Customer Reviews

Vtech - V.Reader Animated E-Book System

5 star:		(39)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

We got these for our 3 year old and 5 year old in the car. We had them for 4 days. On day 4 my daughter's V-reader would turn on in "engineering mode" and would not load games or anything. We tried calling the company, but they are a Mon-Fri 8-5 customer service. I sent an email that night (Sunday) and had a return email by 8:30 Monday morning with ideas of how to fix it. None of these worked and we had to return it to where we purchased it for a replacement. It's been almost 2 weeks since then and we haven't run into any more problems.

Pros:
1. You can plug headphones in to it
2. My favorite feature is that my 5 year old can use the pen and touch each word in a story and read it word by word - she only needs to touch the words she doesn't know and can read the others on her own. (She tells me that it first reads you the full page and you can then either turn the page or read it word by word by touching each word with the pen).
3. Very easy to navigate - my 3 year old can do it without any assistance.

Cons:
1. It goes through batteries like crazy. You can buy an AC adapter for it, but one is not included.
2. The cartridges are expensive - $20 each.
3. The battery pack is so tight on one that I can barely get the batteries out when I need to. On the other the compartment is so loose that the batteries often get loose causing the reader not to work until I open the battery compartment and fix it for my kids.
4. The "pen" is not connected to the reader at all and is easily lost. It has a storage space, but is not attached by a string or anything.

Overall we're very happy with the purchase - great alternative to a portable DVD player in the car!

We tried this item on a demo at a local store. My son loved it because it was just like Mommy's Kindle. We both enjoyed the annimation feature. My son has insisted that I help him ask Santa for this for Christmas this year and two weeks after trying it out is still talking about it.

To address a previous reviewer's concerns, it is animated, but it also shows and highlights the words of the story. Also, unlike with the tag and other reading toys, the page turning option does not appear until the entire passage has been read. I've noticed that this discourages my little button pusher from skipping the reading portion and just looking at the pictures.

I've done some research online about this item , and the Vtech website will soon have an ebook library similar to the Kindle. The website says that many of the books offered there will be free. Considering that the Vreader is expensive itself, having free books offered is definitely welcome.

I am really impressed with this toy. It came today with one cartridge book and computer connection cable. It has a Stylus-type pen, a protective screen and good graphics.
Pros:
1. There are a few interactive parts on the displayed pages, but not so many as to be distracting to my daughter, unlike the TAG LeapFrog® Tag Reading System (16 MB) which has so many things she can select on every page that she never actually makes it through the story.
2. She also loves one of the games that came with it that is akin to Whack-a-mole. She is given a word and must select the missing letters as the moles bring them up out of their holes.
a)In the easy mode, the word continues to be displayed at the top of the screen throughout the attempts and the word is spelled for her.
b)In the medium mode, the preview is removed, but the word is spelled for her once and you move into words greater than three letters.
c)In the hard mode, there are no hints (hangman style). Each level also has cute little extras that pop up either removing points if selected, giving bonuses (a mole with a present) or adding time to the counter (a mole with a clock). She loves to select the rabbit that pops up despite losing points because it makes a funny noise and face.
3. The story goes word-by-word, ensuring that she actually goes through the story as it is on screen instead of just jumping around.
4. Like other Vtech toys, this one looks to incorporate a lot of familiar characters into the available stories. Unfortunately, the site for downloading new stories has not been activated yet. It says there will be some free stories, and basic information is available here: [...]
Cons:
1. My only real concern at this point is how much the stories will cost once they are available and how much other cartridges will be. With the initial start-up cost of this item, it could be an expensive investment, much like the TAG ended up being with all the books and limited memory space on the original model.

Overall, my daughter is enjoying this reader immensely. She is thrilled with the touch-screen capability and the content. I'm overjoyed with anything that can keep a 5-year-old's attention for more than 10 seconds AND teaches her!

Purchased the Vtech V.Reader for granddaughters 5th birthday. She missed the cut-off date for kindergarten; is attending preschool. She has enjoyed it, but it does not seem to have staying power.

