Fisher-Price Easy Link Internet Launch Pad Reviews

• Great Idea! Great Toy!

  
  By A1SDDV3KYG16I2 on 2007-08-28
  I'm excited to write the first review for this product. I picked this up over the weekend for my son who is a few days shy of 3. He loves, loves, loves it! This is a great idea for anyone who shares their computer with a littler one. I purchased both the base unit as well as one expansion pack with Thomas the Train and Bob the Builder keys. Each website has multiple activities for varying ages and skill levels. I love that this thing browses the assigned websites in an adapted format for kids without all the difficult scroll bars, popups and useless links. It does utilize the forward, back, home and refresh buttons that will familiarize them with other browsers.
  These sites are full of activities that your child can explore and you don't have to panic if they are left unattended. The unit will not allow access to any other programs or settings on your PC or any other websites. That means, no more freeze ups from inadvertent clicks, no more lost info, changed settings, etc...
  I think my son will play with this toy for several years to come considering the large span of difficulty levels at each site.
  Definitely reccomended to anyone with a child 3 or older and I believe that my son would have played with this probably from about 2 and 1/2 since he was already playing other computer games at his skill level.
  
  

• Difficult installation, poor manual

  
  By A3NNOTZUB56O04 on 2007-12-01
  This Fischer-Price device is far from a simple Plug and Play device you may think it is (something they do not disclose in the advertising) or packaging. To use this you must successfully install a piece of their software (not mentioned on the box) which is on a disk enclosed (and it appears then successfully update it to a later version). If your toddler or his parents are not computer sophisticated and good at system integration, this product may not work.
  
  There is only weak documentation provided. I found it did not work out of the box on two computers. I believe the problem may be firewall related because it could be made to work if you disabled your firewall. Hence those with firewall protected computers or a Microsoft operating system with the defaults in place (i.e. firewall on) may not find this works. Some firewalls permit granting permission to certain programs to access the internet. If you know the name of the program this can probably be done. Fisher-Price appears not to state the name of the software that has to have access to the internet and the person who answered their help line could not supply this or tell how to do it. While the first of my two calls for technical assistance were promptly answered, they took the position that determining whether access was being blocked by a firewall or telling the firewall to let it through was something they did not no know to do.
  
  The program open its windows on the full screen (with no way to shrink it), possibly hiding any firewall messages. Upon exiting their program, there was a firewall message asking whether I wished to provide access to the internet. Once access had been provided for their update program it was eventually possible to install their program and even make it work partially on a computer system with a firewall.
  
  The same problem was encountered on a Vista computer and eventually was solved in the same way. However, attempts to actually play certain games produced a cryptic message about "you do not have flash", with no hints at how to solve the problem. I guessed this was reference to Adobe Flash Player and with a Google search found there was a free download for it. This did not solve the problem and attempts to reach their technical support (my third phone call for assistance) have failed. (ringing is followed by a busy tone rather than a recorded message). If this toy indeed requires other pieces of software to get full use of it, this should be clearly disclosed on the packaging. Ideally the full name of the required software would be disclosed and directions provided for obtaining it in the manual or on the relevant websites when they give an error message.
  
  While the idea behind the product appears good, the documentation is weak. It also appears that you should plan on a significant expenditure of time to unpack it (very solidly packed) and to get it to work and may fail. The original version provides access to only three sites (it may pay you to go to them ahead of time and see if your child would like them), and you will need to buy extra figures for each additional site. It would be nice if the documentation (or a web site) gave the addresses for the individual sites so you could decide which additional figures should be bought (possibly doing that on the same trip as you make to buy the toy originally)
  
  Because of the need for a password to start up and exit the program, parents will probably have to turn the computer on and enter the password for their kids (and provide the password to any family members or others who may want to use the computer), but it does appear that it would be possible after that for the kids to use it on their own.
  
