Editorial Review

The Pixter is like a personal digital assistant (PDA) for kids. But instead of storing boring appointments and phone numbers, they get to draw, do puzzles, and learn a little, too. The Pixter is about the size of a small book, and has a pretty solid weight to it. It's made out of brightly colored and durable plastic. The main action of this toy is drawing with an attached stylus. The Color Pixter offers much better graphics then the black and white version, which comes in handy with activities like Paint-by-Numbers and Connect-the-Dots. You can draw a picture free form, or you can use one of the starter backgrounds. There are tool buttons, like on a PDA, that give you access to fun stamps, special effects, and the eraser button. You can also save your creation in the Pixter's memory. There are some boppy tunes playing along with all this creative activity, but luckily for parents, there's also a jack for headphones and a volume adjuster. An expansion slot on top of the Pixter accepts ROM-based expansion cards that contain additional software and games. Requires 4 "AA" batteries. (Not included.) --Megan Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Kids really love this toy
My daughter was 3 1/2 when she first played with her 10 year old sister's B&W Pixter, and she loved it. So I got her the color Pixter, and she plays with it every day, especially in the car. There are educational games available for it, as well as entertainment games. It also plays all the older black and white games for the older versions of Pixter.

Disappointed
We bought this for our 4 year old because he's not quite old enough for Game Boy. We have already had to return it twice due to it malfunctioning within a short period of time. The first one, the stylus didn't work and the second one the stylus worked on only half the screen after a couple of weeks. For as much money as we spent, I had great expectations. The kids, 4-9 years, enjoyed it while it worked, it just didn't hold up very long. I'd spend my money else where.

Take Care
My kids love this toy!! But do be careful because it is needs to be well taken care of. I would not reccommend this to any child who just throws things down where they may.

worth every penny
My 4 year old is one of those kids who can't play with anything for more than 5 minutes, except the Pixter. It is the best toy I've ever bought for her, and we've tried everything (thanks to used toys and bargains...). I bought her the Pixter recently because I was pregnant and too tired to keep her busy. It is well designed, challenging but not frustrating, is adaptable to her growth and needs, etc.

Pixter Easily Broken
I got my daughter the Pixter Color. Her little sister dropped it on my oak floor a few hours after we opened up the box. Now only half the screen works. I know it was dropped, but kids drop stuff. There must be a way to make these things more breakage-resistant. Spending 80 dollars on a toy that worked just one afternoon is bad enough. Listening to my daughter sob all evening was worse. ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Pixter is like a personal digital assistant (PDA) for kids. But instead of storing boring appointments and phone numbers, they get to draw, do puzzles, and learn a little, too. The Pixter is about the size of a small book, and has a pretty solid weight to it. It's made out of brightly colored and durable plastic. The main action of this toy is drawing with an attached stylus. The Color Pixter offers much better graphics then the black and white version, which comes in handy with activities like Paint-by-Numbers and Connect-the-Dots. You can draw a picture free form, or you can use one of the starter backgrounds. There are tool buttons, like on a PDA, that give you access to fun stamps, special effects, and the eraser button. You can also save your creation in the Pixter's memory. There are some boppy tunes playing along with all this creative activity, but luckily for parents, there's also a jack for headphones and a volume adjuster. An expansion slot on top of the Pixter accepts ROM-based expansion cards that contain additional software and games. Requires 4 "AA" batteries. (Not included.) --Megan Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (13)

Has entertained my child for 3 years!
We first bought our pixter in 2001 while taking our 4 year old on a three week trip to Europe. It entertained her the ENTIRE time. We even had people coming up to us to take pictures of her playing it because she was so quiet for such a young child! Of course, the next year, we upgraded to the 2.0 version (giving her old one to her cousin). She still plays with it constantly. We have a large variety of software (which I buy on sale every so often) that she keeps attached to the carrying case (I do recommend, it keeps everything in one place and is handy to carry everywhere) in a small mess bag I had. She plays it with or without the sound depending on where we are. I asked her if she wanted a gameboy or a pixter 2.0 in color for Christmas and she immediately said Pixter! It's much more imaginative and allows her to be creative. It also is great for us to play games while trying to pass time like when we are waiting at a doctor's office. We can draw, play tic-tac-toe, bingo, etc... and she doesn't make a fuss. She loves it so much, that she shows every kid she sees how it works and lets them play. It does wear the more she plays, but what doesn't? Her current one has lasted for over two years with almost daily use. All ours have lasted through tons of train, plane and automobile rides, many of them over 10 hours in length. I would definitely buy it for the 3-7 year range. I'm sure the older children may not get as much entertainment out of it as they would other systems. We'll be buying her the color version for Christmas this year!

