New 'Pentop' Computer To Help Children Learn

theodp writes "Educational toymaker LeapFrog is introducing the Fly "pentop" computer, a talking computer hidden within a pen the size of an electric toothbrush. Available in mid-October for $99 at Wal-Mart and Target, the device responds to written commands and is aimed at 9-14 year-olds who can use it as a calculator, a calendar, to create and record music, and to play logic and geography games."

Comments

Are they mad?

[Zachary Kessin]

I have 2 kids who are about 14, and I got to say there is no way I would give them something that costs $99 and is the size of a pen. They would loose it in 3 days.

another computer?

[michalf]

great!

Now how can I tell my children that hiking, climbing, biking gives much more fun than electronic gadgets??? Do you really think such gadgets are good for children?

Somehow I am getting more and more sceptical about these pseudo-educational gadgets.

michal

Re:another computer?

[Lumpy]

Now how can I tell my children that hiking, climbing, biking gives much more fun than electronic gadgets???

How? by getting off your ass and doing it with them. my techno-girl daughter hated camping and hiking until I exposed her to geo-cache activities. I bought her a $119.99 GPS and she combines computers and hiking, camping, biking and outdoor activities. Plus we get to do these things as a family, she is learning a skill that 99.997% of the populace lack.... the ability to search for and find things that are hidden or not obvious with neon signs pointing at them.

This summer I upped the ante. we did a geo-cache locating hunt without a gps. we plotted the location on a paper map and went searching with only the map and a compass.

THAT is how you get your kids outside.

over-priced and kinda ... dumb

[YuriGherkin]

Is it just me, or does this gadget come across as just ... stupid and overpriced ? Seriously, you have to buy their "special" paper to use it!

Why would you pay so much for a device without a screen? You can pick up a Palm Zire 31 for around USD$130 and you get something that kids would think is SO much better than a talking pen.

"[the pen] can "see" what you write, read it out loud, and respond to written commands."

Oh yeah, I can just see kids using it to spell a whole load of non-educational words and have the pen read them out aloud in the classroom. LOL!

Yeah, _THIS_ looks valuable

[$RANDOMLUSER]

One of the many gushing tidbits from TFA:

It took me a while to get hang of using the calculator (the circled "C" is the shortcut), one of Fly's really cool features. Following Fly's instructions, you draw a calculator box with numbers including "plus" and "minus" symbols on a piece of Fly paper. Then, you tap the numbers you want to calculate with the pen, and the gadget makes additions, subtractions, divisions, and multiplications for you. Here, too, you need good handwriting.

OK, so I need special paper, good handwriting, I draw a picture of a calculator, tap the numbers, and it speaks the answer. What could be simpler?

The UI on this thing sounds horrible, and the features it provides don't sound fun or useful, but other than that, it seems like a great device.