  
  
  

• Great Idea

  
  By A1ZQS9BMQKAGVT on 2007-09-12
  I bought this for my 4 year old son. He really likes it and I love that it locks the rest of my computer. He loves going to the kid websites and playing. Many of the websites have ads on them one click and he is off to a place he shouldn't be. The launch pad locks all of those, he simply gets a ding when he tries to click on them and he goes on to something else. The launch pad also has nice parent controls like turning on/off the printer and setting a timer. It does have limits though you can only go to those 3 websites. Fisher-Price has already put out three more double packs to expand the product.
  
  

• A must have for kids!

  
  By A3DP2PYYM7PSRY on 2007-11-27
  Best computer product for kids on the market. I bought software in the past but my sons would escape out of it or not understand how to use it. It took me so much time to "fix" problems with my computer that I shut it down for awhile. When I purchased the Easy Link, it was an entirely new experience for myself and my sons. The ease of use is fantastic and I no longer am running from one end of the house to the computer to help with computer problems. A must have from Santa.
  
  

• My son knows how to use a computer so great now

  
  By A1VXIY1511XQK2 on 2007-10-02
  When i originally bought this item i wasn't too impressed since it went to websites you could get to normally if you just type in the web address. boy was i wrong to assume thats all this way. my son has come to know how to use a computer so well he impresses me everyday. he is able to get it started on his own with no help by inserting the plastic figures by himself and travels to all the different websites by simply taking one figure out and putting in the one he wants. tehre are so many games on there that he can learn from. they ask him to sort small from big, yellow from green, etc. yeah some dont have any learning value but A LOT do. he has so much fun he doesn't even kow he's learning. i was a little afraid that since he can't read(he's 3) he would have trouble navigating around. like when the screen asks him if he wants to play again, he knows to click it if he does. even though he can't read he navigates just as well as if he could. he usually spends 2 hours a day with this on and off. sometimes longer if we're inside all day. this gets his attention more than any other item he has. i would DEFINATELY BUY AGAIN!
  
  
• Disappointment. Waste of money.
  By A2T5QKOT5TTZZ1 on 2008-01-14
  When I get something for myself and it doesn't meet expectations, I get disappointed. When someone gets my kids something as a gift and it comes off as a lazy way to rip people off, I get angry.
  
  I'm actually angry about this thing. My son is 3 years old. He and his older brother (he's 6) love playing on the computer, and we've been through a lot of software. This device adds almost no value, and the web content is still chock full of poorly designed software with little replay value. There so much more interesting software for young kids than offered by this piece of parental control hardware.
  
  Because this is just making available existing web pages, the sites are not designed to guarantee that they even fit properly in the application that the device uses. My son shouldn't have to scroll down to see parts of the page. I shouldn't have to run at a resolution above 1024x768 in order to see the whole screen. My son shouldn't have to read to be able to launch games (though if the software attempted to help him read the things, wouldn't that be nice?), and he shouldn't have to wonder why, when he clicks on his favorite PBS character, almost nothing happens because the software won't let him access the link. How about making the software say out loud that he isn't allowed to get at the thing he clicked on. How about making the software change the mouse cursor to indicate what you aren't allowed to click on? How about removing the things you're not allowed to click on? This isn't rocket science.
  
  The games on the pages are almost all poorly designed. They don't have enough interactivity and feedback for younger kids. Take for example, one of the Clifford games. At 3, my son can find the characters they talk about, but if he accidentally drags the mouse a little while clicking, it doesn't register. Does a 3 year old know why? No. It reads aloud what he should click on. Great. They got something right. When he clicks on the right thing, it just changes the text to some success message. Nothing is read aloud. Sorry - my 3 year old can't read yet. Also, there's nothing to encourage him to click the "More" label once he's done. It's just a really lousy design.
  
  With the technology available today, these games should be far more engaging to kids, they should be far more replayable with better sound and graphics, and I shouldn't have to worry about my kids clicking around the screen and going to scary internet places - all of these games could be taken off the internet and installed, and I wouldn't have to worry about any of that.
  
