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61 of 61 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wish I had one of these when I was a kid..., July 15, 2004
Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars Educational:5.0 out of 5 stars
This is an incredible toy for the value. I wish I had something like this as a kid, and in fact, I remember wishing they had something like this. As far as fun, I have to give this five stars. I mean, cartoons on the go? What could be more fun for a kid? And for adults, what could be better than having your child quiet for half an hour while you're driving or out shopping? As a plus, some of the cartoons can be fun for adults (Spongebob) and there's also PVDs containing episodes of popular grown-up shows like "Trading Spaces," "Monster Garage" with more on the way. Educational value is also a five. While Spongebob may not seem terribly educational, some episodes have some sort of moral, like the episode "Procrastination." There are also shows like "Jeff Corwin," the guy from Animal Planet. So, with the right PVDs, kids can have fun watching programs that have good entertainment value, but also teach something. Durability. Well, one reviewer commented that the VideoNow Color broke when her child dropped it. While I do understand that kids do drop toys, consider this is like a CD player or portable DVD player, and ask yourself, "Would this withstand being dropped?" The answer most likely is no. In general, electronic devices, especially one at this price, are not the most robust. It can handle being jostled in a backpack or slathered in sticky candy juices, so I'd have to say that if you have a child who takes care of his/her toys, then the VideoNow Color should last quite a while. The backlit LCD has a hard plastic cover over it, so there is little worry about puncturing and should be protected from most damage caused by being bounced around in a bag. Downsides: Proprietary disc format (no playing DVDs, VCDs or homemade discs), uses three AA batteries, which can get costly (better to invest in rechargeables) With that said, this is a wonderful toy for a child of any age, although the package states ages six and up. I bought this gadget and am fairly impressed with its construction and function, considering the price of this device--a backlit color LCD is not a cheap thing to include in a device meant for a child. Even though this device is rated to last 5-8 hours on three AA alkaline batteries, which is actually pretty good, you'll probably want to invest in rechargeables if you expect a lot of use. And just for reference, the unit is about the size of a portable CD player, just a bit fatter because of the room needed to incorporate the LCD. As for content, the price isn't bad, even if you have to rely only on VideoNow-only discs. Assuming your average DVD costs $20, you can find a 3-pack of VideoNow PVDs for about five dollars less, and they can contain about the same amount of episodes as its DVD counterpart. With that said, cost-wise, if you were thinking of investing in a DVD player to keep your kids entertained while on the road, this device will save you a ton of money.
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