Customer Reviews

iCarly Wireless Text Messenger Organizer/FM Player - White - one color, one size

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I purchased this item for my 8 year-old niece, who is a huge iCarly fan. Her mother did not want her to have a cell phone yet, but she covets her big sister's ability to text. This seemed like it would be perfect for her. However, the item is ridiculously difficult to operate. The buttons are extremely tiny, and believe it or not, the text machines do not include a QWERTY key set! Instead, they include only numbers with ABC, DEF, etc. labels like a telephone. In order to type, "hi," for example, you have to hit the 4, then the right arrow button, then the 4 again. And while the manufacturer couldn't manage to include a full key set, the machines do function as a currency converter, calculator, telephone number storage device, and world time coverter. These functions mean that there are a ton of buttons having nothing whatsoever to do with texting that most kids are unlikely to ever use. What 8-12 year old needs to convert currency?! And if they have telephone numbers to store, they probably already have a phone with real texting capability. Perhaps I was expecting too much, but I also thought you would be able to just type in a message and hit send, then the message would appear on the matching text machine. Oh no. Instead, you first "type" it using the number pad, then hit send, then you are asked "P/I?" to which you must respond with the "ICQ call" button, which is different than the "private call" button. Still your text will not go through - the receiver also has to hit "chat" on their machine to get the message. And if you are in private mode, you also have to enter the recipient's secret code, which must be programmed in. We spent hours trying to get this process to work smoothly, and were extremely frustrated. It took several minutes just to set the time, only to be told at the final step - "Error!" I gave this one star instead of zero because the FM radio function does work. What a wasted opportunity for what could have been a cool, simple toy. I am only sorry that I could not return it because I didn't want to rip the toy out of niece's hands. Hated it.

We bought this for our 7 year old year granddaughter, which was within the age group this toy was marketed for. The problem is that someone who is "gadget-knowledgeable" can program it to be used. If the kid is not computer savvy, it may be not a good toy to buy for.

Similar to other texting toys but with FM player. Ditch the player and buy cheaper brand. Encourages spelling and very fun to play except the price. The $13.99 Hello Kitty brand works just as fine!

This thing is needlessly complicated and just plain annoying in how little it does without putting in maximum effort. We lost the instructions, and...there is no going back. We get an error code (or something) when trying to do anything and have no idea how to button-push our way out of it. I want to smash this thing.

This toy is way to difficult to use the instructions are confusing, you have to be literally right in front of each other to send or recieve messages...my daughter was hoping to be able to text her dad in the other room and to her dissapointment it did not work at all...these things are useless...

This toy is designed for kids 8 and over. The instructions were difficult for an 8 year old to follow. Then I tried and it got it set up. The thrill was lost by my daughter to play with it. But she did for a while and then sat it to the side. It's not worth your money.

My 8 year old daughter has so much fun with this messenger. When her friends come over, they run around the house sending each other "texts". They will spend hours doing this.

So far, both units have seemed durable since they have been dropped quite a few times.

The price is reasonable, and I don't see her getting bored with it anytime soon.