One reviewer mentioned trying it at the store. She did that, but 5 minutes at the store with a brand new toy is very different from having it at home.

One of the games has the child fill in missing letters for words (sort of like whack a mole - select the mole with the correct letter). The first (easy) level, they give you the letters. When you complete this level correctly, they automatically bump you up to the next level - where the missing letters are not shown. You can press the help button to show the letters (faintly), but granddaughter does not want to have to ask for help for each word. She would like to play the easy level some more - perhaps with longer words - but there is no option to do this. There was a very pained "OH NO!" when the game pushed her into the medium level without asking her.

The "books" are VERY SHORT. The animations you can click on are very minimal.

Went to download the six "free" books for registering - I would NOT pay $5.00 for those "books" (the rate after your free 6). There were 18 titles: 8 were for ages 3-5, 3 were for ages 4-6, and 7 were for ages 5-7. These books were all first available around Nov. 1, 2010. There were I believe 4 Sesame Street books that were $10 and not available for free downloading.

Grandaughter is computer literate and can find her way around several children's web sites (pbs kids for one). This product seems very simple and more appropriate for smart 3 year olds than a 5 year old. She plays with it for 15-20 minutes or so, but then is very bored.

One other problem I have not seen mentioned is the difficulty in removing the cartridge from the machine. This is necessary to change any of the books/games you have purchased. She has strong fingers and can change other game system cartridges by herself, but not this one. Downloaded books reside on a standard SD card that you must purchase and install in the battery compartment.

The good news is that my investment in the V.Reader and 3 of the so-called "books" will not be totally wasted, as she has triplet brothers who are 2 years old and will soon inherit the system.

11/17/2010 Update - I rebooted my laptop last night. I have it set to that I can control what programs access the internet. To my great surprise, the first program asking for access was 'LEARNING LODGE NAVIGATOR' - the Vtech program for the V.Reader that allows one to download books and monitor a child's progress. The pop-up box said that there was an update for the program and to 'click here' to download it. There was no way to click to close the box - the only choice was to download it. Well, stubborn as I am, I used Windows Task Manager (open it with alternate, control and delete pressed at the same time) and closed it that way. This program had no business opening automatically at start-up - just added more things to slow down my aging laptop. Any updating should have been done if and when I opened the program!!

Update 10/3/2010:
We just bought 2 modules. My daughter still uses it everyday. Anything that has this much longevity is amazing....and the fact that my daughter is really learning is great. I should note that my son has found it less appealing....but it could be that my daughter hogs it. :-)

Update 9/1/2010:
I still love it, however, battery life is horrible!!! Now more than ever I think this should have come with an AC adapter.

My daughter is 5 and about to start pre-k and my son is almost 7 and will be starting 2nd grade. My son can read but my daughter cannot. This is perfect for both of them. First off, the fight over who can use it, and then neither wants to give it up! I love anything that teaches my kids and holds their attention by challenging them. It's animated storyteller is great for my daughter and the dictionary is great for my son. Although the cartridges are a bit pricey, I think I will be buying some. I would like to have seen this come with an AC adapter and rechargeable batteries. The screen is about the size of most GPS units. The sound is not bad, and you can use headphones. Between the stories, games, music, etc., there is a lot to keep the kids occupied and interested. I think the target age is right on. This is great for road trips, airplanes, etc. We love it and more so, we love that our kids love it.

The VReader animated e-book works quite well for what it does. Your kids will enjoy learning with the unit and having fun at the same time. The unit comes with one cartridge, and others are sold separately which could become costly after a while. Also, a power cord would have been nice as the batteries are likely to need replacement often with extended use.

The unit is durable as stated, and kids will find it fun to use.
The price may be the biggest obstacle for most parents.
If VTech offers numerous free e-books in the future, that may help offset the initial cost.
I gave it 4 stars due to overall cost of ownership (cartridges, batteries, etc...)

Bottom Line: If you can afford it, your younger kids will love it.