  I think the software is awful, and the hardware adds almost no value. The only reason the hardware is even necessary is because the software is so poorly "designed". There are plenty of free internet sites (including PBS!) that have reasonable games for really young kids.
  
  Boooo Fisher-Price. This could have been a really cool device. Now I have to waste MY time seeing if I can return this thing.
  
  
• Excellent idea but do not buy the extra figurines!
  By A32L53LZW0JTT6 on 2008-04-10
  Product works most excellent; but you can save alot of money by editing the XML file that picks which website to open based on the 3 included characters. It is in the directory where it is installed. you can edit it with notepad and change the url's. This will save you money by not buying more plug-ins.
  
  Great idea; but charging so much for extra add-ons is insane. Anyone can reprogram the websites for each plug-in. It is that easy. Save your money and learn to use notepad!
  
  Good choise for young-uns!
  
  
• great
  By A38P216LNRCGL0 on 2007-11-01
  This works great and keeps your kids for going to the wrong place. My son is three and he loves it. He is able to get on and play and I do not have to be concerned about anything inappropriate popping up.
  
  
• Brilliant Idea
  By A1F74D3WH0P5BO on 2007-11-30
  This toy is wonderful. We purchased this toy for our granddaughter who is three. She absolutely loves it. FP must have a special agreement with these websites because there are no advertisements when you plug in the characters. You are taken straight to the sight and can't use other web addresses with putting in the password you created. There is also a timer that can be utilized to stop play after a preset amount of time. The characters are a little hard to remove from the plug in but they seem to be tough and well made. I would definitely recommend this product. The extra characters can be purchased at WalMart for a bit over $5. I do not understand the huge price tags I am seeing from online companies. All that aside, I would say buy this and enjoy it with your little one!
  
  
• two Easy Links and Still Not Working...need help
  By ASN9XZUZNODCQ on 2007-12-29
  I purchased this item (PBS version) for my son for Xmas, installed it on our HP Laptop w/Win XP/Verizon HighSpeed Internet & VRZN Internet Security Suite. Software was there and working properly but the EasyLink hardware isn't recognized on any of the USB ports when plugged in. When I plug the EasyLink USB in to my laptop the light on the EasyLink blinks once and goes off. So I returned this one that they did not have any more and picked up the Disney version and installed it, same trouble persisted. Whenever I plug this in it doesn't show up in any of the USB ports. All firewalls had been disabled. Any one that can help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks. Anxious to get this going for my son.
  
  
• Pleasantly surprised
  By A3LZO6UFOAE0JU on 2008-01-03
  My four and a half year old loves to play on the computer. I had set up some links for him under the Favorites menu, but he always managed to go into areas that I didn't like. He was discovering cartoons that were too old for him, was exposed to too many commerical images, etc. The more savvy he was getting, the more I was really having to buckle down on his Internet usage.
  
  Then my grandmother got him this for Christmas. At first, I was concerned that this would be too young for him, but it's not! He loves having something that's just for him, and it's easy to navigate. The software installs a browser that's just for him, and it doesn't allow him to stray from the character website. There's also a password protection that keeps him in the browser and out of my email, etc. You can also set printing limits. There are little arrow keys on the unit that allow the child to play games instead of having to use the buttons on the keyboard since some games require that instead of the mouse.
  
  It is also simple to install. You simply plug the docking station into a USB port, and then run the software CD. That's it. To start it up, you just click the appropriate link on the shortcut menu, put in the desired character "key," then go.
  
  According to the Fisher Price website, there's more Disney keys on the way, like Cars, Handy Manny, Princess, Higglytown, etc. Of course, my son would love SpongeBob, but I doubt that will happen! But it would be good to see something like another age level up of character keys so that it can grow with him.
  
  Just a note - Target stores have a lot of toys on clearance right now, and I picked up the Bob the Builder/Thomas and Wiggles/Barney keys for $2.98 per pack!
  
