Poingo: A Children's Interactive Storybook

Saturday, November 29, 2008

Poingo: A Children's Interactive Storybook

Finding toys that are both fun and engaging for kids can sometimes cost a fortune. Whenever I go shopping for toys, I have to think twice before buying them especially if they cost $50 or more. There's always the thought (or fear) that they might just go to waste if my kids don't like them. It happened to me too many times that I am now more conscious about the kind of toys I buy.

This Christmas, if you're on the lookout for a really fun, interactive learning toy for your kid (ages three to seven years old) that will engage your child and at the same time won't hurt your pocketbooks, there's a new toy called Poingo.

My three year old Gabriel loves his new Poingo he can't stop playing with it!

Poingo is basically a pen-shaped toy that kids can turn on, point on pictures or text on a storybook page, and go. It's very simple to use and makes books very entertaining that your kids will want to read more.

"How does Poingo work?" might be the first question that you will ask when you first see this one-of-a-kind toy. To answer the question, Poingo is an interactive storybook and pen kit learning toy. The pen uses a mini-scanner to “read” microscopic symbols throughout a Poingo-enabled book. You can’t see the symbols, but Poingo can. The symbols trigger Poingo to play words, music, sound effects, and interactive games – such as matching or “look and find” activities. Kids use Poingo to help Nemo swim through a ring of fire before time runs out or, through an onboard speaker, hear Cars’ characters zoom.

Poingo focuses on fun sounds and activities that draw the child into the story, and thus helps her to learn. The sounds and music stimulate the imagination, while the interactive games exercise the child’s mind and help develop small motor skills.

The starter set includes Poingo and two oversized hardcover books featuring characters from the Disney®-Pixar® films Cars and Finding Nemo. Other books available now to begin building a Poingo library include popular Disney® titles Cinderella, The Lion King, Sleeping Beauty, and Winnie the Pooh. With the purchase of a starter set, the interactive content for all six launch titles is already loaded into Poingo’s memory– no downloading is necessary, so kids can start using Poingo right away. The starter set retails for approximately $34.99 with individual books selling for approximately $9.99 each.

Poingo is powered by two AAA batteries (included), comes with a USB cable for easy connection to a home computer, and features a headphone jack for quiet play. Poingo is enabled by SDX Interactive™ technology, which can transform almost any type of printed content into a multimedia experience.

In early 2009, new Poingo books will be released featuring popular tween characters from Disney’s Hannah Montana and High School Musical, as well as Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Disney Princesses, and My Friends Tigger and Pooh titles, with even more to come throughout the year. Poingo is available in the children’s book departments at Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, Walmart, Sam’s Clubs, Costco and BJ’s Wholesale Clubs, and at www.discoverpoingo.com.

*Win the Poingo starter set, valued @ $35! Just enter the Hip Mama's Place 2008 Christmas Giveaway Event and get a chance to win. Goodluck!