List Price: $99.99
Sale Price: $59.00
Today's Bonus: 41% Off
I was DESPERATE for a birthday present for my hard to buy 11 year old son! Hated to spend this kind of money on a present before Christmas but I was afraid he was tired of getting the usual LEGO'S, Video games...etc! I purchased this knowing NOTHING about it. The store clerk said, "we sell alot and never get any back!" The day before his birthday, I took a chance and purchased this. IT WAS NOT A MISTAKE!
The unit is a PEN that actually writes. You MUST have the special paper which is 9.99 per notebook. Caution your children that this paper is for the Fly Pen use ONLY!
The pen works with a AAA battery. I did not purchase the charger. You will want the speaker though.
This package gives you everything you need to familiarize yourself with the product but buy another notebook and a speaker!
You will want to open this one early and spend some time familiarizing yourself with it before giving it to your child. The functions take practice and patience! DO Purchase a Fly Notebook and practice with this so you can start your child off correctly. I did this so I did not have to mess with the "start-up" kit that comes with this package. With practice and patience, I found this to be easy to figure out..and I DO NOT consider myself to be a technology buff. We busy moms like things quick and easy!
You turn the pen on, and touch the point on the icons that are on the bottom of the (fly notebook) sheets of paper...(these notebooks are sold separately). The pen will give you menu options, similiar to "phone menu choices". YOu select your choice by touching the icon. It pretty much guides you through the process. It will ask you to write letters, (usually the initials of what you want to play) and circle them. For example "Fly Tones" you write FT and circle it. It will guide you through the process of drawing your keyboard. "draw nine vertical lines", "connect them at the bottom", for example.
This DOES take practice and patience. My 11 year old has spent quite a bit of time with the instruction manual and the pen attempting to "figure it out." He is that kind of kid though. My soon to be 8 year old wants one for Christmas and I will have to help him learn to use it.
This is Certainly NOT a toy and is NOT an out of the box and instant fun thing. I can see it having quality educational value over time. I have purchased the spelling and math packs (29.99 a pop..WHEW...) and will review them when they are opened. So far, this pack has been enough.
This comes with earbuds and a small plastic case.
This package with a AAA battery, the additional speaker, a notebook, patience, practice, and time are all you need to get started with the Fly Pen.
I recommend it despite the "priceyness" of the actual unit AND the accessories because as with MOST "Leap Learning" tools, their abilities are far beyond what the item exposes with the first couple of uses. Like most parents, I have never been disappointed with this company's products. I am amazed at this product's abilities with my and my sons limited exposure to it over this past weekend.
Finally, I LOVE how this FORCES you to write neatly AND follow-directions! This is perfect for those middle school children who are still in "primary-land" as far as their writing skills are concerned.
Great product from the folks at "LEAP"!
Rosemary
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It's unfortunate a few posters feel the need to bash this product, it is obvious that they haven't used the product. Get a life. Here is my review:After reading about the Fly over the last several months, I had to go buy one just to satisfy my curiousity. I was first struck by the weight, I thought it would be much heavier and clumsy to use. But that is not the case well done. Then I "tapped" through the initial settings card, and was impressed that it was recognizing the areas that were tapped. Immediately you are left thinking "how does this work?"
From there I wanted to check out the letter and word recognition. I wrote a letter, and it was announced back. Again, scratching head, "how'd they do that?" That was fine and all, but what I thought was more interesting were the game and educational sheets that were included. There is a map of the United States, and you can tap on any state and have the state or capitals aanounced. Games are "built-in" to this map, for instance you are told to tap on the correct state after a city is announced. If I tapped on the incorrect state, the FLY would say "try 200 miles northeast". Thought that was cool.
In addition to the map, there are crossword puzzles, quizzes, calculator, other puzzles, music games, weird sounds, schedulers, etc.
I didn't realize all this came with the FLY, and I was sort of blown away by the power of this pen at that time. My mind started to realize that there are numerous possibilities and uses for this device which will evolve over time.
Before trying out the FLY I was sort of skeptical, since it isn't your normal computer with a screen and keyboard, with all interaction being audio. But I was surprised to find myself immersed in the environment. This type of interaction completely makes sense for a range of applications such as those included with this pen.
My three year old (soon to be four) watched me and then started using it. He was very excited about it, and can only play with some of the applications right now. I have seen some reviews say it may be hard to use, but that is far from the truth. The kids will have no problems. If my three year old had no problems tapping on sounds, drums, countries to hear national anthems, then anyone can use this.
To sum up my review: Excellent job done, my hats off to the designer and all those responsible for taking this idea all the way. I'm looking forward to future software applications and to my child getting older!
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Jameson Thottam on a great gift thats not just for kidsMy wife and I purchased the Leapfrog Fly Pentop Computer for our cousin as a Christmas gift this year. I have to say that it is impressive. I find it difficult to believe this gadget markets toward children rather than adults. It would take only minor tweaking to make this unit into a fully functional piece of portable hardware equal to a PDA for adults. Marketed age on the box states it is for children 8 years old and older. However, I have to admit that it is hard to figure out who likes this device more cousin, or her mother.
Perks and Problems ^Jameson Thottam^
Like most gadgets, it has highs and lows with perks and problems. Overall, any child will enjoy the Fly but I believe academically gifted children will find it more enjoyable than the average child who is more into sports rather than math, science, or reading. The musical games will hold any child's attention but beyond that, I can't say for certain. My cousin is in the academically gifted group. She would rather read a book, play a math game, or solve a puzzle than play outside. It is simply her nature. She does not fall into the athletic group.