  
• Who Can Like This Toy???
  By A3R01WHD75L6FG on 2008-06-23
  I am absolutely shocked to see a single positive review here. This toy is absolute trash.
  
  All of the games are available free on the internet so we had already played them. The software is buggy and doesn't want to install on most of our computer even though they are all fairly up-to-date machines.
  
  The software is laggy and it takes a while to pull up the games sometimes, even though we have a blazing fast upgraded FIOS connection.
  
  The most annoying part is that it requires a password to close the software, so my kids can't exit it on their own. I realize this is supposed to be a "security" feature, but how about an option to turn it off?
  
  The character pieces do not sit securely in the pad and are easily knocked over.
  
  I am ashamed to have given this as a Christmas gift to a niece.
  
  
• Three little tips for those having problems
  By A22X9MWZ97ONKA on 2008-01-14
  I tested this on 64 bit Vista and it worked fine. However, please remember to do the following if you're having problems :
  
  1) restart computer after software installation
  2) disable script debugging (Internet Explorer)
  3) disable script debugging (Other)
  
  To do step 2 and 3 above, you need launch Internet Explorer and select menu [Tools | Internet Options] first, then go to [Advanced] tab in the [Internet Options] dialog. You will see checkboxes for step 2 and step 3 in the [Browsing] section.
  
  Hope you find these three tips helpful. Happy parenting:-)Fisher-Price Easy Link Internet Launch Pad
  
  
• Nice internet toy for a toddler - Some keys do not work though.
  By AHSI855X2UEH3 on 2007-12-29
  I bought this off Amazon for my son for Christmas. My son loves it, but we've just emailed Amazon because the Dog and the Dragon Tale key do not work. We also purchased the Wiggles and Barney keys. The "mousepad" is not the greatest ours had a big air bubble in it. It also doesn't actually connect to the station. It just sits in a hole. Overall a good $12.00 spent.
  
  
• ok, would not recommend it, but enjoyed the reviews
  By A1XOEMF4HX4P3E on 2008-01-01
  First, I wish I would have read all these reviews prior to buying this toy. I bought it for my 3 year old. I did find it odd not able to download the software that came on the cd. I feel the firewall was my biggest problem with installation. I loaded it on my 10 year olds lap top, so they could play it together. There were some problems loading and very poorly written instructions, but after a second attempt and disabling security, it was a sucess. Until the next day, my daughter was working on a reading project in word and received the horrific windows blue screen fatal error that said to uninstall any recently installed programs. She lost some of her work. I uninstalled the program and it's been a week with no further problems. I will attempt to install it again on our family desktop but I have my concerns. Overall, my money would have been better spent buying her a couple more vsmile TV plug in play games that my 3 year old prefers anyway.
  
  
• Difficult for the younger ones
  By A2CSUA388LZ26O on 2008-01-02
  My 3-year old twins have a difficult time working with the websites without lots of Mommy and Daddy help. Some of the games don't have a lot of sound, and require the user to know how to read what they are supposed to do next, or at least know how to click the "Play" buttons to start the game.
  
  Don't get me wrong though, this is a great idea. For older children, it certainly will keep them busy for a long time, but your younger children will get lost quickly if you don't help them along.
  
  My only complaint would be the mouse cursor isn't "kid friendly". It's tiny like a normal cursor, but that doesn't really draw a young child's attention like a much larger arrow could. You're left manipulating windows settings to get it larger if you want it, and even then that doesn't help that much.
  
  
• Tried two units - would not work!
  By A39ZMAEOCUM0V5 on 2008-01-04
  I had similar problems as some of the other reviewers. I could not get the keys to work in the system. I'm pretty computer-savvy and usually have no trouble at all with anything I want to do on my pc. I was able to install the system successfully, I disabled the firewall and virus scanners, and I had the thing plugged in correctly. The easy-link system would not recognize the smart-keys that I plugged in. When I plugged the system into the computer the Easy-Link light would quickly blink once and then go out. That was it. I have now tried two systems and am returning it for a refund. I'm through messing with this thing. The Fisher Price help line was not as helpful as I would have liked either. I regret ever buying this for my daughter.
  
