Customer Reviews

Parents Cell Phone Toy (colors may vary)

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

 

 

We bought this phone for our one-year-old son, and he loves it. It's probably not as interesting, educational or colorful as almost of the other toy phones out there, but it looks somewhat like a real phone with the grey color and flip top, so he feels like he's one of us (not sure why we'd want that, another annoying person in the world with a cell phone, but wait... we're his parents, and we're also those annoying people). With his little fingers, he had a difficult time opening the cover, but he eventually figured it out (it's probably best for kids ca. 2 year and up). The record function is sub-Radio Shack bare bones and only lasts for a few seconds--and doesn't store multiple recordings--but it works OK. The edges around the flip top are a little severe, but not unsafe: just not as rounded as other toy phones out there. Now for the kicker: the first two toy phones we bought just flat-out stopped working, so we called the company, got a representative on the line immediately, explained the problem, and they offered to send a replacement phone or give us our money back immediately. Now that's customer service! We just hope that the THIRD phone works and doesn't break. Bottom line: if you want a toy phone that looks a little like a real phone, get this one, but if you want something that is more educational, a little more sturdy and looks more like a toy, get another one, such as the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Learning Phone (we own an older version of this phone and it works great, but makes funny sounds as the batteries become run down).

I was going to buy this phone but after a quick Google search, I found this (and noticed another reviewer experienced this same problem):

http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/prerel/prhtml07/07178.html

NEWS from CPSC
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission
Office of Information and Public Affairs Washington, DC 20207
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 3, 2007
Release #07-178

Firm's Recall Hotline: (800) 247-6144
CPSC Recall Hotline: (800) 638-2772
CPSC Media Contact: (301) 504-7908

Battat Inc. Recalls Parents® Magazine Toy Cell Phones for Choking Hazard
WASHINGTON, D.C. - The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, in cooperation with the firm named below, today announced a voluntary recall of the following consumer product. Consumers should stop using recalled products immediately unless otherwise instructed.

Name of product: Parents® Magazine Record-A-Voice Toy Cell Phones

Units: About 14,000

Manufacturer: Battat Inc., of Plattsburgh, N.Y.

Hazard: The metal pin inside the hinge of the cell phone flip-top can fall out, posing a choking hazard to young children.

Incidents/Injuries: The firm has received 54 reports of the metal pin falling out of the hinge. In two cases, consumers reported finding the pin inside a child's mouth, with one child receiving a cut in the mouth.

Description: The toy cell phone plays different songs, sound effects and user recorded messages. They were sold in polka dot, swirl, floral and stripe patterns, and the Parents® logo is visible inside the flip-top and on the battery compartment cover. Only items bearing date codes 090106 through 101206 are involved in this recall. The date code can be located on the bottom of the product packaging and in the battery compartment.

Sold by: Target stores nationwide from September 2006 to January 2007 for about $8.

Manufactured in: China

Remedy: Consumers should take these toy cell phones away from young children immediately and contact Battat to receive a replacement product or refund.

Consumer Contact: For additional information, call Battat, Inc. at (800) 247-6144 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or e-mail the firm at cellrecall@battatco.com

I agree that this is a really fun toy--my kids loved them while they lasted. We bought two for Christmas and they both broke within a few weeks, and it wasn't because of rough treatment. You can tell that they are definitely cheaply made. Too bad, the features were cool, as other reviewers have described.

My son (11mo.) loves my flip cell phone. We've tried other toy cell phones but they weren't flip phones. This one is PERFECT- it is flip, it has sound AND it lights up. I finially have my phone back!

We have this phone and have enjoyed it. There are a lot of toy cell phones on the market to choose from. I have liked all of the Parents line of toys. This cell phone looks less toy like than most. It's not really "educational" but it is a toy version of a real world item, and children enjoy mimicing and pretending - that in and of itself is LEARNING to live in the world around them. The record a message feature was nice. I would leave my daughter messages when I left for the day so she could still hear mommy's voice. There are many cool prints to choose from.

I was dismayed to learn this toy was just recalled however. Which is unfortunate because I did like it. It looks like ones manufactured between certain dates are the culprits.

[...]

After quickly destroying 4 cell phones from the dollar store, I bought two of these cell phones for the younger 2 boys of our 4 children. I wish I had bought one for each of our children, ages 2-8. The phone allows you to record and play back a short message. We've had lots of fun getting creative with that feature. Also, about 30 seconds after you close the phone, it will ring back. It makes the phone seem more "real". I originally didn't buy this phone for our oldest two girls, ages 6 and 8, because I thought maybe it was too childish or too drab in color for them. But, they are constantly playing with these phones and I have been trying to find more locally, but have been unsuccessful so far. We added stickers to personalize the phones, so the girls could make theirs more "girly" that way. I've not seen any other toy cell phone as nice as this one.

This is a very fun toy. There are numerous buttons and sounds that my children enjoyed very much. After you close the phone, it rings a couple seconds later, and the kids loved to answer it and pretend to talk to people.

Unfortunately the two I bought quit working within a short time of buying them. I bought the first one last year for my son, and it lasted for about a week. First the recording feature stopped working. Then none of the sounds worked. New batteries didn't help, I even opened it up to see if any transistors had burned out or there were any shorts. Didn't find any problems...it just refused to work.

We bought a second one for Christmas 06, and it's already quit too. We'll try to stay away from this brand.

I have a 9 yr old great niece that loves to have pretend phone calls with friends so I thought it would be fun to give her a "cell" phone that wasn't one of the baby toy phones on which she's been playing...my idea to help her grow up a little. This phone was really too young for her...it's very plastic and really geared for a 4 or 5 year old or even younger.

That being said, the seller was great about accepting a return; they handled the transaction very quickly and easily for me.

I would recommend this phone for a young child; it just didn't fit what I was trying to accomplish.

I first bought this children's telephone when my first grandson was almost two. He is now eight, and his two-year-old brother is using it. It is still going strong. The batteries last a long time, and have been replaced only once. What I like best about this telephone is that you have the ability to record a 2-second message on it, which you can change by re-recording over and over again. The phone is virtually indestructible. I have looked for it in stores and couldn't locate it. When I saw that I could still purchase it through Amazon, I bought two of them - one for my third grandson and one to have at my own home when he comes to visit. I can't sing the praises of this product enough!

We've had this toy for around five years and it's still played with (by the same child and new children). My seven year old loves to record things and have it play them back over and over and over. My two year old love the music and that when you close it, it rings, so she can answer it again and again. We have friends over and it's a favorite too. It looks a little beat up after five years and I've changed the batteries a few times. I would definitely recommend.