Review of Playskool Alphie

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If you grew up in the 1980's you probably remember Alphie that fun loving robot that taught you all about colors, letters, numbers, math, and more. He is back and better than ever with a new upgrade, this time sporting a much better animated face instead of the plastic face we all remember. My three year old son has been playing with Alphie for the last week and he loves him. He has an electronic voice that is a lot of fun and not at all as annoying as I imagined it might be. My son got mad at me a few times for "taking over".

He seems well built and sturdy, but I will update my review if that changes.Some of the cards in the starter pack include:

-Quick Start Guide

-Matching

-ABC Song

-Music Composition (neat card! Keep adding instruments for new sound combinations!)

-Counting Song

-Color Exploration

-Letters

-Numbers

-Shapes

There is also a "Hide and Seek" mode. Just push the button on top of Alphie's head and he asks you to find a card with a description. For instance, find a card that has pink on it.

New booster packs are available on amazon with at least 2 more slatted for release according to in the information in the box.

The cards are stored on his back when not in use. My only complaint and recommendation is for some type of clear plastic that the card could slide into on the front instead of just sitting loose in the small slot on the bottom. The plastic card tends to 'lean forward' and I am afraid could become badly damaged with regular use by small children.

Highly recommended!!!

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program My wife and I got this for our four-year old daughter. She's been using a computer since she was three and we needed something that was electronic that would hold her attention off the computer (preferably non-video game related). Alphie ended up fitting in perfectly. Despite the fact that she's a bit advanced for games and activities it has, it keeps her interested for quite some time. She's now showing our 6-month old how to use it, so it's likely to become a good starter for her, as well as an excellent bonding tool for the both of them.

Each card has two sides, each with a game/activity. They they range from simple shape matching to letters and math, which I'm quite interested is seeing how my youngest takes to it as we'll use this as an introduction to math and letters. We also find it quite amusing that Alphie seems to have a bit of a personality... it'll come up with all sort of comments between games and steps, such as 'hold on while I drink a glass of water' or 'could you scratch an itch' (complete with button blinking that you must push to sooth Alphie). Alphie will also provide hints at the right answer if the wrong one is selected.

We've had only two minor complaints about Alphie... first, one of the cards isn't recognized. No matter what we do or how it's inserted, there's one card that can't be read by Alphie. The second complaint is durability... the cards are thin laminated cardboard, very similar to a good set of playing cards, so they will bend and wear easily. After a month of use, they've seemed to have stayed in better shape then I expected, but they are beginning to show a bit of wearing. I think once my younger one gets hold of it, the cards won't last much longer. Kids can be a bit rough with toys and laminated cardboard isn't quite forgiving. The cards also limit how young a child can be before they use this toy unsupervised. If my daughter had this when she was two and I walked out of the room for three seconds, I would come back to a pile of bent up and mangled cards. So, overall two is a bit too young for the cards and four is a bit too old for the lessons... that leaves a small age window where Alphie would be best suited. Alphie himself is quite sturdy and rugged. Luckily, you can at least replace the cards.

Overall, this is a highly recommended toy for parents looking to get their kid an electronic device without getting them hooked on video games just yet. As I said, my 4-year old is a bit advanced for the lesson part of the games, but it holds her attention just the same, and for a younger child that's learning, this would be even more valuable.

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Customer review from the Amazon Vine Program When I was a kid something like this would be exotic and high tech. Today, this toy is a great first introduction to electronics for a sub 3 year old kid who will soon move onto tablet computers, kid laptops, and other high tech toys and tools with full touch screen support. I like the Alphie for the nostalgia value as well as for the drool, hard abuse, and torture proof design. This thing is built to take a small child using it as a hammer and as a drool pad, while offering limited educational enhancement. There is never going to be a replacement for mom and dad spending time with their child performing the duties of a parent, but this toy is a nice enhancement.

My Nephew is now 5 and is well beyond this toy. This toys value is really at the 2-3 year old range with the button presses, basic color/letters/numbers, etc., type teaching and anything beyond 4 years old will be quickly bored.

Still, this toy is exactly what is advertised for the age range and is a very cute and well designed device.

Honest reviews on Playskool Alphie

my son is developmentally 3-4 yrs old, even though he is 26, n alfie is teaching him colors, numbers, shapes, the alphabet n he even plays music. my son is learning so much with alfie. i love it, because alfie is using game play to learn. its a wonderful learning tool!

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My daughter received an Alphie for Christmas and it completely quit working within a week! It would not ready any booster cards, even an pack extra that we had bought. I called Hasbro and was told they were getting this complaint a lot and were working to improve it. The nice gentleman I spoke to on the phone emailed me a return address lable so I could return Alphie. It has been a month since I sent Alphie back, and we are still waiting. I called last week and was told to call back this week. After talking to a customer service rep today, I requested to talk to a manager. I was informed by the manager that it is going to take at least another 1-3 weeks, on top of the 4 that we've already waited, before we receive a new Alphie. I told the manager this was the worst customer service I had ever received from any company, and that I am extremely unhappy with their company. I do not plan on buying any more toys from Hasbro and I plan on spreading the word to everyone else. HASBRO CUSTOMER SERVICE IS HORRIBLE!!!!