  
• Wonderful head start advantage on phonics and motor skills
  By A2IJKIYH5LKTTA on 2007-11-09
  Easy Link has been an amazing learning tool for our 3 year old. We had no idea he was so ready for this product until we watched him make his own way through each of the characters and the activities on his very own. He has learned words and methods, as well as additional advanced skills in movement of the mouse and keyboard. He absolutely loves his "puter" (computer) and we love what he is getting from the experience. We have nothing but positive reviews for this product.
  
  
• Love This!!
  By A3F8EYRIXN0OC1 on 2007-11-14
  This is the best kid computer program system! We bought it for our 3 year old; it was easy to learn; easy to install; durable to kids shoving the characters in and out of the portal; and its content continues to keep my kids attention.
  The only thing I would pick at if I had too is the mouse pad part is worthless. We just set up the control panel with characters on the tower next to the computer so they can switch easily and they just use the keyboard, mouse, and mousepad we already had set up.
  Good system.
  
  
• One of the best new toys this year!!!
  By A2ABF6V2KKMZW8 on 2007-12-13
  I was so happy to see this toy in the store...a parents dream come true!! I have a 6 year old and a 3 year old who both LOVE to play games on the compuer. This makes mine and their job so easy!! All they have to is pick witch character they would like to play and put it into the slot to bring up that character website and they can start playing. My kids are constantly wanting to switch games and yelling for mommy to help them now they can do it themselves!! this product is an A+ ALL THE WAY!! I am now hoping it takes off and fisher price comes out with more easy link characters!!
  
  
• The best internet safe toy ever!
  By A1Q8BJVFNID648 on 2007-12-20
  I wish I had discovered the Easy Link system a year ago (before my son discovered free game downloads, which are NOT always what I want!) Easy Link is the coolest! It makes the internet SAFE for children while they totally enjoy themselves, and have control over which (safe) children's websites they want to visit. I bought one, then two more! I highly recommend this product! Great for ages 2 to 9 in my household!
  
  
• Fantastic
  By A1BD9N1CWQRQD2 on 2007-12-23
  I received this toy very prompt. I was estatic when it arrived WAY before Christmas. We ordered on the 14th...by the 18th it was here...including the weekend. I looked everywhere for a great deal on this item. The particular day I purchased it off this site it was $9.99...very pleased!! We set it up on our PC and it loaded very easily...very little computer skills are necessary to load this program. This will be exciting to watch our toddler(3)and pre schoolers(4 and 5) explore the internet kiddie style!! My only concern is that the character plug ins wont be able to handle the abuse by pre school standards..and the connection site with the characters wont handle the kiddie "man" handling..but we havent tested it yet! great service! we'll be back!!!
  
  
• Wonderful product!
  By A38V0DNNPLJLL2 on 2007-12-26
  We bought this for our 3 year old son for Christmas, and he absolutely loves it! The system is easy for him to use without much assistance from us. In fact it hardly took him any time to learn how to use it, and how to navigate the different sites. If he wants to switch to something different, it's as simple as plugging in a different key. It takes him straight there. I agree with what some of the other reviews say in that the keys can be a little bit tough to plug in, but this toy is obviously durable. It's one that I believe will stand up to lots of use over the next few years. I also love the fact that all other sites are blocked, and parts of the software are password protected so my son can't accidentally access something he shouldn't.
  
  This toy does come with some software that will have to be downloaded onto your system, but is easy if you have the correct specifications on your computer.
  
  I would highly recommend this toy to any parent looking for something both fun and educational for their child!
  
