.com REVIEW: The SmartyAnts Phonics Reading Pup is an educational companion that offers your child a fun, interactive way to learn to read. The cuddly robotic dog comes with a one-month membership to the SmartyAnts Web site, an innovative site that includes a vast variety of stories and games to help children ages four to seven (preschool to first-grade) develop reading skills. Download songs and stories from the site to the puppy, and he will sing phonics-based songs and tell stories that help children practice reading skills.Phonics Reading Pup White Dog (One-Month Membership) Age/Weight Requirements: Ages 4 to 7 Assembly Requirements: Requires three AA batteries (included), computer with Internet access for downloading additional songs and stories from within the SmartyAnts World Vibrant online world offers entertaining learning experiences. View larger. Offers a customized reading program for your child. View larger. Teaches phonics, letter-recognition, and word-building skills through a range of activities. View larger. Over 300 learn-along songs reinforce your child's new skills. View larger. The cuddly 11-inch pup comes pre-loaded with 10 songs. View larger. About SmartyAnts: The First Step to a Lifetime of Reading The SmartyAnts online educational system was developed by Mike Wood, the founder of LeapFrog, a leading developer of educational toys. Finding ways to inspire and help children learn to read has been Wood's focus and passion for the last 15 years. To create the SmartyAnts Phonics Reading Pup and the online SmartyAnts World, he collaborated with a team of renowned experts in the fields of education, animation, and entertainment. The SmartyAnts World tailors to each child's individual reading ability using a series of questions that parents answer when first registering with the site. This helps ensure that children are engaged, challenged, and rewarded while taking their first steps toward the fun and wonder of a lifetime of reading. The system is designed to teach pre-kindergarten through first grade reading skills in accordance with state standards. When you register your child for the SmartyAnts World, your child chooses and names a virtual Ant avatar and selects and names three virtual Ant Friends. These Ant Friends are programmed to model good manners, positive teamwork, and cooperation, becoming a fun and helpful part of the learning process. The SmartyAnts World is a password-protected, secure online educational system.Cuddly Companion Helps Teach Reading Skills The fluffy white stuffed puppy toy stands approximately 11 inches tall and is surprisingly soft and plush despite its robotic mechanisms. It comes loaded with 10 songs designed to help teach your child the alphabet, letter sounds, phonics, word building, and rhyming. The dog also includes one story and song that combines all of these educational motifs. Press either of the puppy's front paws to activate the songs or story. The dog moves his head and body while he sings or tells a story in his pleasant tenor.Fun Online World Helps Kids Meet Reading Standards This Phonics Reading Pup comes with a one-month membership to the SmartyAnts online educational system. SmartyAnts was developed by the founder of LeapFrog in collaboration with a team of educational experts to provide pre-readers and early readers with fun tools that help develop skills in an interactive and personalized environment. SmartyAnts.com has a customized reading program that keeps pace with your child, helping her to stay challenged, rewarded, and learning. SmartyAnts has plenty of tools to help your child learn letter sounds and start building them into words, sentences, and fun whimsical stories. The curriculum is designed to meet or exceed reading standards in all 50 states for pre-K, kindergarten, and first-grade levels. The SmartyAnts game is secure and password protected, and it is designed to let kids play independently and learn at their own pace. The SmartyAnts online world includes a wide selection of reading games and activities, more than 60 stories, over 300 sing-a-long songs, and 125 learning videos that provide phonics, letter-recognition, and word-building skills.Plug Pup In to Download More Fun Reading Tools Connect the Phonics Reading Pup to your computer with the included USB cable. While your child plays in the SmartyAnts.com World, the pup will automatically choose from over 300 learn-along songs that will reinforce the skills your child is learning. Your child can practice the skills they learn online anywhere they take the puppy. The Phonics Reading Pup requires three AA batteries (included), as well as a Phillips screwdriver for inserting and replacing the batteries.Purchase Details The purchase of the SmartyAnts Phonics Reading Pup comes with a free one-month membership to SmartyAnts.com.What's in the Box SmartyAnts Phonics Reading Pup (White Dog), USB cable, parent guide, and a gift card with one-month membership to the SmartyAnts World.System Requirements PC Minimum System Requirements: (Hardware and Software) OS: Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 (Windows XP/Vista recommended)Processor: Pentium 4 or equivalentMemory: 512 MB (1 GB recommended)Video Memory: 128 MB (256 MB recommended)Video card with pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 3.0Sound Card: DirectX Compatible2 GB of free disk spaceDirectX: 9.0c or 10Available USB portKeyboard and mouseBroadband Internet connectionMac Minimum System Requirements: (Hardware and Software) MAC OS X 10.5 operating system softwareInternet browserIntel-based Mac1,024 MB of RAM (2,048 MB recommended)Video Memory: 128 MB (256 MB recommended)Video card with pixel shader 2.0 and vertex shader 3.02 GB of free disk spaceAvailable USB portMonitor resolution of 1,024 x 768Keyboard and mouseBroadband Internet connection
S**D
Lots do do and learn
Bought this product for a 5 year old child of a friend who was having challenges with learning his phonic sounds and other early reading skills. Decided Xmas was too long to put off helping him with his reading so I delivered it Thanksgiving day. His parents called me after 2 weeks and said his attitude towards reading has turned around and is very positive. He plays on-line for a half hour when he comes home from kindergarten and they see a more confident learner. They have bought the other dog for his 4 year old sister and the subscription for one year.It's nice to feel good when a gift last longer than 15 minutes of playtime as so many do today. This one appears to offer lifetime giving if it motivates kids to learn. Thanks Smarty Ants people.
