Gadgetell | Tech News, Reviews, and Interesting Things

Product: Piano Wizard
Price: $139.95 (software and midi cable); $199.95 with M-Audio 49e MIDI piano keyboard
Rating: Very Good - 8.0
Pros: Instant musical gratification, bright engaging colors, fun to use, visual learning, full piano functionality in a compact keyboard, great selection of songs for young and old
Cons: Takes a little trial and error to get comfortable with all of the features available, hard drive hogging files, mediocre graphics
Overall: A fun and affordable way to get even the youngest kids playing the piano and creating music.  The easy color coded learning makes getting comfortable with the basics less tedious for stubborn adults too.

Product - Piano Wizard is a software system that works in conjunction with a midi keyboard that you can purchase with the software or use any piano keyboard that can plug into your computer.  Despite all the software, it is the color stickers that you place on the keys that is really the whole key (pardon the pun) to the learning experience here.  The early steps of learning to play are made simple by color coding the notes on the screen with the corresponding color coded keyboard keys. Colorful graphic backdrops like grazing dinosaurs, though static (and at time cheesy) make the learning more interesting.  For children that are not compelled to play by the interactive lesson style, Piano Wizard offers lessons cleverly disguised as games that get kids learning while they have fun playing.

Set Up - If you have Windows XP or the latest Mac OS, set up of the keyboard is a breeze.  Simple plug and play.  Installing the software is a no-brainer via the provided wizard, but if you plan on using this with young children, try setting it up during their nap time.  They most likely won’t have the patience for the download time.

Personal Experience - I have a two year old who, like most children, loves any excuse to make noise – pleasant or otherwise.  He immediately took to the Piano Wizard as it brought together many of his favorite activities at once, the aforementioned noisemaking, computer play, colors and games, music and playtime with mommy and daddy.  What is so nice about the Piano Wizard is the ability for it to grow with your child, with beginners, intermediate, transition and advanced levels.  It has many different elements that will keep them from getting bored as they grow up and discover new skills and abilities.  From the toddler years of colors and noise, to the early school years of “Look what I can do” and even through those harsh preteen years… though they are more likely to tell their friends about there newly acquired skills, rather than their lame parents.  Better yet, if you took piano as a kid and miss tickling the keys as I do, or always wanted to try, this is a great baby step into making music. 

Features - Piano Wizard comes with a good library of songs to choose from, and is seemingly always adding to their online library with songs from Herman’s Hermit to Coldplay, at prices cheaper than most sheet music will run you.

My only disappointment was that I had expected that the beginner’s stages to feature a play-along theme, but was sad to find the tune accompaniment was only visual. For the smallest of children, a karaoke style play along or an “I’ll play it then you play it back” styles are best for engaging them in play. 

All in all - my son is hooked.  After he got his first taste of the Piano Wizard, he dragged us back to the computer day after day instructing us to turn it on and play along with him.  He was an instant addict.  And it works out well for us too.  We can only watch Spongebob Squarepants so many times in one day… really.

Good for Grown-ups too - The Piano Wizard makes it easy for an adult (or quasi-adult) to learn just as well, though it probably won’t buy you any cool points if your buddies catch you pecking away at Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on your color coded keyboard.  Although, later on when you woo that lady you’ve had your eye on with the latest Franz Ferdinand tune, who’ll have the last laugh then?

GPS has just recently delved into the realm of child locator systems and the like. As a byproduct, we have the SafeTrack GPS Child Locator. Brought to you by Gemini, this child locator functions as both a tracker and a cell phone. You can program two emergency contacts into the cell phone, once a child activates the SOS button both phone numbers are alerted. Additionally, the device feathers emergency remote monitoring - in the event of an emergency activate this feature and listen in on whats going on. As you’ve probably predicted these security measures come at a price, a hefty $399.95 for the device plus a minimum $19.95 per month for the service.

Your dreams have finally come true! Don’t want your pre-teen strolling around flashing a cell phone? Uneasy about saddling them with the responsibility of a cell phone? No problem. Just introduce them to the brand new Willcom Nico. Their begging and pleading for a cell phone will have to cease when you announce that this is the only phone you are willing to buy them.

These “fun phones” will be available July 13th and come in Blue, Green, Yellow, Pink, and Chocolate (say it isn’t so).

Read [MobileMag]

New in the growing market of child monitoring products, the Mommy I’m here! Child Locator, available in pink or brown, is an effective and affordable solution to the woes of today’s society--specifically relating to the growing number of child abductions and of sex offenders trolling the streets of neighborhoods all around the country. Has anyone read the bestseller Lovely Bones recently? Simply knowing where convicted sex offenders live does not do much in the way of safeguarding your children. Avoiding them is an effective but illogical method. You never know where he might turn up--in the park, at the mall and etc.

Mommy I’m Here! assists parents in being the best they can be by offering them a safe and reliable tool to add to their overflowing arsenal. The Mommy I’m here child locator is attached to the child’s shoe or belt. Similarly, attach the wireless transmitter to your key ring or simply place it in your pocket. If you lose sight of your child or are anxious to find out where he is and alert him to danger, simply depress the button on your keychain transmitter. The teddy bear attached to your child will begin to chirp, alerting you to the location of your child, while drawing attention to the dangerous situation your child may be in.

The locator functions well in a distance of up to 150 feet. This is a short range solution, not a long range one. This solution does not substitute a parent’s or caregivers attention to the whereabouts of their child. Instead, this product should be interpreted as a tool used in addition to effective parenting. The Mommy I’m Here! Child Locator comes with long life batteries already installed and is ready for use. It is water and shock resistant and is easy to operate. The only real gripe I have with this product is that its maximum capability is 150 feet. If your child was abducted by car rather than by foot, this would be an inconsequential device. However, the price is low and it has many a benefit. Two thumbs up for Mommy I’m here!

As I may have mentioned before, my son is way more tech savvy than I am already.  This is not that I am any slouch, mind you, he’s just advanced.  Yeah, he’ll be 2 next month.  But to keep my boy on the cutting edge in music, his favorite pastime, Fisher-Price is answering the high tech toddler call.  The toy-centric company has announced the release of the iTod (clever, eh?), the first mp3 player designed for the making–the-transition-to-the-potty age group.

The iTod is set to launch this summer for a whopping $78 bucks.  Anyone with a kid can tell you that, while clever, the iTod is most likely to become a brief distraction/toy only to fall to its ultimate usage: a very expensive teething/chew toy.  Parental note: They really should come up with a wireless headset, in all reality.  Kids hooded jackets aren’t allowed to have pull cords anymore, for fear a child will choke him or herself.  Headphone cords seem even more dangerous to me.

Perhaps, if it turns out the quality is decent at all on the iTod, all of us on a budget can pick one of these babies up for a fraction of the iPod price and start jamming out to Barney.  I love you, you love me…