  
• Great fun
  By A2S273AFQOYT4Z on 2007-12-27
  My daughter thoroughly enjoys this. She keys do take a bit of "oomph" to place, but she has no problem with that. She moves from game site to game site with ease. She really loves this. My only complaint I have with this is the same complaint I have with websites geared towards this age and that is more of the "options" should be verbalized. Kids this age generally can't read and having options without a mouseover "voice" can be frustrating. But this isn't Fisher Price's problem. I do wish, however, that Fisher Price will start to release the Disney keys seperately. I don't wish to buy another whole system to just get the Disney keys.
  
  
  
• Parental peace of mind and sense of freedom for the children
  By ALHORMR2Q95UN on 2007-12-28
  We are really glad we purchased this product. Previously when our children were on a website, if we weren't directly supervising them every moment, they would inadvertently click on a pop-up or access other areas of our computer causing problems. They also loved to print EVERY page they created, running our ink low. This has given us the peace of mind knowing that we can leave our children with this and they will not be subjected to pop-ups, cannot go to any other sites, cannot access the rest of our computer and cannot print if we don't want them to. We set the timer for the amount of time we want them to be on and it automatically stops when the time's up. If they want to print something they have to ask. It gives them the sense of freedom and responsibility they crave- they don't have us over their shoulder all the time, they can switch to different sites simply by picking a different "character key" to plug in and they're really enjoying it. My 8 year old was skeptical she would like it because of the "baby" sites, but she's found she really loves it- especially since her time on any site was limited and infrequent before due to all the beforementioned concerns we had. We have an 8 year old, 5 year old and 3 year old and they've all been able to use it and enjoy it without problems. I highly recommend this- especially for the price. I would like for the company to come out with "keys" we can program to go to other sites we want them to be able to get on- I suspect this will be an option soon- hope so!
  
  
• My 3 year old LOVES THIS
  By A1LGQXGWALK8CI on 2007-12-29
  This was such an awesome purchase. I have an extra laptop that my daughter uses and this makes it so much easier for her to get to her sites. She can completely operate this on her own and the password keeps her only on those sites. I picked up some of the extra links and the games are perfectly appropriate for her. I love it!!!
  
  Only down side is that the sites are limited. I wish there were some Nick Jr. Characters like Dora or lazy town.
  
  
• LOVE IT!!
  By A2VQNN7MPHJ89M on 2007-12-29
  This is awesome. There is no more "mom, help please" coming from across the room. My 3 year old can do this by himself and the best thing is that he can't mess up my desktop or delete anything.
  
  
• Nice Product
  By A3LLMH32XOL2XK on 2007-12-31
  We purchased this product for our 4 year old for Christmas. He loves playing children's games on our computer, so we thought he would love this. He loves it! I would only recommend this product if your child knows how to navigate on the computer (using the mouse, etc) The only thing I don't like is that you have to type in a password each time you go to use it and you have to type it again when you exit. Children this age don't know what a password is, let alone able to type one in.
  
  
• Fabulous Toy!!!
  By A3N5182S37BN2C on 2008-01-02
  I bought this for my 4 year old son and even though he is very much advanced beyond this as far as computer knowledge, this is a GREAT tool for him to use while I can't be right next to him to monitor his internet time. Lots of educational games at some of his favorite websites. VERY EASY installation. Updates regularly. He absolutley loves it!! The only thing that I wish it would be able to do is allow us to add our own "favorites" of other websites, such as Nick Jr. and Noggin, and have them open in a browser free window like the others do. I highly recommend Easy Link for those parents who want to give their kids a jump start on the basics of the computer, such as getting them used to using a mouse and keyboard. An excellent product all the way around!
  
  
• Easy link
  By A24BJ5T3TLHY0Z on 2008-01-02
  This product is one of the best things I have ever bought for my nephew. He not only is learning a lot from the sites he has access to but I no longer have to worry about him getting into my files or accidently erasing some of my music(again). If you have an active child that you want to be able to play games and have access to fun activities on some safe sites and not worry about your computer files or pop ups then this would be a great purchase for you.
  
  

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