Pixter-Color
Great toy better that the monochrome version. However, it lacks durability. My 5 year old son got one as a christmas present in 03'. We have had to exchanged it 3 times in 8 months. The primary problem been accuracy of the touch pad. Even after recaliburation the accuracy slightly improves if at all. There is no place for light as in the previous version. My son loves it when it works but gets very frustrated when it doesn't.

Broken on the second day....
We used to own the pixter but it quit working after just a few months (I was disappointed but assumed that it was just my child's overuse/rough handling) so we thought we would upgrade to the color pixter as they had since been released. We should have learned from our mistakes about the durability of this product. My daughter had it out of the box for not even 24 hours, it slipped out of her hands onto the floor, and the screen cracked and the product no longer works. This drop was only 12 inches to the floor. This is quite an expensive toy to not be able to withstand more. My children own gameboys and have dropped them numerous times and even left them in the car on a hot day, and they still work. In fact, my friend's child left his out in the rain and after drying it out, it continued to work! I am truly disappointed with the inability of the Pixter to stand up to a child's environment. I would think twice before buying this toy.

Not a satisfied customer!!!
I purchased a Color Pixter for my neice's 5th Birthday. She already owns and loves her Leapster so I figured she'd really enjoy the Pixter.Before I gave it to her I myself tried it out and honestly thought it was kind of neat but a bit limited. I know the Leapster talks to you and the Pixter doesn't. For over $80 this thing should talk. Anyway, I give it to her and she literally had it out of the box for 5 minutes and I look over and the screen has been scratched beyond belief!! I know for a fact she used nothing but the stylus on the screen. Obviously she pressed too hard which they do warn you about in the owner's manual but lets be reasonable! She did exactly what she usually does to the Leapster and the Pixter can't withstand anything but a very gentle touch which is not what you're going to get from 4 and 5 yr olds. This is not the quality that I expected. She's not a destructive child with her toys. She's had the Leapster since Christmas, has no problems with it and loves it. I had read the reviews that these Pixters don't seem to hold up very well but for heavens sake...I paid well over $100 for this thing along with another software cartridge to use with it and it's in her posession for literally 5 minutes and this is how it holds up?? Fischer Price states that this toy is for ages 4 or 5 and up but take heed!! Unless you're buying this unit for a child who's older, I would not recommend it. In fact, I don't recommend buying it at all. I do highly recomment buying a Leapster and then buying the "Draw and Learn" software cartridge for about $25. It's very nice, and the Leapster is extremely durable. If I'd known they even made such a cartridge for the Leapster, I wouldn't have even bought the Color Pixter in the first place. Anyway, I returned the merchandise and recieved a full refund so no harm done but just a warning to all. When they say the screens will scratch, they're not kidding and it doesn't take much to scratch them. The Leapsters the way to go....hands down.

A nother *GREAT* toy,
Hey ya people. I bought one of these things and I say it is the best toy ever! O.K. here is the detales about this toy: 1:There is tons of other feachers on this than the first one. So don't go out and buy the older one. (It will bored to death!) 2: It is color. (duh,I don't know why I put that.) And the old one is, well, black and white. Witch can sometimes stran your eyes. 3: There is better games included with the color. For instince, pick a seane and draw and put stamps and stuff. create words and put them as stamps. (witch is cool.) color the number. Draw by yourself. And conect the dots. wonce you conect the dots a mini show like-thingie will have to do some thing about the picture. 4: Now this is about the batteries. Well, I played it A LOT and I repeat A LOT and STILL HAVEN'T HAD TO CHANGE THE BATTERIES! And to tell you it takes four of those batteries. 5: Here is a kind of cool feature. It tures off when you don't play with it after a while. 6: It can take both black and white softwere and color softwere. So make sure you have the adapter. And wene you want a color softwere make shure you pick up a color one beacause I picked up a black and white one on accident. That's all about the stuff about it! About the learning,well what I think is educational is if you don't have paper at home you can use it whoa, I was talking about education, It teaches you to be a good artest. Durability, you know you wouldn't want to damage a PDA for kids. I don't know what will happen but DON'T TRY IT! It also makes a prefect gift for Chistmas! So go out and buy it! You will be satisfied and so will your kids. Oh goodie! I got more things about this toy! You can save one, I repeat ONE piture or something you can save in a file. Which is a drag beacause you want to save more than ONE. And I tried to set the volum because it was noisey and it got scrachey. Eventually, it didn't scratch no more. And if you look on the bottom, you can put headphones. Which to me is nice. And once you get your pixter color, just follow the dierections you ain't going to be confusied. There are SIMPLE! Later dudes and evreybody else! P.S. Hope this review helped you! A LOT! ... Read more

