FunKeys Specialty Starter Kit

by Radica

Product Features

• 43 Collectable Funkeys
• New games in each zone
• Earn coins to purchase items and customize your crib!
• Share your crib with friends online
• Contents: 1 Funkey Hub with USB Cable, 4 Funkeys, and 1 Installation Disc

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 4.5 x 8 x 11.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B000SDY4FG
• Item model number: M0861
• Manufacturer recommended age: 8 years and up
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #95,840 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

This specialty starter kit will have you well on your way to U.B. Funkey world -- and a possible collection addiction. Funkeys are creative vinyl characters that plug into a larger Funkey hub attached to a computer in order to travel around their virtual world, play games, build a "crib," and interact with other Funkeys. This starter kit includes the 5-inch-tall white Funkey hub, USB cable, two 2.75-inch-tall Funkeys, and installation software. All in all there are 42 different Funkey characters: three different colors in 14 different designs. Of the three in each design, one is quite common, one is rare, and the third is very rare by collection standards.

There are 42 curious, cute, and collectible characters in all.

To log your Funkey on, simply stand it on the "hub" attached through the USB port. You’ll see your character’s avatar match the appearance of the Funkey plugged in and you’ll be able to visit locations and play games that are attributed to that Funkey’s properties. To encourage collection of additional Funkeys, Radica implemented a few clever rules. For instance there is a coin system, which awards different coin values depending on the Funkey currently in play. Items that can be purchased with those coins also vary with the character in use, and, lastly, certain games are only unlocked and available if the right Funkey is plugged in to the hub. Which means the more Funkeys you collect, the more virtual places and games you can experience and the more coins you can accumulate.

The 2.75" character stands in the 5" hub to connect.

By playing games in the U.B. Funkeys world, characters earn coins that they can then use for purchasing items for their "crib." These rooms are customizable, from wall colors to furniture and plants to accessories, and can also be uploaded for friends to see. Just give your "crib" a name, share it with your friends, and they can visit anytime they’re logged on. There are four zones that offer a total of 16 games for players to conquer, and 30 stores where they can spend their hard earned coins on more than 1,000 virtual items. Now the question is: Are you Funkey?

System Requirements

Windows Vista/XP/2000ME/98 operating system

800 MHz processor (1.3 GHz recommended)

256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended)

1 GB free hard disk space

USB port

32 MB video card (64 MB recommended)

8X CD or DVD drive

Sound card

Keyboard and mouse

Product Description

Characters may vary. Collectible figures unlock a virtual world filled with games and items. Play the games in the zones you unlock to earn coins; then buy items that you can use to decorate your "crib." Post your crib online for all of your friends to see. Includes one FunKey Hub with USB cable, four additional FunKeys and one installation CD. FunKey Hub measures 5" tall; each character measures 2.75" tall. Characters may vary.

System Requirements; Windows Vista/XP/2000ME/98, 800 MHz processor (1.3 GHz recommended), 256 MB RAM (512 MB recommended), 1 GB free hard disk space, USB port (USB cable included), 32 MB video card (64 MB recommended), 8X CD or DVD drive, sound card, keyboard, mouse, Adobe Flash 9 (included).

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

89 of 92 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Funkeys - great toy, less than great software, October 24, 2007

By 

David Tootill (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:2.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: FunKeys Specialty Starter Kit (Toy)

My 8-year old son loves the UB Funkeys, plays it every chance he gets, and has already acquired several new Funkeys. It's a little like Club Penguin without the monthly fee - though the cost of the new Funkeys would pay for several years of Club Penguin so it's not clear you're saving anything. Still, it'll be a hit for most preteen kids. BUT...

You've got to get it working first. The out of box installation fails - you have to download a driver patch from their website (which is now fully operational - it wasn't working properly when I installed, which colored the experience). The patch has to be installed during product installation - read the installation instructions on both the toy and the patch very carefully.

Another major glitch occurred after my son had been using it for a while. The Funkey software "phones home" on startup, and suddenly decided it wanted to download and install an update. It did this when my son started up the game, with no prior notification and no request for confirmation. Unfortunately, the installation failed because my son does not have administrator privileges, and afterwards the game was unusable. I had to reinstall, which lost all history files, so my son had to start over (fortunately, the game is fun enough that he didn't mind).

In my opinion, there's no excuse for not requesting confirmation and permission for a download, or for assuming all people playing a toy aimed at preteens are administrators. There's also no excuse for not providing an option to preserve player history on a reinstall. So the Radica people deserve credit for creating an addictive toy, and also deserve a slap to the face for not understanding some basic principles of user-friendly software design.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars U.B. Funkeys are FUN, October 10, 2007

By 

Sally Jenkins "Sally Regan-Alabama" (Montgomery, AL United States) - 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: FunKeys Specialty Starter Kit (Toy)

I ordered U.B. Funkeys for my grandson's birthday. He has had a lot of fun with it. I then found the Funkey's at Wal-Mart, so you can broaden you base without having to wait on an order. Amazon's price for the starter kit was much lower than Wal-Mart.
It does get old - quick, unless you purchase more Funkeys.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars u b had!, December 10, 2007

By 

K. Javen (Los Angeles) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: FunKeys Specialty Starter Kit (Toy)

Stop before you buy this. Target has all of these for more than half the cost less. I was so irritated to find many items listed here so inflated. Who do they think we are? The smaller "rare" u b funkys are only 5 dollars at Target and the beginner kit was 14.00. Don't get had by these pirates. Shame on Amazon for allowing this.
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I also found inflated prices for the idog amped. It is only 27.00 at Target, not 57.00!!!OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!