Oregon Scientific Smartglobe 2008
by Oregon Scientific
Our Price: $139.95
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Category: Toy
See more product details
Product Summary
Manufacturer: Oregon ScientificBrand: Oregon Scientific
Release Date: 2008-08-02
Model: PR18-08
Product features:
- 30 games and activities
- Wireless smartpen touch and learn, AC adapter included
- Three customized knowledge levels
- 1 year subscription to download updates via SmartGlobe website
- Fun and educational
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Toys and Games Reviews of Oregon Scientific Smartglobe 2008
Customer Review: Says what it does, does what it says.
Summary: 5 Stars
Purchased this after Christmas at a local "membership warehouse club" for one-third the current Amazon price (forty USD). Everything worked just fine out of the box. The base uses 4 AA batteries solely for amplification, while the "smart pen" (which houses the actual computer) uses 2 AAA batteries. A cable allows the smart-pen to play through the speakers in the globe, however this can be disconnected to use the small speaker built into the pen. You can also plug regular 1/8" stereo headphones directly into the pen for a much quieter experience.
After Inauguration Day 2009, we wanted our globe to correctly identify the President of the USA as "Barack Obama" and not his predoppressor, so in spite of the warnings of a few others here, I decided to connect the smart pen to a computer for an update. Rather than risk using old software shipped on CD, I went to the mfr's website and downloaded the current software application. Once installed, the smart pen was correctly detected when connected via USB. The software then required registration with the unique product code, and once this was submitted the update was available. It is at this point you can select what age range you wish to download to your smart pen; 5-8, 9-14, or 15 and up. The software then downloads the updated data and program for the pen, once complete it copies these to the pen. I was nervous about having a problem, but there were no problems at all. The update process worked perfectly. Not sure why others here have had problems, but I would recommend they download the updated software from the website which was just updated in December 2008.
All in all the SmartGlobe is a terrific product, seems well-constructed and provides an educational challenge, not only for my 6yo son but also for those who simply didn't pay attention to geography in school. The globe was rated 2007 Toy of the Year, so I hope the mfr will continue to update and improve the software the smart pen utilizes. I would recommend this to anyone, especially if you can get it for a fraction of the MSRP like I did.
Description of Oregon Scientific Smartglobe 2008
Teach kids about this diverse world in which we live with an interactive globe that makes learning fun. The SmartGlobe teaches more than geography. This learning tool teaches interesting facts about every country in the world, along with geography, map reading skills, and world news. The SmartGlobe works with a special Smart-Pen. Choose a topic on the activity panel and then point to any spot on the globe or the U.S. slide-out map in order to learn more about history, cultures, languages, local traditions and much more. Requires 2 "AA" and 2 "AAA" batteries, included.Learning & Education Toys
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