Editorial Review

The Pixter is like a personal digital assistant (PDA) for kids. But instead of storing boring appointments and phone numbers, they get to draw, do puzzles, and learn a little, too. The Pixter is about the size of a small book, and has a pretty solid weight to it. It's made out of brightly colored and durable plastic. The main action of this toy is drawing with an attached stylus. The Color Pixter offers much better graphics then the black and white version, which comes in handy with activities like Paint-by-Numbers and Connect-the-Dots. You can draw a picture free form, or you can use one of the starter backgrounds. There are tool buttons, like on a PDA, that give you access to fun stamps, special effects, and the eraser button. You can also save your creation in the Pixter's memory. There are some boppy tunes playing along with all this creative activity, but luckily for parents, there's also a jack for headphones and a volume adjuster. An expansion slot on top of the Pixter accepts ROM-based expansion cards that contain additional software and games. Requires 4 "AA" batteries. (Not included.) --Megan Sullivan ... Read more

Reviews (9)

We LOVE It !!!!
My 2 year old was given the Pixter from her aunt right before we moved out of state,We love it!Shes 2 and can find her way around websites better than most 20 year olds but I thought this might be a little harder,well I was wrong,she taught me how to use and shes 2! I recommend this for all toddlers b/c they will want to learn how to use it and when they do its worth it when they come to you with a big smile and show you what they did!!!!

The best everything toy
My son recieved this for christmas and he has not put it down since. He is 3 years old and just loves everything about it. He counts and recognizes numbers and just loves it. I highly recommend this toy for children. We haven't left the house without it since we got it.

Great Toy
I bought the Color Pixter for my 6 year old at Christmas and she loves it. I am glad I paid the extra and got color. My only complaint is the lack of additional software. I talked to Mattel/Fisher Price and was told that they sold so much of these products at Christmas they are behind in getting the stores stocked with the software (I was afraid they had quit making them). We did get one of the black & white software cartridges and it wasn't worth the time or money, I'll hold out for the color. Hard to tell how educational without additional software. As for durability, so far so good. Great entertainment!

Great toy!
I purchased the Pixter Color for my daughter. She just loves it! The color cartidges are hard to find. I was able to purchase the Dinodraw, Barbie & SpongeBob for Christmas. They are typically sold out so you have to keep checking. Fisher Price does make a carrying case for the pixter color and all of your cartidges. It is a MUST HAVE because this is an expensive toy but a wonderful one. The case keeps the pixter and the cartidges safe and clean. (I bought it [online]) My daughter brought her pixter on a long car trip and really enjoyed it. She also brings it to her brother's wrestling tournaments which can be very long and boring for a little girl. It is a great toy. I will purchase additional color cartidges when available! Enjoy!!

The favorite toy under the tree!
I bought this for my 4 year daughter for Christmas this year. She is really into coloring and drawing, so this appeared to be the perfect gift for her.

This is definitely for the 'under 8' crowd. As a matter of fact my FOUR YEAR OLD has mastered this in two days! When I say mastered, I'm referring to the ability to use Pixter unsupervised. She will ask questions here and there, but it surely didn't take long for her to figure out what each of the icons do. So I will even go further and say that I can see the 4-6 age group reaping the most benefits from this without getting bored.

There was mention in a previous review about no "undo" feature....it DOES have this feature, but you may only undo once. Still, it has the feature so you may 'erase' what you just did without erasing the entire picture.

For each of my nieces I purchased the Pixter 2.0 for Christmas, the black and white Pixter. I must say that I'm glad I spent the extra money and purchased the color version for my daughter. The pixels appear to be greater which makes the quality of the pictures so much better. The color choices when coloring is probably the best feature. My daughter likes the built in coloring-by-number feature the best. She also love the ability to use all the built in stamps to add to her pictures. To me it's like a elementary computer Paint program....

Now...educational? Not necessarily, but it has potential depending on the cartridges you buy. For example, I purchased the Barbie Color, the Spongebob Color, and on clearance I bought a b&w "learning fun" cartridge. The Barbie and Spongebob are games, plain and simple. My daughter enjoys them, especially the Barbie one, but aside from a matching game I don't see these as educational. The 'learning fun' cartridge lets your child practice writing upper and lower case letters and numbers. There is more to this cartridge, but we haven't delved into the entire cartridge yet as it IS in black and white and doesn't hold my daughter's interest as well. Based on this cartridge I WILL be buying the new COLOR Smart Start cartridge, which appears to be an updated version of this b&w one.

