Customer Reviews

Vtech - Fly & Learn Globe

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I was really excited to get this for my 4 yr old dd last X-mas but she has never really played with it. It is very hard to navigate the plane and it doesn't stop when you reach your destination. Anyway, I would not recommend it. However, my 2 yr old liked playing with it but didn't learn anything...he just liked the plane!

My son has asked for this toy every time we have gone to the store for the past month or so. Finally I gave in and got it for him against my better judgement. I had read the reviews here but and didn't think too highly of this toy but he really doesn't ask for much so I got it for him.
Its a great toy! He has had so much fun flying that plane. I even sat down and gave it a go. I'm not having problems controlling it at all, it does register the places I want it to and its just a fun toy. Perhaps the batteries were low on the toys where it go bad reviews? I think its a great toy, the only thing I think could have been better would be for a few more places to be on the globe, even if that meant making it a bit bigger.
Overall I think this is a great and educational toy.

The Fly and Learn Globe is a talking globe aimed at the preschool market. Unlike standard globes, it only depicts the continents and limits its teaching to approximately 20 or so "destinations". Also unique to this product is an attached plane that the child can "fly around the world" with the attached joy stick.

There are five ways to play. Mode 1 (My first atlas): Landing on a destination will allow the child to hear about the place, its famous sites, the people that live there or learn some simple phrases (hello, thank you, good bye) in the native language. Mode 2 (Find our friends): The child listens to clues and is rewarded if they can fly to the correct friend. Some of the "destinations" are people. Mode 3 (Quiz time): The child listens to clues and is rewarded if they fly to the correct location. Mode 4 (Flight Adventures): The child is asked to find a series of locations. Mode 5 (Music & Sounds): When the child lands on a "destination" they will hear local music or a corresponding sound.

I love VTech toys but this one misses the mark. A preschooler will enjoy flying the plane and hearing the plane sounds but will not have the eye hand coordination to land exactly on the destinations. If they can't hit the targeted destinations then they really will not be able to play in anything but Mode 1. In addition, activating the game requires a double click which I don't know if some preschoolers will remember to do. Finally, the places chosen for destinations don't quite make alot of sense to this reviewer and give a slightly unusual introduction to geography.

Amazon lists the age range as 36 months -12 years but children old enough to master this toy will be very turned off by the graphics and the limited number of destinations. My son is 7 and declared this a baby toy. If you are thinking about getting a talking globe, I would try one of the Leap Frog products.

The concept was a good idea, but the execution a bit flawed. It was difficult to get the joystick to move to the exact location. It also didn't register the place that you wanted to find out about when you clicked on it.

My friend gave this toy to my son for his 3rd birthday. Let me say it's such an educational toy. Not only he learned that Machu-Pichu is in South America, he learned where the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Ocean is on the map. Some reviews complain about the joystick and the plane not landing on the right area. The concept of giving children educational toy is for parents to guide them with it instead of giving them the toy and learn for themselves. My son being only three years old and knowing where the Statue of Liberty, Sydney Opera house, Great Wall of China, etc is a great accomplishment.

This toy contains MAYBE ten pieces of useful/educational information - all of it difficult to get to (joystick is hard to pinpoint with) and accompanied by time-wasting, annoying music.

It's huge and does ONLY these few things.

Plus, for the ages recommended, it's either too difficult to navigate (for preschoolers) or too "childish" (for anyone over 4).

Much better to invest in one piece of geography (Geography with Pipo, for example) computer software for the same money, and TONS more info.

THis toy is a waste of money. I am another who agrees w/ previous comments that it's very hard to navigate w/ the joystick (it's not very precise movement) ESPECIALLY for a child (3 year old- forget about it). as an adult, i had a very hard time getting it to land exactly where intended. I also noticed that, even though the desired location appeared to be inside the little magnifying glass, it would not read as such. good idea- but horrible execution. And NO- my batteries were not low- they are NEW! i think that previous reviewer who had absolutely no problems is suspect...

I like the activities the globe has to offer. It was easy for my 6 yr old to operate. Great activities for learning.

Way too difficult for a tiny child with tiny hands to manage the "airplane" magfifying glass. "Sites" difficult for a grown up to determine, let alone a 3 year old. Would have been nice if they had made the states and countries identifiable. We do enjoy it even with these limitations. Just don't expect too much. I also think there should be more games....it is very limited in it's educational scope.

My wife's sister's husband's mom bought this for my niece... I'll give you a second to work that one out ... and she LOVES it. She flies the plane around the globe even after having the toy for almost a year.

After seeing how much she liked it, I bought this as a Christmas present for one of my friend's kids (four, the same age as my niece), and he loves it too (or at least so my friends say). Here's how I know that little boy got something out of this toy:

My wife and I as well as my friends were vacationing in Mexico. On the phone the little boy said, "Daddy take care of Mommy when you're in Mexico. They have dangerous Pyramids there." Now there were no pictures of Mayan pyramids on this globe, and he probably got mixed up with Egypt, but the point is that he was at least somewhat aware of the wider world out there!

Would definitely recommend this to anyone with kids 3 or older. My only (minor) critique is that the "North South" control on the joystick is WAY too sensitive. You can go from the South to the North pole in about a second, and even adults have trouble steering it. The East-West control is an appropriate speed. My niece just physically moves the plane North-South while using the joystick East-West (the toy holds up well to this).