I bought the V.Reader for my son after he became obssessed with my Nook Color. I had downloaded a few apps for him just to keep him entertained while we were at the doctor's office and he would have a fit every time I took it away. The moment I saw this I knew that it would be a match made in heaven and I was right. It's easy to use and absolutely educational. My son has a bit of a speech delay and this is encouraging him to talk. Every time I hear him try to repeat the words on the screen or say 'Yey!' it makes me want to burst into tears.

This is definitely worth the money I spent. I have already bought him a new cartridge to play with and I can't wait to pick up a few more for him. :)

My kids absolutely love their Vreader. I have twins boys that recently turned 4. I purchased them their very own Vreader's for their 4th birthday. This is the best purchase that I have made within the last year. It keeps them occupied for 30 min 2-3 times a day. Games are great for younger kids and are educational, however entertaining as well. One of the downsides is the amount of batteries that are required. We have owned the Vreader for 3 weeks and have already changed the batteries 3 times. I would definitely recommend the battery pack. Also the box says that it is compatible with MACs however if you go online to download the software it says coming soon. I called their 1800 number and asked when the MAC software would be available and they were unable to provide an exact date. The benefits certainly outweigh the downsides and I would recommend to everyone that has younger kids.

I REALLY wanted to love the V Reader. If I had been the one purchasing this for Christmas, I would have done way more research. As it happened, this was a gift to my son from his grandmother. We thought it would be great because my son wanted a Kindle more than anything in the world. However, he is five, so we thought this might be more appropriate.

I should preface this by saying that my son is an extremely proficient reader. He does not generally need things read to him for comprehension. So imagine my surprise when we pulled out the V Reader and the first thing we discovered is that it READS THE BOOKS TO YOU. I thought it would give help on hard words or something to that effect. But no, the INCREDIBLY elementary book that we popped in was read to us. Ok, so there were a handful of games at the end and vocab words, which were the only redeeming feature.

I am stunned that this is marketed to kids up to the age of 7. I find this toy to be more appropriate for children ages 3-5. Plus, I think it is teaching laziness to have an electronic toy reading books to our kids. Can't we read to them?

Plus, every new book you want to read is between 14-20 dollars. Seriously?

I would send this back if it wouldn't offend my son's grandmother. Thankfully, he has lost interest in it and started back in on the Kindle quest. As soon as someone upgrades, we will load some of the free fairy tales onto that and ditch the V.Reader for good.

Take your child's needs into careful consideration before purchasing this expensive item. And remember that as soon as they are bored with one book, the kids will want more books at $15 a pop.

I loved the idea of giving this VReader to my three year old son who loves having us to read to him. I wanted to give him something that he could begin to do on his own, and take with him when we are out. My son already has his older brother's hand-me-down Leapster. My 3 year old has bashed that Leaper around and to its credit, it has kept going-no problem. The problem with the Leapster is my son is simply too young for the games and has a harder time navigating the system. But he still loves his leapster. That now brings me to why I bought the V-Reader. I liked the idea of a Leapster-type of system combined with a book reader for the younger child. It had everything I wanted INCLUDING the ability to ditch most of the cartridges and DOWNLOAD new books to the V-Reader system. That sounded GREAT because my 3 year old has lost at least 5 of his Leapster cartridges, and at $25 bucks a pop - you do the math!! Money down the drain if they lose the game. I purchased the V-Reader and proceeded to do all of the instructions in order to start downloading new books, and it NEVER worked. I am on a Mac desktop that runs OSx and my system is updated. I also update the new V-Tech program interface that allows you to do the downloads and still it did not work. I checked my SD card and even reformatted it before and after each system crash caused by V Tech - Nothing worked. I returned the first V-Reader and got a second V-Reader and that one didn't download properly either. Improper shut-downs with the V-Reader cause corruption of your SD Card (you have to insert an SD card to the V-Reader to download and save new books) the V-Tech website hangs during the downloads and stops communicating during the download session causing your SD card to shut down improperly, this causes a host of other problems. As disappointed as I am that the download portion of the V Reader is CRAPPY, the actual unit still works with the cartridges just fine. So if you don't care about the downloads then it's a great little reader for your kids. As for me, I might as well get something else smaller and more portable if I have to deal with cartridges anyway.