I realize that since this product is fairly new that the accessories are probably still in the works, but I would love to see a carrying case for the Color Pixter. I am hesitant to allow my daughter to carry this around outside of the house for fear of dropping it. At $80 it's a chance I don't want to take. I also would love to see a bigger selection in software....dinosaurs and Rescue Heroes holds no appeal to my daughter and that leaves a VERY limited selection for girls in my opinion.

All in all, if your child is a budding artist this is a great tool for them and it will hold their attention. I have to be honest in saying that my daughter's number one request for Christmas was "go go my walking pup" and didn't even know what Pixter was......Go-Go is sitting still under the tree all alone and Pixter Color is the favorite. It's the toy she picked to take to her cousin's house...(she gets to pick ONE toy to take)

I'm glad I purchased this and I would do it again...... ... Read more

Amazon.com

Rather than worrying about forming an increasingly complex, unbroken line of metallic dust with squeaky knobs for navigation, this sketcher is an easy schoolmate with lights, sounds, and flash cards--all designed as a 15-inch school bus. There are buttons on one side of the bus for drawing, quizzing, problem-solving, and repetition activities. There are also five, two-sided, interactive learning cards, stowed in a side compartment, used as visual aids. Logistically, a large, attached stylus with a magnetic tip allows small hands to draw big letters and words; a sliding eraser makes it easy to start over; and there are only a few loose pieces, so it's a good travel pick. Required: three AA batteries.Diane Beall ... Read more

Amazon.com

Doodle Pro is not as challenging as its predecessor-sketcher, but it's just as intriguing for younger kids, who will ponder the mystery of the sketching surface just the same. Unlike with the trusty Etch-a-Sketch, kids who are just developing spatial and coordination skills don't have to worry about an increasingly complex, unbroken line of metallic dust, and there are no knobs to contend with. That's all too tricky: they just want to draw! To that end, there's a fat, easy-grip stylus with a magnetic tip, and four magnet stampers stored in a pull-out drawer. When the molded forms are pressed on the 10.5 by 7.5-inch doodling surface, shapes are created. And, instead of shaking (again, exertion), there's a sliding eraser for starting over instantly. Because there's no mess, and only a few loose pieces, it's also great for travel. Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (3)

The best toy we have for our 21 month old
My daughter played with the magnadoodle at my mother-in-law's house so much that we bought her one of her own. It was great for a plane trip, because the pen only writes on the board, not on paper, the chair, her leg, etc. Plus, she loves the stamps. (Note to the other reviewer: the magnets are stickers that you have to attach when you first get the box open.)

If I have one complaint, it is that you have to push the stamps down pretty hard to set them back into their drawer or the drawer won't close. On the other hand, it keeps them from falling out too easily.

We never had a problem with the hand pinching. I recommend the magnadoodle for anyone wanting a great gift for a toddler.

BADLY designed new model!!!
My 4 1/2 year old son had the older model of the magna doodle and LOVED it, he used it almost everyday for his "artwork" in bed rather than markers or crayons. Needless to say it got worn out as toys tend to do, I was satisfied with how long it lasted since he used it daily for over two years.

We decided to buy him a new one so he didn't have to work around the permanent star in the corner (from pressing to hard) When I went to the store to get him a new one I was VERY disapointed with the look of this new model and a little nervous about the "drawer" for the magnet shapes (which by the way work well IF you actually put the magnets on the shapes...they come in the box and you have to stick them on yourself.) But since he "needed" one I bought it and we gave it to him for the first time at the beginning of a 4 1/2 hour car trip. He was playing with it for a TOTAL of five minutes before he pinched his little finger in the drawer...and needless to say it was PINCHED, he couldn't get it out himself. Fisher Price will be getting a call about it, it just is NOT safe. The old model had I believe eight NOT FOUR stamper shapes, so it was a let down. The ONLY improvement on this is the pen is spring loaded so you can't press as hard. Although he is being VERY careful now with the drawer he is still getting stray fingers pinched...the only way we see to fix it is to cut apart the back of it! um, no!

If you can buy the old model I totally recommend this toy, but I have a feeling fisher price will be redoing this one soon! It's just an awful design! THe old design would have gotten 5 stars all across the board...but how can a toy that "hurts" be fun OR educational...and that drawer is bound to break off.

My 2 year old loves this
We bought this for my son's 2nd birthday recently and he really loves it. The only thing is, it comes with these "stamps" but we tried everything and they just don't work. I thought you just push down on the board with them like regular stamps but it does nothing. We could trace them but on the package it shows them as stamps, not traces. So if anyone knows how to use them, I'd appreciate some insight.

