Buzzillions Blogs

Generally when we think of gadgets we tend to think of techie types – certainly parents don’t often come to mind.  But taking a look at the products available to parents out there, it’s clear innovation loves parenthood.  Check out the DiaperBridge – it’s designed to turn any filthy public bathroom sink into clean changing table.  Its about $20.  The DiaperBridge folds up, so it will fit in any diaper bag–and unfolds to fit over most public bathroom sinks.  You can learn the back story on this product and the inventor behind it, in my book, “Gadget Nation: A Journey Through The Eccentric World of Invention” I’ve heard horror stories where mothers have had to spread their coat on the bathroom floor to find a clean spot to change a diaper.  Yuck.  DiaperBridge to the rescue.

Speaking of changing the little one’s diaper, have you seen the Pee-Pee Teepees— I actually found this product on the Buzzillions site.  If you’ve ever changed a little baby boy’s diaper you’ll immediately understand why the PeePee Teepee is a must have.  Baby boys are famous for spraying the person who is changing their diaper.  I have 3-nephews and I’ve experienced this first hand–chest–everywhere.  The PeePee Teepee is a terry cloth cone that you place on the offending body part while the diaper change is underway.  You stay dry and the PeePee Teepee stops the WeeWee.  A package of 5 costs $12.

We all know that being a Mom is a tough job and the folks at VieVu actually put being a Mom on par with law enforcement an the military.  They created a video recorder for law officers and the military that was tough enough to work in those worlds and now VieVu is launching the same video recorder for Mom’s everywhere.  The VieVue Extra-tough Video camera is an almost indestructible camcorder that clips onto anything and has NO buttons to push–just open it and you’re recording.  Perfect for playgroup.  Clip it to stroller, diaper bag, anything.  By the way this company is offering free video recorders by entering a contest “What’s the best Mommy application for VieVu?”  Send your ideas to contest@vievu.com and you could WIN A FREE VieVu video recorder!

When it comes to big ticket items, we all need help so that we don’t waste time and money buying the wrong product–and that’s certainly true of Mom’s everywhere.  Buzzillions.com can be a Mom’s best friend–check out these product face-offs:

Monitor Face-off: Summer Infant vs. Safety 1st

Both seemed like terrific Infant Monitors–both cost around the same price ($150), but real consumers who purchased both products had some strong opinions.

Summer Infant Day & Night Handheld Color Video Monitor 1.8″ Screen
Came in the top 1% on Buzzillions.com.  Consumers loved it.  It ’s small, lightweight size and  1.8″ color LCD screen did the trick.  Other features include 900 MHz technology for clarity and 350′ range and night vision so you can see the baby in dark room.  Also it has a rechargeable battery that lasts up to 10 hours.

Safety 1st Sight & Sound Assurance Monitor System did not fare as well.  It showed up in the bottom 10%:.  Many consumers said that it stops working after about a year and a lot of others said that the quality of the screen is very poor, so much so that you often can’t even see the baby.  Other complaints included poor construction and that it was difficult to maintain

Baby Carrier Face-off: BabyBjorn vs. Maclaren

BabyBjörn Synergy Baby Carrier won this face off, showing up in the top 1% of Buzzillions.com
This carrier is the clear winner.  With close to 600 reviews and a near perfect rating, customers can’t say enough about this product.

Maclaren Kate Spade Carrier landed in the bottom 10% on Buzzillons.com. Many of the people reviewing this carrier bought it for the designer name and stylish design but soon realized that looks can be deceiving.  The number one complaint with this carrier is too many straps.

Baby Mobile Face-off: Tiny Love vs. Fisher Price

Tiny Love Symphony-in-Motion Mobile hit the top 1% on Buzzillions.com The winner—it combines 3 different movements and motions, not just the usual circular motion, to captivate and stimulate baby. Several real consumers loved this so much that they went as far as to say that it was the “best product they’d ever bought!”

Fisher Price Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders: Mobile (with Remote Control) sank to the bottom 10% on Buzzillions.com.  Some real consumers said this mobile doesn’t fit their crib, has gears inside that make loud clanking noises.

I made a mistake this weekend.  I ignored my usual policy of heeding bad reviews and bought something anyway.  Oh I’d read the reviews, seen the complaints, noted them.  And I ignored them all.  I wanted to believe that perhaps people were wrong; maybe they got part of a bad shipment or put it together wrong.  Maybe they didn’t pay attention to the directions.

