform into law and that was on the globe's current events button for the US (it was the same week!). Also, my husband is from Nigeria and the globe already had the new president's name (Goodluck Johnathan). That was a VERY recent change at the time.

Last night a friend who is a third grade teacher came over and I showed it to her. She said she wanted one for he classroom because it would really help. She was concerned about the costs. I paid $117 for ours from another seller than the one featured today. It is well worth the $117 and maybe more. But for under $100 (today's cost) it is a STEAL.

By the way, we used the globe during the World Cup (international soccer/football) to find where the countries were on the globe and played their anthems, etc. Also, we have friends from India, the Philippines, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Netherlands, etc. & use the globe to show where they are from to the children. Additionally, we went on a cruise this summer, when we got back we located all the ports of call (Jamaica, Mexico, Cayman Islands) on the map and dance to the music related to the country or region.

My young kids know more about geography than I did when I graduated college and I have learned so much more since we've gotten it.

I would recommend this product and would buy more things from Oregon Scientific. I think they make and update the product well.

One final note, I make sure I keep batteries in the pen and the globe up to date.

**** Watch out when you remove the globe, it is very easy to think you are missing pieces. Almost threw away the AC cord****

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Wish I would have purchased the Intelliglobe instead--here's why, March 30, 2011

By 

Michael Hudson (Michigan, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oregon Scientific Smartglobe V3 (Colors May Vary) (Toy)

I purchased this only to find out the hard way that the company still employs mainland Chinese politics. Namely, Taiwan is not labeled on the globe at all it is instead called out as Pacific Ocean a real loss. I wrote to customer service and they provided feeble reasons for their decision to omit Taiwan and they will not be changing that in future software updates. I understand that this is not an issue on the Intelliglobe. I would have returned the globe were it not for a jigsaw puzzle of packaging that was impossible to re-assemble after I unpacked it. Likely the only advantage for this product over intelliglobe is the fact that this product has a built-in table containing a pen activated map of the U.S. Now for the disadvantages that you would bypass if you purchase the Intelliglobe.
1. Intelliglobe has a bigger globe 12" instead of 9"
2. Intelliglobe features tactile raised elements for mountains
3. Intelliglobe has much more memory in the pen 1gB compared to 32mB
4. Intelliglobe seems to provide future updates freely whereas this model requires a $15 per year subscription after the first year

52 of 59 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Where is Taiwan???, January 5, 2010

By 

Tony (MA) - See all my reviews

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

This review is from: Oregon Scientific Smartglobe V3 (Colors May Vary) (Toy)

The Pros-

1. Very educational and not just for the kids.
2. Multiple levels of learning including games etc...
3. Both my children of 3yrs and 5yrs enjoy playing with it.
4. cosmetically looks good. Doesn't look cheap.

The Cons-

1. Missing or incorrect information about some of the locations. A couple examples are:

- Taiwan doesn't exist in the software. If you touch the island you hear "Pacific ocean"

- Kashmir doesn't exist in the software. If you touch Kashmir you hear "the Islamic Republic of Pakistan"

2. It is difficult to accurately point the Pen on smaller targets such as capital cities which is part of one of the games. During the Find the Capital game you will point at the correct city but will get it wrong because it doesn't register.

Overall it is a decent educational toy but seems to be programmed with chinese politics and not western views.