The board and pen are great though. It draws dark and nice and erases just as well, unlike a similiar toy he had. I definitely recommend this toy for kids that love drawing. It mess free, a big plus! We've only had it a few days but it seems durable. ... Read more

Editorial Review

Doodle Pro is not as challenging as its predecessor-sketcher, but it's just as intriguing for younger kids, who will ponder the mystery of the sketching surface just the same. Unlike with the trusty Etch-a-Sketch, kids who are just developing spatial and coordination skills don't have to worry about an increasingly complex, unbroken line of metallic dust, and there are no knobs to contend with. That's all too tricky: they just want to draw! To that end, there's a fat, easy-grip stylus with a magnetic tip, and four magnet stampers stored in a pull-out drawer. When the molded forms are pressed on the 10.5 by 7.5-inch doodling surface, shapes are created. And, instead of shaking (again, exertion), there's a sliding eraser for starting over instantly. Because there's no mess, and only a few loose pieces, it's also great for travel. --Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (1)

Great for the imagination
This toy is great for young children's imaginations and creativity. The story book is short and simple, perhaps by too much, but I guess that leaves more room for imaginary play. The pieces seem to be durable and my five year old has no difficulty putting the pieces together. She really enjoys making new animal creations out of them. The pieces are, however, tough for a just-turned-3 year old to put together. She still enjoys playing with the creations once they have been assembled.
Overall, this toy provides a lot of creative fun for kids. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Doodle Pro is not as challenging as its predecessor-sketcher, but it's just as intriguing for younger kids, who will ponder the mystery of the sketching surface just the same. Unlike with the trusty Etch-a-Sketch, kids who are just developing spatial and coordination skills don't have to worry about an increasingly complex, unbroken line of metallic dust, and there are no knobs to contend with. That's all too tricky: they just want to draw! To that end, there's a fat, easy-grip stylus with a magnetic tip, and four magnet stampers stored in a pull-out drawer. When the molded forms are pressed on the 10.5 by 7.5-inch doodling surface, shapes are created. And, instead of shaking (again, exertion), there's a sliding eraser for starting over instantly. Because there's no mess, and only a few loose pieces, it's also great for travel. Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (1)

The storybook comes to life
We just bought this toy for our 2.5 year old son because he is started to use his imagination more and more.It's a very cute idea to help kids be creative and use their imagination.You can build the characters in the book or make up your own.And the more sets you buy, the more creatures you can make.It also comes with it's own storage case that resembles a big book, so you just put it on the shelf when you are done.Except my son never wants me to put it away because he enjoys playing with the animals so much.Great idea from FP. ... Read more

Amazon.com

Doodle Pro is not as challenging as its predecessor-sketcher, but it's just as intriguing for younger kids, who will ponder the mystery of the sketching surface just the same. Unlike with the trusty Etch-a-Sketch, kids who are just developing spatial and coordination skills don't have to worry about an increasingly complex, unbroken line of metallic dust, and there are no knobs to contend with. That's all too tricky: they just want to draw! To that end, there's a fat, easy-grip stylus with a magnetic tip, and four magnet stampers stored in a pull-out drawer. When the molded forms are pressed on the 10.5 by 7.5-inch doodling surface, shapes are created. And, instead of shaking (again, exertion), there's a sliding eraser for starting over instantly. Because there's no mess, and only a few loose pieces, it's also great for travel. Diane Beall ... Read more

Reviews (2)

I Can't Say Enough About This!
My son received this for his second birthday and we play with it every day. It is his absolute favorite toy. He has learned to draw faces and we use it to practice reading words. It can keep him occupied for quite a while (much longer than crayons and paper) and it's such a relief to have a toy that doesn't sing, flash and twirl. I think it's great that he's learning that it's not a big deal to make a mistake; he just slides the piece on the bottom and it's time to start over. The price is so reasonable...I plan on buying this as a gift for all future toddler parties!

Lot's of doodle fun!!!
My son got this doodle pro for his third birthday and he is still playing with it 2 years later! In fact his little sister who is 1 also loves to play and doodle with it! (it keeps them from writing on my walls!) The handy sliding draw on the side is perfect storage for the four shape magnets that come with it, we have not lost one yet! The magnets are an extra bonus to this toy as it adds more hours of creative fun! The screen is also VERY durable and erases without a problem. A wonderful toy to bring on your travels! My son and daughter love to draw and this toy is a perfect toy just for that! ... Read more