The reviews I ignored were on the Big Wheel Princess Bike and the red version of the same, the Red Big Wheel.  I had one as a child, and fondly remember spinning out around corners, the asphalt driveway just a few inches from my heels (I’m not alone in my apparent love for the toy).  And so I let nostalgia, impulse shopping and stupidity get the best of me when I turned a blind eye to comments that read:

• “The very first time they got on and began to pedal, 3 of the 4 pedals came off because the washers are too weak to keep the “blue” pedal in place.”
• “…assembly was not easy, one pedal would not stay on.”
• “I had to put rubber on the tires just so she could get some traction. The stickers have fallen off already, I wasted my money.”

While there were good reviews on the product, (in fact plenty of people had no trouble) the bad reviews were specific:  it’s made poorly.   Unlike reviews that are somewhat subjective like:  I didn’t like the color, or my son wasn’t really interested in riding it, these reviews were all around the same issue of quality.  And still I believed they were wrong.

They were right.  The red Big Wheel was missing parts right out of the box, so was never even put together.  The Pink Big Wheel, once put together, felt not only flimsy but a washer provided was not enough to keep the pedal on.  Not only that but the contruction is such that when you make a turn the pedal scrapes the ground.  Both the Big Wheels are currently around the side of the house, with their boxes, awaiting my efforts to return them.  Lesson learned.  Oh, and one more knock against it, no hand break for doing spin outs like the old one. Now, who doesn’t want to do spin outs?

It’s always interesting when manufacturers and retailers make predictions about hot holiday toys. There is likely a good deal of speculation involved. After all, who can predict the whims of children when it comes to gifting. Fisher-Price underestimated the popularity of TMX Elmo several years ago, driving eBay prices through the roof. Conversely, toys that will supposedly show up in every list to Santa come Christmas time, may flop entirely. When the annual hot toy lists were released by several retailers this year, I took a look and wondered how those toys would fare among real users. Several of the items on the list below do warrant placement on a hot toy list. For example, the Retro Diner from Step2, has a 4.5 rating out of 5 with 36 reviews. Spike the Ultra Dinosaur also deserves a spot – it’s toy #1 in the robot category on Buzzillions (based on number or reviews and star rating). The Fisher-Price Elmo Live is also reviewed well with 77 reviews and an overall rating of 4.6. Toys R Us has limited the sale to 10 per customer; the TMX Elmo several years ago was a limit of one per customer, when you could find them. Several products, while highly rated, only have a few reviews: The Circus Ring from Playmobil has just one review at this writing and the Tag Reading System from LeapFrog only has two. Review number can sometimes be an indication of popularity and with so few reviews, it’s hard to see how these belong on a hot toy list. Some toys on this list just flop in the eyes of reviewers – the Jakks Pacific Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker has a star rating of 2.3 with several reviewers saying the same thing: complete waste of money. So before you assume that the toy retailers have a pulse on the best products, do your research and find out what people are actually saying.

The List:

1. Step2 Retro Diner: Safe bet with 36 reviews and an overall 4.4 star rating as of this writing.
2. Bakugan Toys: Well reviewed and an item appearing on several hot toy lists.
3. Circus Ring from Playmobil: Just one review on this product. How popular will it actually be?
4. Classic Lights and Sounds Trike: Well reviewed.
5. Imaginext Spike the Ultra Dinosaur: #1 in our robot category with a star rating of 4.7.
6. Little Mommy Sweet as Me Baby Knows Doll: Good reviews.
7. Fisher-Price Elmo Live: 4.6 / 77 reviews, limit 10 per customer. Solid product based on reviews, and not nearly as hot as the TMX version some years ago.
8. Star Wars: The Clone Wars The Twilight from Lego: Just two reviews, but out of stock at Toys R Us already which may indicate a true hot status.
9. Wiii Fit Bundle: Toys R Us is limiting purchases to one per customer on this item; a hot item since it came out.
10. Tag Reading System from LeapFrog: Just 2 reviews, but a 4.5 star rating.
11. Laugh & Learn Shop & Learn Walker from Fisher Price:Good reviews.
12. Hasbro FurReal Friends Biscuit My Lovin Pup: Just 8 reviews, surprising given its appearance on several top toy lists.
13. EyeClops Night Vision Infrared Stealth Goggles: Mixed reviews, and again, just a small number of reviews.
14. Jakks Pacific Girl Gourmet Cupcake Maker: 2.3 45 reviews Consensus says: waste of money. Probably doesn’t belong on any list, let alone a hot toy list.