The Technology ^James Thottam^
The Fly Pentop Computer relies on an optical scanner. It scans everything written on the special Fly paper. It records, provides playback, and can translate languages in addition to working out math problems with a hand-drawn calculator. The computer costs approximately $99 and comes with the follow:
One Fly Pentop Computer
Earbud headphones (Great device!)
Plastic Case
Fly Launch Pad Guide
17 Games
35 pages of special Fly paper
3 interactive Fly cards
1 silver face plate (other interchangeable colors available)
2 rechargeable batteries
1 charging station
The computer comes with a cartridge to allow play straight out of the box. The interactive guide walks you through setting up the pen including time, date, volume control, and many others. The Fly paper allows immediate game play and educational play. For example, you can draw a calculator just like the face of every calculator on the market and then tap the pen tip to the numbers, math signs, and then equal sign to get your answer. Draw a set of piano keys or a drum set to begin playing music from the paper. Or, open the interactive guide to play with a multitude of musical instruments where you compose your own sounds, record them, and play them again and again. The musical card section offers a sort of musical Simon-says game. The computer will begin playing musical sounds and then let you copy them. Each level becomes more difficult than the previous one. This enhances memory skills with music while allowing free musical expression. Write out important dates to have the computer remind you later. Play games with friends with their own Fly pens. The possibilities are endless especially with new cartridges called Flyware on the way. Encourage penmanship with the Fly computer. It has difficulty reading sloppy handwriting so improved penmanship is important. Many compare the Fly pen to a child-size PDA that has educational and outright fun games that teach as they provide enjoyment. The learning curve is not difficult. Simply tap the M on the special paper or draw the letter M in a circle and tap it with the pen tip to get access to the menu commands. Follow the prompts to be on your way to calculating math, playing games, composing music, and making scheduling dates.
Accessories are still there ^Jameson L Thottam^
Accessories can become expensive over time but once obtaining other modules, it evens out. The modules for Fly include Fly Journal, Fly through Spanish, Fly through Spelling, Fly Games, Fly Ball, Fly Ball Expansion Pack, Fly through Math Multiplication and Division, Fly through Tests 6-8 th grade Math, Science, Social Studies, and two sizes of Fly Notebook along with Fly Paper.
Modules ^Jameson Thottam^
Fly modules run approximately $8 through around $30. The ink refills are a 2-pack for around $8. Fly Catcher Paper, 35 sheets with Fly Pentop, costs around $5 for 3 pads of 25 sheets. Fly offers a Batman module strictly for fun for about $30. Additional extras include a nicer pen case, a carrying bag with plenty of space for the charger and pen along with cartridges and paper. Additional face plates come in four different colors and are relatively cheap to purchase.
Saving the Best for Near Last ^Jameson Thottam^
The best part about the Fly Pentop Computer and the accessories is the fact that many local department stores carry them in stock. Leapfrog does not force parents to special order accessories or replacement items through expensive catalogs, online stores, or telephone orders. A stop at the local department store such as Walmart, Target, K-Mart, and others saves time and shipping costs.
The modules as well as the games are educational-related; any child that plays with the computer pen will undoubtedly improve in academics.
Pitfalls ^Jameson Thottam^
The Fly Pentop Computer does have some downfalls or areas where improvement would be beneficial. The pen itself is a bit heavy but not so much that it is too heavy on the top end. In a way, this is a good thing since it makes the unit larger and less apt for a child to loose it. If redesigned for adults, a thinner, sleeker version would be best.
Fixes ^Jameson Thottam^
I wish the pen could compute on regular paper. My cousin is an avid writer so she goes through paper rather quickly especially with the Fly Journal. Her mother and I have purchased two of the replacement Fly Catcher Paper and one extra Fly Journal.
The pen on and off button is a but cumbersome. It has an on/off switch but also has a switch to engage the pen. This is really no biggie but it would be nice if both turned on at the same time it clicks into pen mode. So far, the ink holds up well but I plan to purchase refills within the next week.
The pricing of the modules could stand to come down a bit too. Perhaps that will happen as the Fly Pentop becomes more popular.
Jameson Thottam
Honest reviews on FLY™ Pentop Computer
In any event, I read the comments and many of them say how expensive it is. Well, I bought one for my son and let me tell you, it is not nearly as expensive as the iPOD he wants or the Xbox he wants. It ranks up there in terms of top gifts for kids. So, if you are worried about spending too much, buy the pen instead of the iPOD people!!!!
The games and things are fun, but what I found really valuable is the spelling module. I spend a lot of time working with my son on spelling for school spelling tests and the FLY pen makes it fun and uses his words for his class.
So, in summary:
Fun YES
Expensive No, have you seen the XBOX prices and what about the prices for add'l games.
Cheap Also No
Educational Definitely
I have to give it 5 stars.
Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for FLY™ Pentop Computer
Bought this for my daughter's 10th birthday. She wanted it very much and I thought it would be such a hit. Well initially it was, but it's in the playroom, sitting on it's charger, where it's been for several days now. I wanted to make sure she would have things do with it, so I bought flygames, the journal and the speaker as well. She did get a big kick out of it at first and did some of the activties in the games book. The pen works very well and she had no problems getting it to work. The games book requires you to draw in it with the pen's ink, so you cannot reuse the games and I haven't seen other versions of the game book, so once it's used then what??? She wants the spanish translator for Christmas which isn't cheap and I'm not sure if I want to drop any more $$$ into this thing.Just a note: My daughter is an avid reader, but is not as motivated to write, so maybe if your child loves to write/draw the Flypen would be better for them??
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