O**A
Cute dog, but has limitations - KIDS LOVE HIM!
I really want to give this a 3, but the kids absolutely love him, so I have to go with a 4. He is cute, cuddly and adorable. Yes, the robotic dog is adorable and his test mode is almost worth the price! He is soft and cute and watching his mouth move intrigues the little ones. However, after we get past that, it becomes a problem. Downloading his software to a MAC was impossible. We could not get him to work on a MAC depsite our system meeting all the requirements listed on the box. Not a problem, let me just download it to my pc. Sigh. Okay, another long task, but it will all be worth it, right? I enrolled my just turned 4 year old at the SmartyAnts site. Again, this download takes some time. It was fun to jump in the pool and catch the right letter! However, how do you get out of the game? There is no "escaping" the letter pool. You have to continue on to see how many you get right or wrong in order to continue.I thought that the SmartyAnts dog would read my child stories, but that's not really the case. You have to work through each lesson and sort of "earn" the story. For a child that is just learning, this makes it difficult. They aren't going to earn that story right away.Cost? Compared to free preschool games you can find online, I had to ask myself, "Would this really be worth $25 for three months?" The answer was fast, "no, not really". If I had received this as a GIFT and it had come with a years subscription, then maybe it would be worth it. I just don't see the cost benefit here.Also, where oh where is the music section for SmartyAnts? It was nowhere to be found for us. I suppose we didn't "earn" it??? No idea, but again, I thought we were going to get a dog that would sing songs and read stories. I didn't realize all these things had to be earned.I will have to try it out with an older child and see how they do with it. It didn't work out to more than a cute robotic dog for my advanced four year old.
S**R
He's hiding in the closet
Very, very cute little dog... but I won't put up with all the hoops of signing up for Smarty Ants and downloading the large files, then paying the monthly fees to keep a subscription.Here are their listed PC Minimum System Requirements:Operating System: Windows XP Service Pack 2, Windows Vista or Windows 7Processor: Pentium 4 or EquivalentMemory: 512 MBVideo Memory: 128MB with Pixel Shader 2.0 and Vertex Shader 2.0Sound Card: DirectX CompatibleDirectX: 9.0cHard Drive Space: 2GBAs I'm sure the owner of this company is noticing, parents don't want to pay monthly subscription fees for games. The thing is, there's already a lot on the market for phonics and reading readiness-- handheld games for kids, books, free programs on the computer (like Starfall), TV gaming console systems, etc. And with any of the physical products, you own them and can pass them onto your next kids, your family members, resell them, donate them to a charity, etc. With a subscription, as soon as you stop paying, it's gone and there's no value left in it for you.This would have to be stupendous for me to pay on an ongoing basis-- and from what I've seen, it's not. What's available on the dog without signing up already got on my nerves, and the preview video was nothing special. So I'm left with a cute stuffed animal that's hiding in the closet now because I don't want to hear the darn "Cat on Mat" rhyme again.
B**S
Cuddly fun (for the little one)
I don't think anyone will argue with the fact that this is one extremely adorable toy - even before it's turned on! Add to that some surprisingly realistic movements when it's "on" - opening and closing mouth, head movements that cause the floppy ears to flap wildly - the end result is, if not audible laughter, at least a lot of smiles.So if you're looking for a very enjoyable toy, this is it. However, if your goal is to use it as a teaching toy, I personally doubt that it would teach a child anything except how quickly he/she can drive their mother insane, at least in the talking mode. The songs are slightly less annoying, however, than in the grotesquely idiotic sounding words.And then there's the matter of having to buy a subscription. If I find it irritating to listen to the initial selections, why would I want to buy more?This grumpy grandma's advice: Try to find a test demo before buying.