If you’ve ever bought anything, ever, you’ve probably experienced Wrap Rage. Wrap Rage occurs when you are reduced to a profanity-sputtering lunatic by the seemingly simple act of opening a packaged product. Parents know this rage well, and during the holiday season are more susceptible to it due to toy buying. The zip ties, the wire twisties, the sealed clamshells, the cardboard…all will lead you to the spiked eggnog fairly quickly. Amazon must have taken note of their customer complaints. Last week, they pledged to change packaging forever with what they’re calling “frustration-free packaging” thus ending the need for box cutters, Band-aids and Christmas morning sobbing. While it’s unclear still what products will eventually move towards this kind of improved packaging, what is evident is that toys are probably one of the biggest offenders. Buzzillions has a number of toys that are not only pleasantly free of the traditional packaging, but are also made of eco-friendly materials, like reclaimed woods and milk jug plastic. Not only are they excellent toys in sensible packaging, but they’re all highly rated. My personal favorite (something I got just the other day for my twins) tops the list below. I was able to open it in about nine seconds.

Ten green toys that won’t make you cry…

1. Recycled Plastic Tea Set: Durable and adorable tea sets, made of recycled milk jugs. And gloriously…no wire twisties in the packaging.
2. 27 Piece Cookware Dining Set: Play cookware for the little chef in your life. Also from Green Toys and also made of recycled milk jugs.
3. Wonderworld Washing Sink: Play washing sink made of eco friendly woods.
4. Imaginarium Chunky Wood Train: Natural wood and again, no batteries!
5. Plan Toys Logging Truck: And the irony prize goes to…the logging truck made of sustainable wood.
6. Plan Toys Sports Car: Earth friendly rubber wood. no gas required.
7. Wooden Parking Garage: Once there were parking lots, now it’s a peaceful oasis…made of rubber wood.
8. Kettler Fold n Go Frog Bike: Figuratively and literally a green toy, with recycled resins making up 98% of the plastic.
9. Imaginarium Natural Wood Blocks: Certified by the Forest Stewardship Council and much more attractive than the plastic alphabet blocks.
10. Discover Rig: Crafted of an eco friendly bio composite called sprigwood. Lights and sound effects generated by pushing, not batteries!

There are three categories of toys in my house: Toys that no one cares about, toys the kids play with, but can be persuaded to share… and toys that are so loved, so enjoyed and coveted, that some kind of smackdown usually occurs over who gets to play with it. In this third category, resides The PlasmaCar. The PlasmaCar was hauled off a low shelf at Target by my two year old son a few weeks back. It looked like a fairly standard ride-on toy. It wasn’t electric, there were no bells or horns, no fancy stickers. So I was a little perplexed. At home he has a Radio Flyer Tricycle, a Rallye Scooter and Power Wheels electric car, none of which he’s showed significant interest in. But within thirty seconds of trying the The PlasmaCar, he was thrilled, careening around corners in the store, narrowly missing shopping carts. The child who was otherwise shy and reserved, who clung to me like a drowning cat, was now hard to keep up with.

We got it home, and that’s when my other two children really took notice. His six year old sister wanted a try, then his twin sister. Everyone loved it. Why? According to the manufacturer it makes use of “…that most inexhaustible of energy sources, kid-power, by harnessing the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity, and friction.” If you’re like me, I just blinded you with science, but the point is that it’s been designed to propel kids forward in a way they’ve never tired. It has no pedals, needs no batteries, and is blessedly free of any annoying sounds. Oppenheim Toy Portfolio awarded this their Platinum Award and it seems like parents agree… check out the reviews. It’s been about a month now, and since I’ve only got one PlasmaCar (something I plan to remedy soon) I have to hide it and bring it out only when I feel strong enough to referee the ensuing brawl. I’m also happy to report that adults can actually fit on it, which means I can go cruising down the driveway as the kids watch from the sidelines shrieking, “My turn next!”